PRE-FALL 2020... season of words rather than clothes

The newest buzzword for fashion is sustainable. .. sadly  so many of these designers have forsaken the part about selling clothes and prefer to run their mouths on subjects and sound by,tes that will take generations to see fruition instead of designing clothes that might sell. Forget about original ideas as it is much easier to dig back into fashion history and just copy what once was.... after all who will notice when your frame of reference is the last 20 minutes

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“Only those with no memory insist on their originality.”

― Coco Chanel

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Here are some images from some of the most hyped-up collections as well as from collections one has never heard of... Kindly note they are all for the same season and here is some of the bullshit that accompanies the clothes. As I have long ago said,  clothes don’t come with romance cards they hang on a hanger and don’t explain themselves nor the supposed environmental impact they may have other than the offense to the eye. Who cares? Women buy clothes to look pretty or to follow a trend... 

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I defy you to find either here. One more time … pre-fall was never meant to be show worthy, these were supposed to be the clothes that women didn’t think twice about buying for the coming season before the big guns of full-fledged fall hit the rails.

 

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"We need to wear our clothes for longer. It’s the throwaway aspect [of fashion] which is destructive. So the thought process, particularly in women’s, is to have a quieter sense of permanence. And I like the idea that so many of the pieces can be relayered.” 

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“As each brand embraces diversity and inclusion, we can’t neglect the most important factor in our lives: the climate crisis” 

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Designers should be designing clothes and quit worrying about being so politically correct and all-inclusive… nothing worse than faux intellectuals who think they are designers! They need to look at who exactly is their target customer if it even exists!

CHANEL pre-fall 2020

Well it wasn't exactly earthshattering but it was impeccably undeniably Chanel… complete with Karl clunkers and some rather thick Teutonic looks. The codes and DNA are in place; it was a no-nonsense collection except for  a few transparent pieces  but the most the important thing here is that  these clothes will be gobbled up by the hungry throngs of Chanel clad ladies.

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Yes, it would have been a bit better if some of the girls weren’t so pigeon-toed and that just below the knee length was avoided along with bare midriffs but none of that matters as the shoe is a winner and the handbags and piled on accessories will sate those who collect those categories of the brand. Virginie isn’t deviating far from Karl’s game plan and I guess it’s a case of why fix what’s not broken!

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It was basically clean slick, chic and not exactly pushing the envelope but with over 70 exits, it made its statement… the point being this is Chanel ... take it or leave it… I’m guessing this is a commercial winner that will make cash registers sing!

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Giorgio Armani pre-fall 2020

The Armani signatures out loud and all accounted for ... it was jacket heaven and pant heaven. It was pencil slim or loose as a goose. It was decorated or it was minimal in execution. Every one of one his pant looks came out for a showing which affected the rest of the turnout going from clumsy to razor sharp. 

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There was something about this collection that seemed not quite right. There were moments of retro and moments of trend. Of course, there was an abundance of silk velvet which is rarely on the top of anyone’s list at retail and then there was of course the Armani penchant for odd headwear which certainly took away from many of the looks.

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Frankly, an editor’s pen might have helped to send the message … not only in silhouettes but also in the huge assortment of patterned fabrics… I mean really leopard at Armani is almost unthinkable but yet there it was and it worked… less so some of the florals and grid like patterns. Then there was the one fur piece which was the 40s shouldered and peplumed and actually pretty gorgeous not to be outdone by a full-length red croco coat. Then in the midst of it was a series of LBDs.

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The palette expectedly restrained until we got to the blues which some worked and some not so much. I can’t put my finger on it but something was off here... the polish was there but I think some of the urbane slick minimalism was in the minority which gave way to some rather heavy and dare I say tacky looks with some over ornamented pieces and again the pants with the banded hems which were shown in the majority of looks.

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 Let’s just say this is certainly not a collection to be dismissed but it is a far cry from his memorable collections and even though pre-fall was never meant to get the runway treatment, I’m betting this show will be head and shoulder better than a lot of what we will be seeing. 

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