Cavalli summer Milan 2008/2009

Roberto Cavalli. Summer 2008/2009

Roberto Cavalli, Italy’s ‘king of bling”, swung his style barometer from strident and sexy to soft and subtle at Milan Fashion Week.

Roberto Cavalli: a sweet simplicity
In line with the current mood for fantasy and romanticism that is emerging at these designer previews for next spring/summer, Cavalli turned down the volume on his formally over-the-top fashion formula.
“I used to design for a woman who wanted to flaunt,” he said. “Now, it’s time for a new woman who is more pure, simple and innocent.”
This proclamation, of course, did not stop the flamboyant Florentine from recreating the gilded Hall of Mirrors at Versailles as a video backdrop to his show.
But there was a sweet simplicity in the white broderie anglaise and floral chiffon petticoat dresses, even if some were unbuttoned as if in a boudoir. Fringed suede skirts, vests and trousers were mixed with Marie Antoinette-inspired peasant girl looks in pastels and patchwork florals.
Pale, sequined shifts, generally devoid of jewellery, offered a delicate suggestion of razzle-dazzle. But there was not an animal print to be seen, no splits to the thigh and no plunging cleavage.
Instead, for evening, Cavalli offered long, fluid dresses in watercolour prints of lilies, orchids and peonies, softened with a flounce at the hem.
At Gucci, the designer Frida Giannini, now in her fifth season, went back to the fifties with a collection that took inspiration from American artists such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko and based her colour palette on the bubble-gum colours of rock ‘n’ roll.
Candy pink and sunflower yellow were the accents on graphic black and white shirts, decorated with big bows on the shoulder or a scattering of sequined flowers.
Mini-skirts, belled and folded like origami, were cinched with thick PVC and leather belts.
Ultra-short dresses in the same colours featured toga-like drapes in front, which concealed slouchy pockets, or a swinging panel from neck to knee at the back.
Black and white plaid shirts and low-slung, drainpipe jeans, cropped above the ankle and often teamed with black PVC and crocodile biker jackets, were pure Buddy Holly-meets-The Fonz, albeit the six-inch heeled bubble-gum pink and black patent lace-ups lifted the look into 2008.
Ballgowns retained the rock’n’roll edge, featuring huge skirts and tiny, folded bodices tethered with a belt-like strap and buckle.
Earlier, Giorgio Armani opened his younger, Emporio show, with a screening of the new video for his latest perfume, Diamonds, which features the singer Beyoncé recreating the Marilyn Monroe classic, “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” in a crystal-studded Armani slip-dress.

Paul Poiret!

Paul Poiret

“Poiret dethroned the primacy and destabilized the paradigm of Western fashion,” according to Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton, the curators of the recent exhibition of Poiret designs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Poiret is credited with liberating women from corsets but he also introduced many other trends which are still visible today in prêt-a-porter shows. He was also the first designer to combine perfume and interior design with his couture collections. There is seemingly no end to the influence of the great French designer on modern fashion.
Before Poiret started designing in the early twentieth century women were very much restricted by clothes created to promote the ‘hour-glass figure’. High-necks, prominent busts, tiny waists and flowing skirts were all the rage. Pretty, but bland pastels were the colors of the day. Whalebone corsets were often so tight that they caused women to faint and doctors were demanding an end to them. Suffragettes also hated the uncomfortable clothes which distorted women’s figures and restricted their movements.
Poiret put an end to this and began a revolution in fashion. His soft, loosely-fitting, more comfortable outfits didn’t require petticoats or corsets. Empire-line dresses with high-waists replaced the ‘hour-glass’ designs. Simple chemises hung from the shoulders disregarded the emphasis on the figure. Cocoon coats, some of which were made from a single piece of fabric, replaced closely-fitted short styles which showed off the bust.
Part of this startling change was caused by Poiret’s penchant for draping his designs rather than fitting them to the figure. This was influenced by the Greek tradition of draping clothes onto the figure. This is still done by many designers today and was very modern at a time when there was an emphasis on tailoring.
According to Andrew Bolton, “Poiret transformed fashion from the 19th century to the 20th century, especially with his draping. He created the modern form of today.”

This fundamental change in style laid the foundation for Poiret’s designs but his fashion revolution didn’t stop there. He introduced the brassiere, harem pants and his famous lampshade tunics. He was influenced by clothes from many different countries – Oriental, Greek and Russian, for example. Although his harem pants were not popular, it was audacious to introduce them when a women’s place was still considered to be at home.
Bright, vivid colors replaced pale pastels. Rich, luxurious fabrics, such as velvet and brocade were worn instead of silks and muslins. Poiret often combined materials, such as velvet and leather. He also liked a lot of ornamentation, such as embroidery, turbans and aigrettes – plumes of feathers on hats. Poiret’s designs were exotic and almost eccentric, but feminine with their rosettes, embroidery and brocades.
Although Poiret was such an innovative designer he could not be called a ‘feminist’ designer by any means. The hobble skirt that he introduced, which has been in and out of fashion ever since, restricted the movement of the legs although the lack of tight corsets made it easier for women to breathe. As he said: “It was in the name of Liberty that I proclaimed the fall of the corset and the adoption of the brassiere which, since then, has won the day. Yes, I freed the bust, but I shackled the legs.”
The couturier considered himself an artist first and foremost, but advertising, marketing and even a very modern form of networking played an important role in his business. His perfumes were named after dresses in his collection, for example. He collaborated with famous artists, such as Lepape, Ibibe, and Erte on fashion illustrations. He engaged the artist Duffy to design fabric prints.

Another clever marketing idea was his weekly magazine. Subscribers received a pair of his flesh-colored stockings and winners of his competitions won Poiret-designed dresses.
Unfortunately Poiret’s designs went out of fashion after the First World War when women had little time to indulge in luxury and wanted functional, easy-to-wear clothes. Chanel understood this and created sportswear, her famous suits, and the ‘little black dress’ for evening. There is a story that they met when Chanel was wearing black. “For whom do you mourn?” asked Poiret. “Why Monsieur, I mourn for you!” Chanel replied.
Probably the designer that Poiret has inspired most is John Galliano with his cocoon coats and luxurious materials. However, after the recent retrospective of Poiret designs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Poiret-influenced designs are very much in fashion again. Chemises, narrow dresses, embroidery and other Poiret features were seen at the latest collections.
After many years of neglect, fashion historians are realizing just how influential Poiret was. The designer Azzedine Alaa said that: “Next to Poiret, Coco Chanel looks like a little dressmaker.”

Comportamento de moda.

Até onde vcs acreditam que a moda possa influenciar no comportamento da sociedade?
Teria esta o poder de mudar a forma de se expressar, ser e agir e o principal se vestir?
Até que ponto vcs se sentem influenciados pela moda?
DÊ A SUA OPINIÃO.

Masha Kravtzova Comes Out Of Her Shell
The jagged, puffed silhouettes and draping in Masha Kravtzova's fall/winter 2008 collection may have felt a little out of sync. But in many ways it left me feeling cold and clammy. You know, the way you feel while diving for oysters, mussels, and clams.

Thats Creation!!! Vale á pena.....