.: February 2013

The magic of Milan was alive this past week, collections like Aquilano.Rimondi telling the story of Alice in Wonderland, Antonio Marras chanelling Virgina Woolf, Dolce & Gabbana reiterating the wonderful works of Venetian and Byzantine mosaics, Dsquared2 taking a leaf out of Hitler's book, and of course, the wonderful Donatella vomiting taffy leather and ultra shiny spikes and studs over her Versace supermodels. We saw more good furs than bad furs, the whole of Milan seemed to be holding a huge middle finger up towards the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; beaver and alpaca adorned Marni models, not a single outfit sent down the runway for Roberto Cavalli was animal free, crocodile boots at Prada, and absolutely gorgeous fur coats included in collections such as Pucci, Ter et Bantine, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Francesco Scognamiglio. The list could go on and on, but Milan confirms what New York already tried to prove, fur is in for Fall/Winter 2013. Beading was popular, and this is what I love about fashion, mostly every beaded piece you see is done by hand. There is so much care put into a single item of clothing, only to be shown for a minute or two. Colors that seemed to repeat themselves in Milan reminded me of fairy tales, bright and musky olive greens, midnight sparkling blues, pops of royal purple, and bold mustard yellows. Blumarine and Andrea Incontri did a stunning job using silky, creamy floral prints on flush faced models. Fendi was Fendi, I cannot say I enjoyed the use of faux mohawks, but it's Karl Lagerfeld, he can do whatever he wants. Gucci was tolerable, the bright lights made the shiny leathers, jewels, and furs pop in the shadows. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana took the cake, designing every Catholic girls dream of stunning, shimmering, lapeled dresses with mosaic saints almost looking etched onto the midriff. The D&G show closed with the girls in RED strutting out, all together now. Pucci was beautiful, but in all honesty, to pull those boots off you have to be the "fun-loving, free-spirited Pucci girl who has legs that go on forever", as Peter Dundas put it. I took care to include the "important" brands in this post, and included many unknown designers at MFW. Of course, some got left out as their shows were cancelled and photos became unavailable. (And thank God, because typing some of these out can be quite difficult.) Collections not pictured include: Byblos, Giuseppe Zanotti, Cividini, Musso, Phillip Plein, Sergi Grinko, Bally, Paolo Frani, Mila Schon, Angela Marani, Simonetta Ravizza, Chicca Lualdi Beequeen, Emporio Armani, Frankie Morello, Katie Grand for Hogan, Laura Biagioti, Maurizio Pecoraro, Gianfranco Ferro, Massimo Rebecchi, Lorenzo Riva, Cristiano Burani, Jet Set, Daniela Gregis, Anteprima, Rocobarocca, Gabriela Colangelo, Aigner, and Jo No Fui. Now it's off to Paris to FINALLY see Alexander Wang's premiere debut at Balenciaga, and all the household names you know and love; Lanvin, Nina Ricci, Christian Dior, Isabel Marant, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, Givenchy, Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, and Elie Saab. Til next week!

Aiguille Noire