Creativity and quality at Milan Fashion Week for next Fall/Winter 2011-2012
Long or short dresses? The body demurely covered or seductively revealed? Chic or performed seduction? Welcome to the Milan Pret-a-porter fashion week that took place from February 23rd to March 1st, showing us what will be in vogue next Fall/Winter 2011-2012. The heart of Milan has been entertained with 72 fashion shows and about 150 presentations of new collections, with this season’s fashion week finally consisting of seven full days and a packed schedule that, according to Mr. Mario Boselli, president of Milan Camera of Fashion, would be characterized by fixed appointments, as already happens in France: each designer having his own day to show, and it will be always the same, with no more changing and futile quarrels. To call a halt to the current crisis which is characterizing many different economic fields, this year designers appealed to order and responsibility, sharing the aim of being united and working towards the internationalization of the companies, the middle and small ones in particular since they represent the real power of the fashion sector.
Great talent and deep pride in the quality and reputation of Made in Italy were the features of this year’s Milano Moda Donna for the Fall/Winter season 2011-2012. The entire week of shows was outstanding with solid, established top labels – recognized and coveted all over the world – complemented by an interesting group of young designers, ready to enter the battlefield and display their novel takes on trends and styles; everyone having a well defined object in mind: the affirmation of Italian elegance and culture.
Public, press and buyers appreciated the effort of the Mayor of Milan, Mrs Letizia Moratti who turned her passion for fashion into a great challenge for the city: understanding the importance of the fashion industry for the city of Milan in particular, and Italy in general, she opened her city’s doors and hosted these numerous collections in prestigious venues, from Palazzo Giureconsulti, to Palazzo Clerici and the Circolo Filologico, each connected with a red carpet. For more democratic fashion, closely connected with the people, a great sheer tent was erected in Piazza Duomo, while in Mercanti Street two huge big screens broadcasted fashion shows in live streaming.
For seven days, public and press could dream steadily, throughout a well balanced event, with big labels showing from the very beginning: Gucci opened the first day and king Giorgio Armani wrapped up for the major labels , while the last day was entirely dedicated to the huge platoon of new talents, the soul of concrete changes in contemporary Italian fashion.
For next Fall/Winter season 2011-2012 the woman prefers not to show too much her body to be seductive, but she’s not averse to sequins and python skins: hippy or neopunk, the important thing is to preserve the elegance of a chic appearance. The charm of eccentricity, a long coat, a divided skirt, a fur detail and accessories that signify a taste for retro: from Milan Fashion Week these are the most important stylish suggestions to update our wardrobe, but, let’s look in detail at what the most renowned designers created for their collections.
Long coats, high-wasted and wide cut pants and very tight shirts: this is the woman conceived by Ermanno Scervino for whom black never fades, though it can be substituted by shades of camel, alternating with vivid colors such as orange, purple, green and blue. In his reinterpretation of the 70s, the feminine silhouette becomes sleeker than during the past editions and for the evening, there are no longer grand gala dresses, but elegant jump-suits with deep necklines at the back and a great freedom in the use of accessories: lots of gloves, boots and bags, even doubled in jersey.
Even at MaxMara the coat was the real protagonist of the entire collection, unbeatable for wearability and quality/price comparison: taking inspiration from Britain’s countryside, the fashion house played with the candid tonalities of white, grey and camel, applied to alpaca and mohair wool.
Timeless and versatile clothes at Fay: gabardine and jersey trenches and coats, with gilets made of fur that can be worn according to the temperature, while Fendi underlines the importance of Italian quality and creativity, something that distinguish us from other fashion countries, and proposes a true miracle of the technical science of manufacturing: a black fox fur coat mixed with tulle and golden silicone.
Kate Middleton was the muse to inspire Blugirl’s collection, with a selection of coats created in the winter colors of mossy green, orange and black, without forgetting cherry and yellow.
We were back to the 70s again with Frida Giannini’s collection for Gucci fashion house: pencil skirts, chemises and divided skirts are the main clothes for next winter’s woman, many of them worn with feathers in the brim of the sleek fedora hat , and unquestionably enriched with an elongated version of the Jackie bag, or mini top-handle frame bag. Fur and python leather abound in eye-opening colors, mixing unexpected hues together in one outfit: an ochre coat with Mongolian lamb trim, worn with a scarlet blouse and a bordeaux hat, or an amber python jacket with rust-colored fur collar topping a lavender shirt and violet cardigan. For the evening she goes sheer exposing plenty of flesh, with long dresses made of chiffon and organza.
Roberto Cavalli’s woman turned into a warrior, proud of her strength and power, revealing how the designer is still in love with his rock’n’roll gipsy woman: under her lace and chiffon she was wearing armor, or at least a metallic bodysuit that gleamed dully through diaphanous outer layers. Particularly striking was a lacquering technique for leather, and a jacket that combined feathers and fur in an eerie wet look.
Armani’s collection was a celebration of black, with models wearing Confederacy caps and the occasional pencil skirt or broad-shouldered topcoat; for the most part the collection for next Fall/Winter 2011-2012 offered a range of variations on pants, skirts, jackets, coats and jumpsuits, where the guiding principle seemed to be a play on silhouette.
Firmly convinced that women will never give up showing their legs, Miuccia Prada elaborates her personal concept of seduction, focusing on the strength of innocence, apparently at least, and on the charm of eccentricity, combining varied colors, materials and accessories: sequins, snakeskin and fur were her diktat for next winter’s women. Simple and linear dresses embellished with vividly colored gloves are worn with amazing python leather boots that give the woman a sophisticated image.
And for a complete vision of the next Fall/Winter 2011-2012 collections, we just have to head for Paris which closes the European Fashion shows…so, don’t miss our next article.
