Ralph Lauren fall 2022

He just proves my point ... you know when I constantly harp on signatures and that bells and whistles don’t make you a great designer. Then again, this man has probably one of the best styling teams in the business who are of one like mind and that is THE BRAND!

Some will yawn and some will dismiss, and I say well, how long do you think these designers of the moment will survive in this business. Ralph has unquestionably withstood the test of time and successfully invaded so many contiguous branches of fashion and he’s not the flavor of the month nor does he receive glowing reviews every season for any of it and yet the collection is immediately recognizable on an international scale.

So how many Instagram famous so-called designers can boast a public company that THEY started and has sustained itself for over half a century... most of them will quickly be forgotten when the next flavor of the month appears and will leave no discernible mark that they ever were here!

For some reason this collection made me think of the Clothilde days and that’s certainly not a bad thing at all. It’s slick, its ageless, it’s classic, its timeless and it’s slick or it’s not ... that’s up to you. Yawn if you will, listen to the clap trap that designers offer as justification for what they show or just watch how it’s done and what you get when it’s done correctly!

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Dries Van Noten fall 2022 women’s

I am not a dyed in the wool Dries fan but I sure as shit know when he is on fire and with this collection, he is a 3 alarmer!

Let it be known I am not a fan of greasy haired models and ghoulish makeup but to my credit I can block that out when I’m looking at FABULOUS clothes! Dries gives you a reason to own another puffer or trench and even riffs on that famous Charles James satin jacket more than once. As most of you know I am a big fan of animal prints and so come one come all they are all here and from retail reports women of all ages still find them irresistible.

There is soft, there is rigid, there are prints there is solid, there is color there is black. Dries delivers on all counts. The statement is bold and that goes for that incredible rhinestone torsade that immediately caught my attention when watching the film. This is a made in the shade collection for all Dries lovers and sure to attract new ones as well as these clothes have no age.

I’m not gonna pick it apart but as you can see the collection runs every gamut from a to z on every possible possibility. He is right on the money actually designing a collection at a time when gimmickry and bad fashion seem to be taking over and now here, he is proving that real fashion does exist by actually not giving into any trend or gimmick!

I urge you to watch the short film of this collection!

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Saint Laurent fall 2022 women’s

Vaccarello has done what is rarely if ever seen on the runways these days and that is .... HE SHOWED THE WORLD THE DNA of the brand that employs him! This is one of the most well put together, cohesive, slick, chic, soigné, urbane, sleek and razor-sharp collections to have come down a runway in what seems to be eons. This was unquestionably an homage to the master that worked perfectly without looking retro or directly copied from the vast YSL archive. Vaccarello has truly come together with his brand here and shown the fashion world that it is indeed impossible to adhere to an eponymous designer’s vocabulary without looking like retreads or been there done that. This was a watershed collection of acumen!

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If timing is everything, then this was the time that a collection such as this stands on its own and stands out as a triumph amidst all the dross that we have seen in the past few weeks. This show was brilliant exercise in its cohesion as well as massaging the nuances of Yves that he used season after season on the runway. The sunglasses, the Nancy Cunard bracelets stacks and the all over slick sharp, luxe for this season was just stand out. Looking at past collections of Rive Gauche, there was always a common thread woven through each collection and that practice was demonstrated here in spades. These are clothes that are timeless, classic yet of the times and perfectly in harmony with the brand.

                                               

                                           

If there is anything, and you know I have to find something, that I would have wished for here it would have been some color since Yves was a master colorist, a hit of leopard for obvious reasons and maybe a tad of embroidery or prints. That being said none of MY issues takes away from the fact that Vaccarello mined the archive and came out with a stellar collection worthy of the brand and its founder and shows him off as being pitch perfect in tune with the heritage of the house.

Giorgio Armani fall women’s 2022

Even Mr. Armani has been bitten by the trend bug, BUT only I a very minor way, sort of like dipping one toe into it. This was not your run of the mill Armani runway cavalcade of suits, coats and jackets of every kind; this was a collection of softer yet closer to the body silhouettes that still speak to the DNA of the brand but perhaps one might say in a different dialect! As a colleague said to me  .. he stepped out of his comfort zone a bit in this collection... and with few to no missteps.

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Indeed, the color to own is rich and luxurious purple in assorted intensities and varying shades of grey.  It is not often that Armani collections can be described as an itemy  but  this season his “lower halves” are rarely that important to the total look. Most of pants are full/relaxed as are the dresses. Wisely, he paid only obligatory attention to standard evening wear keeping it to a minimum but here the pants became the focus. I think I’d be safe to say that any dyed in the wool Armani client can have what’s new and mix it with her Armani of times gone by and no one would be the wiser.

