SUNSET SERENADE
Milan: Gabriele Colangelo is one of the few young designers who has emerged from Milan's deeply rooted fashion tradition. He has found success in paying homage to Italy's rich textile heritage while moving it forward with cutting-edge technology and fresh ideas. Modern art often serves a springboard for his innovative designs, and this season, he found a muse in
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MOVING MESSAGE
Milan: Fluid movement was the takeaway from the S/S 12 Missoni collection, a swaying exploration of fringe, layers and ruffles bringing the season beyond the house’s expected zigzag knits. Instead, Angela Missoni incorporated strips of zebra print, ethnic embroidery and oversize florals into off-kilter, asymmetrical constructions that hung almost carelessly across the body. Loosely figure-skimming dresses, slim but slouchy
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MARKET FORCES
Milan: Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana continued this season’s common 50s silhouette references, but brought their muse into the decade by way of a sunny Italian market, complete with kitschy vegetable prints, crafty crochet and straw shopping baskets. A bright palette and motif awash in illustrated zucchinis, tomatoes and eggplants accentuated the innocence of full skirts, crop tops and
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HYPER TROPIC
Milan: After a fall collection almost devoid of color, Salvatore Ferragamo designer Massimiliano Giornetti presented a fevered backlash against the minimalist restraint of seasons past for spring. Seizure-inducing tropical prints and vivid colors were splashed onto harem pants, billowy blouses, sarong-style dresses and leather safari jackets that referenced Yves Saint Laurent's saharienne collection, perhaps, a few seasons too late.
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KINDER-CRAFTS
Milan: While many in Milan opt for flash and plenty of flesh, Daniela Gregis has carved out a unique identity with her humble, covered-up approach. While the clothes do not vary much from season to season, Gregis has a gift for telling a story, and this season, a primary school detention hall provided the setting and a framework for the
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CRAFT CONSCIOUS
Milan: Although she opened with clean, mod shift dresses, it wasn’t long before Marni's Consuelo Castiglione returned to her beloved geometric prints, using stamped, interlocking circles, stripes and chevrons to extend the collection’s retro theme. Flirtatious but conservative, skirt and short suits recalled an era of demure femininity, even when embellished with artsy mesh patchwork, layered paillettes, glass discs,
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GYPSY QUEEN
Milan: Despite Peter Dundas’ rise to prominence as the designer behind legendary fashion house Emilio Pucci, his work for the label may have been dismissed by some as flashy, rooted in Pucci’s signature prints and Dundas’ own riot of embellishment. But then the queen of minimalism herself, Gwyneth Paltrow, took the red carpet at the Emmys in a daring
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ACTIVE BOTANICALS
Milan: Bold, hothouse florals have stormed the runways for a few seasons, re-imagined delightfully by designers such as Phoebe Philo and Raf Simons. In the hands of mainstream Italian label Sportmax, the pattern is still effective, though somewhat extraneous for their wearable, active-inspired Spring collection. Beyond the few vibrant, head-to-toe floral looks, there are more versatile gems to be
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PAINT-BY-CABLE
Milan: A relative newcomer, Italian designer Marco de Vincenzo is quickly becoming adept at focusing on one concept and seeing it through to a satisfying conclusion. His obsession for Spring was knitwear, but not just ordinary sweaters or stretchy pants. Instead, hand-painted, dimensional spiral cable-knit dresses clung to the body, their lines drawing the eye and flattering the figure. More
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RIGOROUS ABSTRACTION
Milan: Beginning with a parade of head-to-toe white ensembles, like an army of high-end aestheticians, Raf Simons’ Spring collection moved swiftly into the bold, clean prints he has popularized over the past few seasons. Paisley received the minimalist treatment this time, with curly graphic lines contrasted against crisp white or black. Later, pattern became more of an abstraction as the
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ARTISTIC ENDEAVOR
Milan: Tomas Maier loosened the reins on his own creativity this season, unleashing a proliferation of techniques that fascinated but never overwhelmed. Markedly more free-flowing and artistic than previous Bottega Veneta collections, Spring was a deep exploration of craft, but not the folky, cultural rip-offs so common lately. The craft here was in the sophisticated construction, abstract patchwork, pleats,
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SAY ALOHA
Milan: Blumarine is a label committed to ideas. Last season it was a singular obsession with the Mod 60s, and the spring before, animal prints. For S/S 12 the concept was 50s Hawaiian Luau, a theme carried out unrelentingly via vibrant floral prints, cropped, fitted sweaters paired with full skirts, floral plastic appliqués, raffia fringe trims and matched set
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SPORTY CHIC
Milan: Max Mara celebrated its 60th anniversary with a stellar presentation of sporty separates accurately described in the show notes as “pure, linear and athletic.” The brand skewed younger than usual with body conscious pieces such as cropped leggings, sleeveless jackets and hotpants. The palette of cream and pale gold with shots of turquoise was classic Max Mara. Multi-material
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A QUIET ROAR
Milan: Mariuccia Mandelli delved into her trusty bag of tricks for S/S 2012. The designer pulled out her circular cuts, bubble plissés, padded shoulders and leggings. Even the faithful Krizia tiger-head print made a re-apperance (the brand’s animal themed knits were bestsellers throughout the 1980s). Mandelli’s two inspirations for the collection — athleticism and the geisha — were
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