Gucci - #MFW Spring 2017

"We are in a simulacrum of a '70s nightclub or maybe it's a high-class pick-up joint. It feels like being in a movie set. But something is not right. "You know when you are in love, in a nightclub, but you are not in the right place, the person is not there?" said Alessandro Michele, in a backstage preview, minutes before his strangely solemn Gucci creatures set their gigantically platformed feet on the plush pink runway. There were fairy-tale chiffon dresses tipped in zigzag sparkle. Eighties Ungaro - meets - New Wave cocktailwear in taffeta that was frilled, floral ruched, and straight out of the Ivana Trump era. Fragile dresses, deliberately aged, which looked as if they were relics of the Depression. Either way, what they were wearing was of near haute couture level, from the hats through the embroideries, down to the gilded, rose-strewn insoles." - vogue.com

Fendi - #MFW Spring 2017

"Fresh off the tremendous success of this summer's Fendi couture show in Rome the pair, Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi, came back to Milan with another quirkily beautiful ready-to-wear collection. Its makings sound like an unlikely mix: utilitarian striped and sporty knitted sock booties on the one hand, grand baroque brocades and lingerie silks on the other. But it was all deftly tied together with a result that came through as calm and curiously creative at the same time. His way of tossing a salad of references and materials is always aimed at producing an unforeseen combination whose novelty is relevant to modern tastes. That was true again this time, as Lagerfeld ribbon-tied aprons of elaborate gilded fabric over gathered pants; applied leather flower embroidery onto a khaki jacket and a trenchcoat; and segued from a take on this season's sheer floral-print dress to apricot '20s-style silk lingerie-like pieces with cut-out butterflies on their bodices. Among all this there were inimitably Lagerfeldian organza blouses with scalloped edges running around the shoulders and sleeves - the sort of thing he has been designing his entire career, reprised with spot-on timing to catch the current exaggerated-sleeve silhouette." - vogue.com

Emilio Pucci - #MFW Spring 2017

"For Spring, Massimo Giorgetti, did a deep dive into the archive. The prints he returned with were more or less recognizable as Pucci. In an effort to modernize them, he supersized one and abstracted another. A graphic squiggle was closest of the three to the Pucci original, and probably the best. Icons become icons for a reason. Giorgetti would rather play down the famous prints. Fair enough. The other house signature is color, and this he played up. The show invites featured swatches of jersey in shades lifted directly from the Pucci records, a light turquoise, along with acid yellow, coral red, and lilac. He used the bright jersey for softly draped, languid dresses, some layered over bodysuits in contrasting colors. The brights reappeared on color-blocked items like a bodysuit worn with a matching cardigan or an oversize sports jersey and tiny miniskirt combo. These had a sportif vibe, more in keeping with what he does at his street style MSGM label. Three seasons in, Giorgetti is still sussing out what his unique Pucci signatures are. But in a fashion moment loaded with color, this collection will probably find an audience." - vogue.com

 

Dolce & Gabbana - #MFW Spring 2017

"With Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce's Spring collection, they brought in 20 "millennials." They also put on an energetic, democratic kids' performance - street dancers, up from Naples, who occupied the runway, in their own clothes with their wild fusion of hip-hop and the ancient bloodline heritage of the Neapolitan tarantella. What the young, flown-in audience saw on the runway - from the light-up heels to the multiple varieties of Alice-band headdresses - was calculated, of course, to connect with trophy-hunting kids on a budget. Also for them, the D&G logo t-shirts, an ironic reappropriation of the market-stall fakes. Pretty cleaver move, in the context of the cultural soup Vetements and others are swimming in. Nevertheless, this was a traditional show. After the real dancers, came the models, walking single file, not much smiling. What they wore demonstrated all of the values of this Italianate house, the printed sundresses, and the incredible embellishment of the sequined, toy soldier glittering military jackets." - vogue.com

Alberta Ferretti - #MFW Spring 2017

"The feminine-masculine story is as old as fashion itself, but it isn't one Ferretti has tended to riff on during her long career. She's the kind of designer who gets called on during awards season. While she didn't ignore those here, her new collection had a certain edge. The surprise was Ferretti's embrace of tailoring, not groundbreaking ideas, but nonetheless modern ways to balance her signature frills. In contrast, the multicolored floral thread embroidery on a different series of dresses looked a touch unprdictable, old even; it's what you expect of Ferretti. But overall she was after something more unpredictable. It's never too late to try rewriting your playbook." - vogue.com