Alexander McQueen pre-fall 2016

There has to be at least one thoroughbred in a stable and here the stable that is Kering possesses a Triple Crown winner. Sarah Burton just gets it! She delivers collections on a somewhat consistent basis that not only honor the brand’s founder but expand the scope and fashion quotient of the label itself.

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 Sarah Burton leaves the Gucci, Pucci boys and the like in the dust. Oh yeah and Hedi, you need to take note that this is what a kitschy make-up print looks like not with some lipstick tubes printed on shoes and bags like some beginner’s project in textile design. While we are at it, the dynamic duo of Valentino should take note that Sarah out butterflied you as well and yes the Asian style prints too, well she beat you hands down.

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The bandana print is wonderfully rendered as are the signature suits and coats. Oh, and by the way, she also upped Mary Katrantzou by understanding  how to take that design mind set and expand on it successfully. Amazing isn’t it that there are designers who still design and actually understand the evolution of their label. This is a collection designed to sell and without making it some greatest hits collection that clients might have second thoughts about. 

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Imagine that Sarah can say it in 40 outfits with very few iffy’s and others need 80 and still can’t get the point across.

pre-fall 2016 Bits & bites.. Stella, Valentino, Pucci, Valli

Oh Stella... Poor Stella... WTF have you done? Talk about a so called designer in search of a client! This rather astounding presentation smacks of design school and certainly not of a Savile Row trained tailor. It is indeed scary when these so-called marquee designers actually believe they can do anything and call it fashion. In other times a collection like this would be shunned due to the amount of synthetic fabrications used to assemble this absurd mess. The best that can be said is that it is time to examine your body of work and find a proper direction because this one leads to a crash! BTW... Stella McCartney

Pucci... well mission accomplished! Pucci has now become a printed Gucci! How pathetic on many levels that a heritage brand such as this is degraded by showing a collection that is styled and designed for fashion victims. What actually is quite wonderful is that Giorgetti has reimagined the prints quite skillfully but then really screws the pooch when he translates the prints into actual clothes. All it took was 2 seasons to quite literally destroy what was once a highly covetable collection of clothes that began being designed by one of Italy’s most aristocratic gentlemen. Dundas kept the jet set mind set and then all these years later we have another car to add to the clown train.

Valentino... well as is their wont, the dynamic duo of the fabled house has presented another huge collection except that this time, the collections relies far too much on gimmick coupled with technical expertise. From reptilian sleeves to references that range from Frida Kahlo to Pedro Friedberg to surrealist art, to Mexican folkloric, to NYC then to Japanese crane paintings and there you have this explosion of clothes. The only way to really appreciate a collection like this is to literally pick it apart one by one as when shown as it was there is visual overload. To their credit, the collection was colorful to say the least and they retained some of the DNA they have created such as a few more nunnish pieces but hel,l talk about learning the meaning of restraint!! Talk about beating a theme or 2 or 3 to death! The workmanship can never be faulted here but WTF was that?

Giambattista Valli gets it. There is no question that the concept of actually selling clothes remains firmly implanted in his mind with a collection such as this. You know, he presents clothes that people might wear in real life and they are pretty clothes, well designed, well rendered, original clothes for women not victims not trendoids ... women of many ages. The influences range from hippy, to Chanel, to out Gucci’ing Gucci in the best possible scenario and most of the collection speaks to a youthful fashion statement.  No, the collection is not perfect but in many ways Giamba has ascribed to the age old concept that Pre-Fall is meant to sell and not to set the world on fire.

BAJA EAST pre-fall 2016

OH THE ELUSIVE HIP HYPE FACTOR!! 

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Maybe it is the “trying to be relevant” aspect of fashion! No matter how you look at it all you have here is a design school project, and let me add not even a good one, at top shelf prices. The clothes are so heavily referenced and so off base as to conjure disbelief let alone an original thought.

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Apparently, sweats for thousands didn’t quite jibe with what retailers are in need of  and that would be sales so let’s take another tack and offer one more “me too” collection of been there done that but we will do it in charmeuse and cheap looking knits … both big sellers. This all might sound very harsh, but let’s talk reality here and let’s ask who needs or wants to buy this or for that matter who wants to look like this? Then of course you need to factor in where do you wear it and who is the target customer?

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This is one of those collections where the hype didn’t sell the clothes. Yeah, okay, so Anna gave the brand her seal of approval and so did the CFDA and once again the time has come to say that all that means squat because at the end of the day you gotta sell clothes to stay afloat. Even sadder is that Anna’s blessing has quickly turned out to be Anna's curse.

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pre-fall 2016 Philipp Plein & BOSS

Philipp Plein took a 180 this season as it is possible he had exhausted the world’s stud supply with his previous collections or possibly he has decided that he needs to go a more commercial route. For the most part, gone are the studs and gone are the hard core biker chick/rocker girl looks that previously flooded his collections and even the skull has all but disappeared . Don’t get me wrong, he hasn’t abandoned his DNA as much as he has just massaged it and interpreted that DNA in a different way; less overt sexy and a lot less costumey or maybe hookerish. Some of the shapes will be familiar, some much more grown up and wearable and some new. There is a definite fascination with lace, with butterflies and with his signature prints. What will be most interesting is if this is a precursor to what is to come or if this is just a one shot wonder.

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Jason Wu has decided that BOSS is the 21^st century’s answer to the original Jil Sander. It is spare, minimal, hard edged, rather commercial and with a limited color palette. There is this aura of architectural and somewhat of a sterile feeling that comes with such minimalism. Maybe he is right to take this tack as the fashion world is starting to look like the linen department with tonnage of white sheets turned into wearing apparel and when so many collections look they have been designed by one communal design team. One can say it is wearable but certainly not exciting but just maybe he has taken to ascribe to the original genesis of early fall and that was to sell clothes with no fanfare and no design fireworks. Pre-fall was the appetizer to the regular Fall seaon which is the course dinner.

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