Milan Fashion Week

The Fashion Statement: Italians Do It Better?

Milan is delivering the most exciting fashion weeks in years. Fashion critics have been giving rave reviews to Italian designers saying that, for the most part, the collections have been inspired.

One of the more subdued shows of the week, Giorgio Armani (pictured above), presented a spring/summer 2011 collection of entirely navy blue and black--not exactly the most spring/summery of colors. No matter, the fitted double breasted blazers, one-shouldered gowns and skirts over sheer leggings were stunning. Even more interesting: His models were turned out in turbans and veils.

Tags: aquilano.rimondi, chignon, dolce gabbana, etro, GorgioArmani, gucci, Milan fashion week, Missoni, prada, pucci, Versus

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Gucci's Web Watchers To Be Part Of The Runway Show In Milan

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Shopping

Gucci has been making a big online push lately. They are launching a new "digital flagship" store on Gucci.com on September 22 the same date of the Women's Spring Summer 2011 fashion show in Milan, Italy. As part of the launch, Gucci is holding a fashion "e-vent" that lets online watchers of the show participate in the show itself. Not only are they livestreaming the runway show but select Gucci watchers who are filming themselves on webcam will be broadcast at the show.

To get you chance RSVP to the catwalk invite on GucciConnect.com. In order to get your face in the show you have to download the Gucci Connect E-vent Facebook App which has virtual guests creating groups and competing for VIP seating at the e-vent on gucciconnect.com. The winning VIP group will be announced on September 20th and will have their webcams projected at the show. Gucci e-ticket holders can sign into gucciconnect.com on September 22nd for the E-vent and share their webcam or photo with other virtual guests. Live streaming coverage will offer four different camera angles and the virtual guests can connect through a live guest list, live chat, Facebook Connect and Twitter. It's the next best thing to being there and with no waiting in line.

[via Grazia Daily]

Tags: gucci connect, gucciconnect, LiveStreaming, LiveStreamingFashionShows, milan fashion week

The Fashion Statement: Dream Hommes

by Kristin Young (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Men's Style, The Fashion Statement

Menswear changes at a snail's pace. New cuts are generally so imperceptible year in and year out that they usually sneak up on the average American male. One day a gentleman dons his everyday business suit shocked to discover that the sleeves are too long, shoulders too wide and the whole kit and caboodle is woefully out of date.

So it's news that the Spring '11 menswear shows, that ended in Milan on Tuesday, are really shaking things up, particularly when it comes to color. That's a gutsy move in a challenging global economy where sales are down and designers want play it safe (tie sales have been pitiful recently). But the wealthy are still wealthy and they don't need anything, so newness is what they're after, according to menswear analysts.

Giorgio Armani (pictured above) delivered splashed citrus yellow and sky blue everywhere-on belts, ties, scarves and shirts. Marc Jacobs presented subtle silhouette changes which he zipped up by hints of electric blue and fuchsia. Gucci designer Frida Giannini dreamed of young guys jetting between Rome and Marrakesh. What would these bourgeois gentilhommes wear? Why, suede shorts, Berber jewelry and velvet horse bit loafers, of course.

Tags: dolce and gabbana, dsquared2, Ermenegildo Zegna, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, menswear spring 2010, milan fashion week, moschino

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Matthew Williamson To Create Handbags For Bulgari

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags

Bulgari has designed ultra-pricey handbags for a while but they haven't had an official designer at the helm. Vogue UK reports that the Italian jewelry brand has tapped British fashion designer Matthew Williamson to design a handbag collection for spring/summer 2011. The capsule collection will be shown during Milan Fashion Week in September. Williamson is known for his exuberant sense of color which eventually led to his stint as creative director at Pucci. In a press release Bulgari's CEO Francesco Trapani commented: "We chose Matthew Williamson for the great sense of color and design he brings to his work which resonates with our brand's rich history".

Tags: bulgari, bvlgari, handbags, matthew williamson, milan fashion week

The Fashion Statement: For Sex or Abstinence?

by Kristin Young (RSS feed) —

Filed under: The Fashion Statement

Designers are in the midst of a heated argument at Milan fashion week-whether one should dress for sex or dress for abstinence in a global recession. Seems a fitting debate in a country where the famously womanizing Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Pope Benedict XVI are its two most powerful leaders

On the celibate team sits Miuccia Prada, who practices restraint on a regular basis (well, by Italian standards). She further reigned in her collection (well, by Prada standards) to include charcoal knee-length walking shorts, Fifties-style swimwear and demure day dresses. The ever quirky Marni showed knee-length shorts and paired them with thick-strapped shoes with thick soles worn with beige ankle socks (I can hear my boyfriend's protests now). Roberto Cavalli went AWOL from his I'm-too-sexy position in the marketplace, putting out modest peasant dresses with hems stopping mid-calf.

Then again, sex sells. Versace stayed true to form. Sex, sex and more sex with Donatella's brand of cigarettes afterward, thank you. Slits cut up to there. Necklines cut down to there. Cut-outs revealing erogenous zones. Towering stilettos. Short, short, short. (Definitely more my boyfriend's speed, I'm guessing.)

Gallery: The Fashion Statement, 10/01/09

Tags: Bottega Veneta, BottegaVeneta, Emporio Armani, EmporioArmani, Ferragamo, Gucci, Jil Sander, JilSander, Marni, Milan Fashion Week, MilanFashionWeek, Prada, Roberto Cavalli, RobertoCavalli, Versace

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Vivienne Westwood And The Bright Yellow Bentley

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

For fashion designer Vivienne Westwood no sedate silver Bentley will do. Bentley has announced that for Milan Fashion Week, they have teamed up with the goddess of punk to show off a screaming yellow 1992 Bentley Continental convertible in front of the Palazzo Reale toe celebrate a retrospective of her decades of avant-garde fashion. Westwood will also the keys to a Bentley Continental Flying Spur for use in Milan and a ride in the Bentley Continental GTC.

Source

Tags: bentley, milan fashion week, vivienne westwood, VivienneWestwood