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As a whole it is an extremely nuanced collection that shows us why he is   a master tailor with a bit more contemporary fare than usually his wont. I could never say I hated but I sure did like it ... not love but like... a lot .... especially given what his colleagues have put forth this season. He, as usual stands alone in his dedication and loyalty to the brand’s DNA no matter its permutation.

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One last thing is that the viewer needs to take note that even the accessories have been dialed down!

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Versace women’s fall 2022

Where to start? Yes, there is tailoring, yes, there is color, and then it all just goes awry into forced sexiness. Skintight tube skirts and dresses, that “boned” midriff detail and that U shaped vest or whatever it is that seems to appear far too many times in far too many iterations. Lest I forget those club foot stilettos, the ghoulish makeup and the barely their lengths of so many pieces.

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Looking at these images several times I came realize that the underpinnings killed many of the outfits as well as the proportions of so many more. No need for more puffers, no need of oversized boyfriend jackets/coats, no need for endless latex leggings on so many but what is needed is an editor’s pencil and more adherence to brand’s original DNA and not the DNA forged by La Signora; the difference being hers is blatant bordering on tasteless while Gianni’s was seductive and polished.

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Sad that there are still tee shirts with verbiage on them STILL, sad that there are entire logo pieces STILL and sadder not to realize that now was the time to dial it down a notch or two as things have changed, people have changed and life has changed but apparently not chez Versace. Apparently, streetwear lives on at via Gesu! She managed to import so many of the ill-conceived looks of London and New York and brought them the Milan runway.

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Just have a look at the way she looks and suddenly there appears the answers to many if not all of my questions!

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Prada fall 2022

 Yawn! Talk about repetitious! Talk about unexciting... but good for them they will sell a jillion of those wife beaters and I’m sure more than their share of handbags and shoes... well the clothes... not so much. 

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Take away those web like paneled/banded skirts and dresses and you’re left with leather that looked thick and cheap, hairy or feathered armband coats, Annie Hall boyfriend blazers, some LBDs that look like they may have been made from bonded fabrics or of odd proportions and of course fingertip sleeved and massaged bombers! God bless bombers, they are the supposed fashion pieces ... AGAIN! Lest I forget the ode to Dior and the new look suit which looked like they weighed 50 pounds!

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I don’t even want to read what the so-called pundits or the designers will have to say but I would like to say... I mean a film that is 40 minutes long and slightly more than half of it is people posing in their Prada as they arrive ... HUBRIS!!!! You know so many if not all of them were given those pieces and it is a freakin fashion show not a Hollywood premiere.

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Credit where credit is due is that the models were perfectly coiffed and made up, it’s just too bad that the clothes didn’t live up to the look of the models

Cividini resort 2021

For over 30 years Cividini has produced and traded on their superb craftmanship as purveyors of fine cashmere. This season, what struck me is that there is a minimalism to the clothes and yet there is something very urbane, slick and chic about them. These are simple shapes for women of a certain station in their lives.

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No question they are somewhat basic but still possess enough fashion to beckon their clients to continue buying their product. They are classic without being boring with proportions, nuance and looks that vary throughout. The palette is simple with just a few dashes of paprika, a shot of lilac, the shapes are easy, not sloppy and once again the clothes are ageless and in tune with the times, we are living in.

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I repeat myself in saying that these are not the clothes that will garner pages of editorial or gushing reviews but they are the clothes that women will want to wear and own and that is a rarity these days.

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NYFW SPRING 2020

Just in case you were wondering if I have been paying attention to the start of the fashion caravan for Spring 2020… here’s the proof that yes I have been!

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Moons ago, the premise for New York being the first to show was that WWD, when it was a bible of fashion, constantly accused the NY designers of copying or being a tad overly inspired by what had just transpired overseas and so NYC after much bithcing and moaning became the kick off point for each season… mind you that’s before there were any formal showings of pre collections and when the participants of so called market was reserved for the top tier of fashion. 

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Fast forward or not so fast, but sadly this is how we kicked off the season… no one can deny the creativity, but hell it is either been there done that or WTF are you gonna do with that? 

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Fashion is in free fall and one can only suppose that much of what we will see will never see the light of day let alone a rail in store so let the images speak for themselves.

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You can be the judge and jury of how NYC premieres Spring 2020!

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