C.A.2 is a creative project coming from the collaboration of two young designers who in life are separated by seven hours of time lag: Catia di Carlo, momentarily living in China and Andrea Bonfini, living in Italy. A long distance project which made them win the international fashion design competition Who’s Next 2011 in Paris, where they showcased their first collection of leather accessories during the ‘Premiere Classe’ tradeshow.
What I mean by the New Black is not the color trends of the Spring Summer 2012 but a new way of wearing black. For sure Audrey Hepburn is a classic and a Hervé Léger goes a long way in our wardrobes! However the new black for the past two seasons have been in a paradox between structured and neo-gothic or romantic, Interview with the Vampire like. Comme Des Garcons and Chanel are really good two examples for these trends. Comme Des Garcons for structured leather and bonnets was a hit. And Chanel, I was absolutely stunned by the lace one pieces combined with grey tweed capes.
Totally a reference to the well known movie. How does this trend follow up in the Spring Summer 2012? Prints, lace, knits, birds, cats (not pretty kittens but Givenchy-like pumas jaguars) and chiffon combined and mixed in one pot. By now everyone around the world knows my obsession of Alexander McQueen and Sarah Burton has outdone herself again for the brand of the beloved designer. Leather, lace, chiffon combinations and corsets. While these make the feeling of the collection a little dark, a little bit of fetish the lace face covers I think are controversial to its purpose. Consider them as a veil and the feel of the whole collections rather turns around to become more Valentino-esque.
For those who like having the labels on models and going for a designer based shopping spree Angelos Frentzos might be the answer. Even the AW11 collection carries a Comme Des Garcons inspiration with the name resembling the looks; “Cracked Blackbirds”. After studying at the Athens School of Fine Arts and Printing he specialized as a print designer for textile companies. He teamed up with Sophia Kokosalaki and created a conceptual experimental collection based on the moods of the new age music. He was named the Creative Director of Alma, the Italian fashion house after his second degree in CSM. His Spring Summer 2012 collection ‘Strangeway Sunpetals’ have an obvious concept on the prints. First resembling the AW11 Givenchy, looking closer at the shapes over white and over black tells us exactly how to have the new black in the SS wardrobe.
Definitely have prints, definitely have chiffon, have them oversize, have them in silk, knit even go for leather like McQ or florals of Dries Van Noten. Go romantic and go gothic; flowers, animals and nature for all.
Coinonia’s latest collection for Autumn Winter 2012 captures the essence of this relaxed state. They explain this state as; ” A moment when something gets suddenly released from a certain tension or balance. Everything normally maintains its equilibrium with its certain tension – sometimes being tensioned too much. Even so a moment could arrive when it loses its tension or its own physical balance. No matter what kind of stimulant it is, this causes a movement, a shift from static into dynamic even for a very short period of time or in a smaller scale.”
Leather and chiffon meets the summer wardrobes by Gemma Slack’s newest collection. Chiffon, perhaps yes but leather in summer sounds a little out of the box for me. Nevertheless we often saw leather in the runway this season. The transparency of the textile combined with diverse cut leather shows the distinction of the no-season trend that is in favor for the past couple of years. I love Gemma Slack, though. Her designs are a good combination of good and bad. Good represented by the soft pink tones, oranges and beige at sub-tones and bad with cutting edge leather jackets skirts.
Among the many things I saw at Tranoi in Paris, there were two bag manufacturers that I loved… and both of them were Italian!
Massimo Palomba is a small brand of handmade leather bags based in Sestri Levante (Genova). He explained to me that to make these incredibly intricate bags he had started from the study of the weaving of the straw used to make Thonet chairs (…)
The summer has began. At least for the ones who work in the fashion business. I was at shoots all weekend holding a dozen of the latest designs of the top designers and the upcoming ones. I got teary eyed with a Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen design and of course -now a classic- a Balmain jacket. Besides falling in love with gorgeous dresses and with many, -many- shoes I had reached my limit for sure. I felt like I was tied to the chair with someone torturing me, knowing I wouldn’t be able to see them again until they hit the stores in a couple of months.
We recycle plastic, paper, glass even animal waste nowadays. However, recycling today is replaced by the organic movement on Martha’s list of make-it-yourself. But it can not be denied that we are moving towards a more nature based life, relating to the core of things.
AB A Brand Apart accessories
Trussardi 1911 celebrates the canine world and its myriad breeds
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