ZIP TO IT
Milan: Jo No Fui's F/W 13 collection has many of the hallmarks of Italian luxury: Sumptuous calfskin and furs, earthy shades of camel and chocolate and cozy cashmere. But the clothes themselves—patchwork leather separates, clean satin cocoon dresses, and deconstructed biker jackets—are more in step with a downtown New Yorker or a Left Bank Parisienne and put the
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FIT FOR A PRINCESS
Milan: With its light knits, satin bolero jackets, prim pencil skirts, and pretty chiffon layers, the F/W 13 Aigner show was fit for a princess. The very proper day-wear, which also included slim taffeta pants and an embroidered fur coat, would be the perfect attire for royal appointments, or simply a day out shopping for the kind of well-manicured
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AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEWOMAN
Milan: The Dsquared² boys love a bit of a Victor-Victoria vibe and F/W 13 was no exception, offering up MGM Grand-worthy masculine tailoring, vampy skirt suits and cocktail hour outfits in equal rotation. Flanked by dashing men in uniform, models clutching cigarette holders channeled Marlene Dietrich—herself a star at pulling off both double-breasted suits and marabou-trimmed gowns
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TAKE IT EASY
Milan: Daniela Gregis may not be well-known outside her native Italy, but if you're a fan of soft deconstruction, the Japanese school of designers and artisinal, handcrafted clothing, you'd do well to get aquatinted. Gregis' studio lies outside of Milan in the ancient Piazza Vecchia in Bergamo, and an autonomous vision combining pastoral and fine art influences (she often
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CODE AND THEORY
London: All eyes were on 28-year old Irish designer J.W. Anderson today following his best-selling Topshop line, January's boundary-pushing menswear show and his recent appointment to design a capsule collection for Versus. Titled Semiology of the Self, FW 13 continued the conversation between minimalism and cerebral deconstruction, offering up both challenging and wearable garments with an emphasis on technique.
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MAGIC CARPET RIDE
London: Kapow! Tom Ford's runway show this morning was an explosion of print, color and rich fabrics that gave his signature decadence an electrifyingly youthful over-haul. Ford is clearly soaking up the London energy and the decorative, print-heavy work of the city's new leading fashion lights such as Peter Pilotto and Mary Katrantzou. Like them, Ford wasn't afraid to
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MASTER OF CEREMONIES
London: With their zombie-like dead stares and grayish complexions, the models at Giles looked like they needed resuscitation, but if anything had the power to do that it was their glorious, high-glamour outfits. With the help of his partner-in-crime, stylist Katie Grand, Giles' shows are always a theatrical spectacle, but in recent seasons his garments have become less cartoonish
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CAPED CRUSADER
London: Super Marios is what they're calling Marios Schwab on Instagram after his stellar F/W 13 showing. The collection opened with three sinuous cape looks, which provided a dramatic frame for the leg-baring mini tunics underneath. Then came the pencil skits in wool crepe and thick, high-shine patent leather, split down the middle to reveal panels of lacework and
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MIXED MEDIA
London: After last season's candy-colored Californian extravaganza, Holly Fulton went in a more dark and dangerous direction for F/W 13. If summer was Frenchie from Grease, Fall is Rizzo with its black and red color palette, lashings of leather and spunkier attitude, from the models' spiky top knots and bold red pouts down to their buckled Beatle boots. The M.C.
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THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
London: Preen are back on the London scene giving their fans what they know and love: Cocktail dresses, smart coats and feminine tailoring with a dose of their signature lingerie-inspired detailing. After playing with pale and pastel shades for a few seasons, Thornton and Bregazzi opted for an controlled ebony and ivory palette with traffic-stopping red and
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MOTHER'S LITTLE HELPER
London: Over the past few seasons Henry Holland has proved he's evolved far beyond those slogan tees that made his name, and this collection was another step up the ladder. With its Miu Miu-ish cropped, printed suits and housewife dresses in psychedelic wallpaper prints (in a preview the designer alluded to a granny-on-acid as inspiration), the collection was a
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MELODY MAKER
London: David Koma has been taking something of a hobbyist approach to his past few collections: Last season was tennis-themed, ballet came before that and F/W 13 was all about musical instruments and black vinyl. His sexy, sculptural brand of power dressing has seen its way onto Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, J.Lo and Taylor Swift—quite an accomplishment for a designer
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HIGH PERFORMANCE
London: Young gun Thomas Tait appeared to have raided the closet of a teenage motocross rider and repurposed the garments with a Céline-like sense of luxury and elegance. What began as simple, somewhat drab tracksuits built to a crescendo of multi-layered, multi-functional sporty sophistication. Tait pedals a brand of what some might call ugly or awkward-chic, yet the masterfulness of
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MARRAKECH EXPRESS
London: With a feather in her hat and a passport in her embroidered satchel, the Issa girl was ready for adventure this season. Like Henry Holland, who also showed in London today, Daniella Helayel mined the 70s for inspiration, an era she began to show a fondness for last season. For summer she vacationed to her native Brazil, for F/W
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COLOR-BLOCK COQUETTE
London: PPQ’s FW 13 collection looked like the wardrobe of a 50s Barbie doll, all deep pigment cosmetic colors with black contrast panels and trims and an array of outfits that ran the ladylike gamut “from car to carpet escapades,” per the show notes. There was a hint of royal family nostalgia in there, too—you could imagine Queen Elizabeth herself
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