Versace resort 2016

It is not often that seeing a collection renders me slack jawed and speechless and yet Versace for resort 2016 has done it ………. Again! Donatellamommamia is up to her old tricks or is that designing for old tricks?

So it is  a combination of Sprouse-ian 80s neons mixed with some 60’s on acid granny prints or are they Hedi Saint Laurent prints in day glo colors meshed with some hooker esthetic, accented with day-glo platform shoes and “Adidas” platform pool slides (very Chloe/Celine .. n’est-ce pas?)  which all yields a mess to behold. Yes, there are some great pieces but I emphasize “some” or maybe that should be reworded to state a few  ... well… maybe its 3 or 4. Yikes!!!

It is hard to comprehend how this supposed extrapolation of the Gianni’s esthetic can possibly be logical .. unless of course one is on some mind altering substance. So much of this looks cheap and trashy, not even slutty or uber-sexy but very working the corner kind of trashy while cracking gum. Mind you, it is not the coloration which is surely not a bad a thing but it is overall look and presentation. The models have this sort of Gia-eque look,  who might be about to OD or at best the day after looking a lot worse for the wear.  The looks present the conundrum of … do I call the fashion police or 911? The only saving grace is that the clothes appear to be beautifully made and executed so their faults are in design and styling.

Signora, when she goes the distance, she runs a 100k race. So over the top, so beaten to death with the sheer and athletic references and even though the logo pieces are done well, who cares at this point? What I’m feeling is that we know this collection has been good and even great under her tutelage but when it is this tired and hackneyed, it is, well … tragic in a way! Again, who wants to look this cheap for that much money?

Gucci .. Resort 2016

Just when you think you have seen it all, something like this comes along and reminds you that it aint over til it’s over and honey this is a lulu and the fat lady aint done singing just yet! What immediately came to mind is that Alessandro Michele has definitely torn a few pages from the Hedi Slimane book of fashion as well as his look books and probably from that of Ricardo Tisci as well. Apparently this chinoiserie influence continues albeit the word chinoiserie makes it sound as if it might be rather tasteful and sophisticated. What it does remind me of are those cheap satin baseball jackets, kimonos and cheongsams that I recall seeing when I was a kid; they were souvenirs from Japan and China. Tasteful and sophisticated are not in this equation!

In Michele’s defense, at least this collection looks to be more polished and possibly a few pieces even seem wearable but jeez Louise WTF is on this young man’s mind?  I mean there are school girl looks which are reminiscent of bad Chanel or maybe it is Adolfo, house coats masquerading as coats, ghastly furs and marigold has never been high on any woman’s list as a flattering colors and someone please explain to me placing a tiger head smack in the pubic zone ... you know X marks the spot! Someone how I don’t think it’s supposed to funny but in a way it’s comical. Some of the kitschy stuff might be of Moschino spirit but certainly not in a very sophisticated way. Then of course apparently, Signor Michele never met a fabric he didn’t want to use and by the way surely sticks to his affinity for pleats.

There is so much not good about but most of all what is most bothersome is who wants to look this cheap and costumey at these prices? The kiltie pumps are so 70s as to look like thrift shop finds as do so many pieces which appear to be quite literally copied rather than massaged or referenced and paired with either  50s cats eye opticals or nerdy horn rims. If this is the new Gucci customer, then there must be an entire generation of trust fund kids and young women who have certainly never seen or heard of good taste but have bottomless allowances!

One has to wonder how patient the powers that be of Kering will be willing to wait for this young man to find his footing and to survive and sustain during what will probably be a few very tenuous sales periods while spending boatloads of euros on advertising.

PS …  I thought Frida got canned for being too retro.. well … what exactly did you trade off here ??? “Giannini was criticized for relying too heavily on retro designs from the archives rather than fashion-forward trends” ….  oh and don’t overlook the Groucho eyebrows ... a “forward” trend no doubt !

Resort 2016.... the age of Uniformity

The age of uniformity or generic fashion

Written in 1932, some 80 odd years ago, these words were so amazingly prescient.

