Pre-Fall 2013.. Giorgio Armani .. Bottega Veneta

To say that Giorgio Armani goes his own way, when it comes to his business, would be a gross understatement of facts. To say that Mr. Armani follows no trends and can be somewhat quirky when it comes to his collections, would also be a bit of understatement, but what is abundantly clear is that Giorgio Armani might be the Italian Ralph Lauren. Please think about this and digest the words.

 

Mr. Armani is a master of reconfiguring and reimagining his fashion vocabulary and DNA each and every season. That is to say he has his own particular way of expressing his sentiments about each season without regard to the rest of the flock; is this sounding like one of America’s own homegrown talent? He massages his iconography to suit his seasonal needs.

 

Pre-Fall 2014 offers no real surprises except that the consistency of the collection is staggering and yet he still manages to toss a few curve balls that result in a broadening of the Armani perception of fashion and his view on what constitutes good taste. The collection is slick, clean, chic, modern, a bit more  casual/relaxed than usual and yet so so Armani and that’s about all that one can ask for. No doubt about it, this is more for his ladies and maybe even a reason to gain a larger footprint in the world of fashion retailing as well as new clientele who want less gimmicks and more true timeless and perfectly pitched fashion.

 

Then there is Tomas Maier for Bottega Veneta with who I have a sort of love hate thing going on; there are seasons that I am crazy about the clothes and then there these where I couldn’t even begin to try and figure out what he has  done. This Pre-Fall is collection is definitely leaning on the love side mainly because his theme or inspirations didn’t overpower the clothes. Simply said, there are seasons where he is too much of a “blah blah blah” designer and not enough of a merchant oriented designer.

 

What is noticeable here is that Mr. Maier is a man who knows his way around a dress as well as well as any architect knows his way around a skyscraper. It is interesting that there are pieces that might be a bit “over built” but it doesn’t take away from the slick lines and beautifully made collection. Bottega Veneta is a brand steeped in the legacy of workmanship and Mr., Maier has found a way to continually integrate that legacy into the fashion/apparel segments of the brand. He is technician, innovator and almost mad scientist when it comes to fabrications and applications.

 

One would be an idiot to ignore the amazing shoe of the season as it will no doubt grace the feet of so many on a worldwide stage and the fact that the handbags are fabulous certainly will not hurt the bottom line. Speaking of bottom lines, there is plenty here to satisfy the artisan slant or the cosmopolitan slant of his clientele which all translates to money in the bank for the brand. As its long forgotten logo phrase was “when your own initials are enough” these are the clothes that need nothing more than a slightly esoteric and certainly self-confident woman