My Gucci adventure started on Wednesday with the F/W 2012 show in Milan. Just one word. Amazing! Frida Giannini created a dark glamour, opulent looks that were sensual and sophisticated at once, recalling the Victorian era mixed with a certain vampire allure. She even used masculine accents such as oversized shoulders and military-style coats and capes. Her very dark vision might be a welcome change after all the vibrant colour-blocking of the last seasons.
„This is modern-day romanticism. A dramatic sensuality, a dark glamour. With subtle tones of provocative intellect.“
– Frida Giannini
The materials were rich. Opulent brocade, devoré velvet and floral prints on jacquard fabrics plus beautiful 3-D embroideries on the long flowing evening gowns. Exotic animal prints on silk looked great on the runway. My favourite were the pieces that were made completely out of beautiful shimmering dark green feathers.
Colours are dark, black paired with green in different shades, plum tones and burgundy.
The accessories had a lot of equestrian references. The new Stirrup bag, roomy as well as classy, has a revisited metallic spur closure (mark it on your F/W 2012 wish list, a season’s must).
Footwear is either flat (those crocodile boots, OMG!) and masculine or slipper-like with a sharp high heel.
I am a big Gucci fan and this collection has just made me love it even a little bit more…
LoL, Sandra
Photos: Courtesy of Gucci
Just when you finished off your wardrobe for this winter and have started thinking about next summer, I am challenging you once more with something very beautiful for next year’s fall.
Who said following fashion was an easy task?!
This Tuesday was a very snowy day in Paris but the guests who enjoyed the atmosphere in the Chanel Haute Couture salons were transported to another era, time and place. Karl Lagerfeld was inspired for his pre-fall 2011 collection by Byzantium, one of Coco Chanel’s major inspirations when she was the first to launch a line of costume jewelry in the 1920s.
The Paris–Byzance Métiers d’art show broadcasted Chanel’s specialist craftsmen that the French house has gathered under its umbrella: Desrues the costume jeweler, Lemarié the feather specialist, Lesage the embroiderer, Massaro the shoe-maker, Michel the milliner, Goossens the goldsmith and Guillet the floral accessory specialist.
In a decor reminding of an Ottomanesque chill-out room with 400 metres of squined fabric covering the walls, Lagerfeld revisited the bold colors and antique golds. Byzance and its splendor embellished every look from belts adorned with square glass beads to gold running through burn-out tweed and embroidered silks.
The make-up was kept in the same color family with one star product: The cream palette is combining five different golds and is said to be limited to only 1500 pieces.
This collection is for the modern Theodora empresses who might be Chanel’s clientele of today. Celebrating Chanel’s strong heritage is surely a smart move and one key to remaining a powerhouse in the decades to come, especially with the opening of a second Chanel boutique in Istanbul.
LoL, Sandra
Photos: Courtesy of Chanel
