AltaRoma: Italian taste and elegance for Spring-Summer 2011
Vitality and tradition have characterized Italy for five intense days dominated by the Haute Couture fashion parades, displaying all the elegance and refinement so typical in such an eternal city as Rome.
So, from 28th of January to February 1st, the AltaRoma-AltaModa calendar featured a great number of varied and diverse women’s collections for spring-summer 2011, proposed by the most remarkable Italian and international names, from Gattinoni to Renato Balestra and Marella Ferrera, but also Fausto Sarli’s Maison, whose founder recently died.
Lots of space was dedicated to the new wave of national and international protagonists of the fashion industry, who could enjoy the numerous meetings, parties, exhibitions and many other artistic manifestations especially organized for the event.
Words of praise came from AltaRoma’s President, Mrs Silvia Venturini Fendi, on her second year at the head of this prestigious event, which adds luster to the Italian image: she was particularly satisfied with the attendance of public and press, enchanted by the elegant and romantic atmosphere and locations.
Among the numerous events scheduled, first of all we’d like to underline “AI – Artisanal Intelligence”, the first magazine of AltaRoma dedicated to artisanship and the Made in Italy initiative, which concentrates on the importance of the hand-made, so much in demand nowadays, and artisanal jobs now so sought after by young people. It is essential to keep alive such an important tradition, as only genuine artisanship can produce authentic limited edition pieces, so precious for that very reason, and only the hand-made can give birth to such special and extraordinary luxury.
During this year’s AltaRoma fashion parades, young talents were nominated as winners of the “Who is on next?” contest, providing them with the opportunity of showing their own creations to an influential audience: the prizes went to the Turkish designer, Erkan Coruh, Leitmotiv and Elisa Palomino, who experienced some unforgettable exciting moments.
The theme of models’ size, challenged for so long, has been as recurrent as never before during this year’s edition of AltaModa AltaRoma: the scoop was that of a size 8 (UK size 10) model, who saw a great number of doors closing in front of her, preventing her from realizing her dream of becoming a professional model, because of just 3 cm extra around her hips. Well, in order to support the fight against anorexia on the catwalks and spread the word of an important social issue, designer Renato Balestra allowed this girl to wear his dresses and parade in them down the catwalk of his show.
The 150th anniversary of the Italian Unification gave the numerous designers a patriotic inspiration for their collections, proposing ideas and new styles with a definite Italian twist to them.
But let look in more detail at what was proposed for next Spring/Summer 2011 fashion houses at AltaRoma Haute Couture.
With a tribute to the Italian tricolor flag, Gattinoni’s models walk down the catwalk inviting the audience to silence, since it’s important to stop scandals and rumors and it’s high time to give back to the Italian woman true dignity and beauty. With this new collection, Guillermo Mariotto, creative director of the maison, conceived a metropolitan style, with the big cities of the future in mind such as Shangai, Rio de Janeiro and Dubai. He reproduced them in black and white mini dresses decorated with pieces of glass, crystals and other light points to resemble the shining skyscrapers of a metropolitan city. White, black, gray and dust are the typical colors of a smoggy town, which however can still boast some private and isolated gardens: so, here are a number of tunics and capes in organza, showing bright tonalities such as pink, apricot, acid green and lots of floral prints in pastel shades. Everything is light but well constructed, decorated with pleats and asymmetrical cuts. For the evening, colors become diaphanous and sheer, applied to drapery and corsets, airy shirts and geometrical shapes. Refined jewel-bags, such as purses and pochettes in golden and silver tonalities, embellished with sculptural handles and branches of pink coral, are the perfect complement, in this determined search for elegance and refinement.
Raffaella Curiel gladdened her public with dresses characterized by embroidery and decoration, underlining the great importance of Italian artisanal work. An abundance of delicate organza and pleats on the corolla-shaped dresses inspired by the lightness of flowers, symbol of a femininity we all have to rediscover, for a collection that is very delicate and romantic, made of small things but of high quality manufacture.
The Sicily of the emigrants appears on Marella Ferrera’s catwalk, recounted with the grace and elegance typical of the designer, who is fondly attached to this land; a true journey, like those experienced by her compatriots years ago, towards a new and unknown world. The designs characterizing this collection are complete works of art, cleverly playing with exclusive fabrics, fascinating and melding together tradition and innovation.
In this way, dresses made of poor materials, such as jute, became fundamental means to give birth to refined and exclusive creations. Lace, crochet, embroideries and black shawls – vibrant symbols of the true Sicily – are combined with light and refined fabrics, such as silk and chiffon, also enriched with jewel details, for a kind of woman that can be emancipated, without forgetting her identity and roots.
A well-deserved standing ovation and deep emotion characterized Fausto Sarli’s fashion show. Just a few months ago the fashion house lost its fantastic and talented master, but he was still deeply alive in this haute couture collection for the next spring-summer season. Thirty special models retraced the path of the founder, reproducing and re-elaborating the immense archive left by Fausto Sarli himself. The new designer, after 24 years spent at the side of his master, can now go ahead with his own strength, and proposed a collection of mermaid, white models wrapped in chiffon and organza, inspired by the Mediterranean, its colors and the vegetation of the south, and by aspects of certain ancient baroque churches, reproduced on hems and embroidery.
During the show, a black and white video offered a sequence of images dedicated to the great designer and his creations, and the numerous renowned top-models that worked for him: from Eva Herzigova to Carla Bruni ,Valeria Mazza and Maria Carla Boscono, who opens this year’s show, unable to hide her emotion. White suits with wide cut trousers worn with gilets turn the models into angels, showing an elegant woman who is never excessive; coral red, turquoise and violet are used on mini dresses, enriched by neoclassical decorations, next to long dresses made of thousands of micro-layers and doubled with embroideries that provide a coral effect.
In this way Rome brought the curtains down on five days of prestige and high-elegance, revealing itself as a dynamic and vivid city, where fashion has a strong historical relevance, in which the roots of tradition are constantly interpreted and proposed by the great number of distinctive names operating around this eternal city.
