As per usual, from New York collections one can expect pragmatic sportswear(the kind that doesn’t often reinvent the wheel, maybe just spins it), from London one can expect out-of-this-world, well executed propositions and from Milan; riotous colors, bold adornments and brilliant uses of technological advancements in fabrications.
And with that being said, Milanese designers did not disappoint.
We saw a large variety of finessed, retro-inspired options full of energy, enticing plays on print and a generous dose of giddy sex appeal.
Here’s a look at our favorite outings from the season in Milan.
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Jil Sander (and above)
Looking back at the elusive and yet wondrous world of couture’s past without a retro sense of vision has propelled Raf Simon’s status at Jil Sander as a mega designer, the kind that people wait with baited breath to see what’s coming up next from. Call it his third installment on his trek through couture’s storied history if you will, with Spring signifying a culmination of all things haute met with the clarity and conciseness one comes to expect from the house that Jil built.
Many thoughts come to mind when surveying his marvelous ode to glamour girls of the past including Babe Paley, nurses from era’s past, refined American sportswear and of course Jil Sander at her best.
From Picasso came a graphic element for knitwear, from Babe came a confident sense of rigorous elegance and from Jil, the opening series of almost clinical white dresses, unadorned yet decorative with their pleats and trompe l’oiel collars. All in all, it was another remarkable, winning accomplishment and was full of enviable, covetable pieces through and through, especially the closing white gowns, they would look just as divine on a young bride as they would on a stately woman tending to her garden. This was real fashion at it’s very best.
Prada
You never know what to expect from Miuccia Prada, one season it could be a hearkening back to old-school starlet glamour, the next a rude sci-fi awakening full of notions once thought of as ugly or even crass, but somehow at the end of it all, her magical ways can make the banal feel unexpected, original, and even perverse. And that mysterious vision almost always produces a strong, on-the-mark collection, just as it did here for Spring 2012.
Taking a cue from La Dolce Vita and the average Italian man’s two loves; women & cars, the collection worked 50’s and 60’s silhouettes and adornments into saucy pin-up worthy swimsuits, textured floral barracuda jackets and dresses printed with cartoon cars that looked like they were lifted from The Jetsons along with a myriad of vintage inspired seperates including a selection of tube tops and skirts.
Even more playful and never-the-less decadent were the ferocious car themed bags and shoes and if all of that sounds like a bit too much, there were plenty of smart pleated options that grounded the collection and it’s fiery femininity.
D & G
For the contemporary line’s last collection(D&G will soon be fused together with Dolce & Gabbana’s mainline), a riotous mad hatter’s mix of scarf prints mixed with street smart denim and the season’s ubiquitous straight cuffed leg pant made for a playful and 100% completely covetable and wearable outing full of energy.
While the ubiquity of using scarf prints is akin to a floral pattern and frankly nothing new, here it felt fresh thanks to a steady eye on adapting the seasons silhouettes and trends with this chosen motif, and boy, did it work!
Moschino
Amidst all of the major trends we’ve been seeing from heavy prints in electrified colors to plays on sensuality, what made Moschino stand out and feel so original was a very savvy look back at the house’s roots.
Re-working it’s founders infamous matador jacket into a myriad of looks along with a treasure trove of jewelry and accessories made this outing a sure-fire, upbeat winner which makes us think, sometimes you don’t have to go too far out when you’ve got a solid foundation based on ingenious, provocative design. -Naveed Hussain