Much has been said this week about Prada’s lady luxe fall 2008/09 collection at Milan fashion week. After last season’s “Trembling Blossoms”, Miuccia Prada takes the Italian brand into a world where it’s all about the women and her sexuality.

Some may call her lace dresses and semi sheer skirts racy, it’s just a runway look that will never we seen as a off the runway outfit. Who actually takes a runway look and wears it in their everyday lives? Maybe about 1% of the fashion pack, and that’s because it’s being photographed for the pages of a magazine or you’re at the designer sponsored event.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kate Gilbert reports from London Fashion Week

A bit like Marmite, you either love or hate Gareth Pugh. Recently working at a magazine that will remain nameless, I overheard as the Fashion Editor scoffed at the ‘freak show’ that was Gareth Pugh, whilst simultaneously throwing her hard to come by ticket in the bin. ‘Why would anyone chose to watch such trash?!’ she proclaimed before then advising her pregnant colleague not to attend for fear of upsetting her unborn child. All I could think was, ‘keep your knickers on love, its only fashion, not Night of the Living Dead‘. Some people can be so melodramatic.

For me, Pugh seemed to get ever tamer this season, particularly when you take into consideration that many London collections have gone for a darker, horror-film inspired look, as seen at Giles and Luella. As we noted last season with Pugh, there is only so long collections can be seen as art and as a spectator sport before someone has to cough up the cash and actually wear them. If you take away the hype, the scary make-up and hair, and the questionable head wear, what you end up with is a really wearable collection contained in some great shapes and materials.

This season, Pugh seemed to take inspiration from the flying monkeys in Wizard of Oz as dresses, coats and sleeves made of black goat hair came down the catwalk on warrior women. PVC and leather mini dresses made out of small geometric shapes made some really fantastic structures that would look fabulous on any high fashion party girl (enter Kylie Minogue, long time fan of Pugh, who brings that touch of girly innocence and sex to his dresses). Also, some great coats, including a cream elfin hood number and a large down-filled one, held together at jaunty angles. Saftey pins and zips were aplenty and broad shoulders were a feature, seen at other collections such as Jens Laugesen.

Read the rest of this entry »

I love how Frida Giannini has taken Gucci back to the 1950s, where the vision was monochromatic with splashes of golden yellow and bubblegum pink. The skirts were full, the jackets were fitted and tough, but everything was cinched in at the waist. Taking inspiration from American artists like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, the spring summer 2008 Gucci collection took my breath away.

Prints were bold and carefully placed to emphasize the beauty in the female form, whether to emphasize the waist with a black patent leather belt, swirls and stripes to create the desired effect. Checks and plaids took over when the rougher looks came on the runway in the form of tough fitted jackets, skinny pants and loose tops. The taffeta evening gowns were sweeping and cinched at the waist with beautiful floral prints splashed across them. Such a fun and beautiful collection. Oh Gucci, how I dream of thee.

Burberry Prorsum’s spring summer 2008 collection was channeling the rock chick vibe. So who better to kick off the show than mancunian model of the moment, Agyness Deyn. “She’s a luxury warrior. It’s a bit more rock,” Burberry’s Christopher Bailey said of the show’s inspiration. “I’ve been listening to a lot of Deep Purple and Iron Maiden.”

Combining Burberry’s signature trench coats cinched at the waist with studded belts, layered with form fitting pencil skirts, dresses and shirts, the coloured evolved from bold metallic colours to bright turquoise and pink. Pieces were embellished with studs and medallions, with strong body con silhouettes. The show finished with a handful off ruched chiffon and fluffy cocktail dresses and skirts giving the collection a little texture beyond the hard and fierce look. Looks like Burberry is going sexy for spring.

Kate did just a fabulous job covering London Fashion Week last week I almost forgot that Milan Fashion Week started on Saturday. I’ve missed so many shows already, so bare with me while I try to catch up. Who better to kick off Milan Fashion Week spring summer 2008 with than Giorgio Armani. His spring 2008 collection took us from his recent dazzling Armani Prive couture display, to the Middle East.

The collection was very fluid, filled with Arabian style music, jewels, and knotted detail accents. Always the romantic, Armani’s collection featured interesting harem style draped pants with an amazing array of lust worthy tops in lovely fitted shapes, all draped, nipped or tucks to tucked and embellished with dusts of glitter or a sprinkle of sparkle. In a colour palette of neutral tones mixed with black and a smooth green, worked fabulously with the plunging necklines, flowing sheer gowns and sparkling evening looks. There was no doubting the collection was beautiful. It’s just what we’ve come to expect from the every consistently amazing Giorgio Armani.

I love well produced videos straight from Fashion Week, it makes the whole fashion show thing seem so sleek and sophisticated that you wished you were there. Though when you are there it’s usually crazy with the sheer amount of people in attendance.

Anyway I found this clip on YouTube, where the UK Telegraphs Fashion Director, Hilary Alexander, goes backstage at Daks by Giles Deacon to chat with the man himself about his collection, and then dashes off to chat to Gisele Bundchen backstage at Dolce & Gabbanna who was about to walk down her first catwalk in 5 years. The bonus is the clips of the actual Dolce & Gabbanna show with the shimmering dresses tailored to drape and tuck around a woman’s curves.

Trust those Dolce & Gabbana boys, they really know how to put on a show.

Every models were sent down the runway in prints, mainly leopard prints, to the rocking song Disco Inferno. In their D&G winter 2007 collection models were dressed in leopard print chiffon dresses with full sleeves and pussy-bow necklines. Dotted throughout the collection were tuxedo suits, finished off with skinny pants and long black cigarette holders (they mustn’t have known about the whole uproar in Australia over Beyonce’s concert promotional poster).

The whole collection was a mix of disco and a 1940s siren.

Read the rest of this entry »

Little has been seen of Gisele since the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, then again there were the rumours of her dating that American Footballer. What’s his name.

Even with the Autumn/Winter catwalk season in full force Miss Gisele Bundchen hasn’t been spotted. But fans of the Brazilian supermodel can rest assured that Gisele will walk a runway this season.

According to The Daily:

IMG Models today confirmed that Gisele Bündchen will walk just one runway during Milan Fashion Week: the Dolce & Gabbana show next Thursday. “She has a fragrance with Dolce and is doing their show exclusively in Milan next week,” the spokeswoman said. That fragrance would be The One, which launched last fall in Europe and whose U.S. debut, originally slated for last month, has now been pushed back to this summer.

It’s good to see Gisele supporting Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana as much as they support her. She is often seen in many of their advertising campaigns.

The One is the first fragrance launched by Dolce & Gabbana since they signed a licensing deal with Proctor & Gamble Prestige Products in December 2005.