Trousers draggin', slowly draggin' through the street
Yes, I'm walking, but I'm walking without feet
I'm not finding fault at all
With what's too big and what's too small
But Sam, Sam, you promised me both ends would meet
You made the coat and vest fit the best
You made the lining nice and strong
But Sam, you made the pants too long
You made the teak lapel look so swell
Who am I to say that you're wrong?
But Sam, you made the pants too long
They got the belt, and they got suspenders
So what can they lose?
But what good are belts, what good suspenders
When the pants are hanging over the shoes?
You feel the winter breeze up and down the knees
The belt is where the tie belongs
'cause Sam, Sam, Sam,
You made the pants too long
You know what I mean, Sam?

Possibly from the beginning of time, fashion has played a part in our social construct. Clothes or fashion might have indicated social standing or even a geographic location but almost always designers were able to differentiate themselves by creating a signature style, technique or look that was immediately recognizable or identifiable. You know what I mean, it is difficult not to have recognized a Grès from a Poiret or a Capucci from an Armani and so on but in today’s word of fashion there seems to be a malaise or miasma.

The prevailing mood or M O of today’s designers seems to be fitting in rather than standing out. Unfortunately more often than not, standing out equates to freakishly designed attention grabbing costumes rather than actual clothes or what might be confused with fashion. Of course there are exceptions but in plain speak it is just easier to quote the immortal words spoken by Clara Peller who asked” Where’s the beef?”

After perusing through slide after slide of Resort 2016 presentations, it becomes blatantly apparent to me and I am sure to many, that designers no longer have a signature or even a look that is uniquely theirs. Nowadays it is all about front rows, venues, blah blah blah bull that has nothing to do with the clothes and everything to do with ego not to mention piles and piles of clothes that for the most part could easily be attributed to H&M, Forever 21, Zara or Macy’s private label. Try as they might fashion houses strive to stand behind the smokescreen of this fashion intelligentsia but what remains is oodles of generic looking, monotonous, editorialized  and repetitive clothes all vying for a spotlight under various designer brands. Examine the concept of all these clothes being presented at one time and in one place and you are asked to identify the designer ... I double dog dare you. I am not speaking of the pieces that are in your face every day, I am speaking of the clothes that you rarely see other than on a runway and even more rarely ever being worn.

Apparently the new business outlook includes searching for a new customer season after season. Gone are the days when a particular designer catered to a specific client. We had Mackie, we had Zoran, we had Blass,  we had Beene and all of them identifiable in their own way, today’s business plan seems to be that your collection is pulled together from the HUGE communal workrooms of New York, Paris, London and Milan and then all you have to do is slap your label on them .. And presto … collection! The creative director/designer preaches from their design pulpit yet they possess no technical talents but do seem to love the sound of their own voice especially when espousing the gobbledygook of inspirations … and BTW, those inspirations rarely bear any reality to the clothes other than in in the mind of the designer.

One has to ask why there needs to be an endless supply of designers if all the clothes look the same or lack any distinction. LET ME STRESS that this is a prevailing mood and not applicable to EVERY designer brand as YES there are some who stick to their guns and produce collections that are instantly recognizable  and consistent in look …  even though they might be and most often are  overlooked by the so called media fashion elite. Imagine, they may not be on the red carpet or being worn by some B list media whore or photographed at some event but... here is a concept... they sell clothes because they have developed a signature and “fed” their clientele.

As proof to my observation, the slide show will be an amalgam of clothes with no names attached. It is up to you to make the logical conclusion … and no cheating...This is about clothes not venue so focus!

A Man's Story .. Salvatore Ferragamo .. Chapter 2

Consider this chapter 2 of a story that began in December of 2014 (www.examiner.com/article/international-fashion-style-salvatore-ferragamo-a-man-s-story ). This new installment is all about the MTO Driver and the “Ferragamo Escape.” In common parlance this is all about the “made to order driving shoe” and the chance to express your inner “man of the world.”

Today begins an opportunity for men to experience what the women already embraced when Salvatore Ferragamo gave them their option to customize the much beloved and iconic  Vara in 2013. There are now over 100 possible combinations available for your Drivers, including exotics, and I am sure even more possibilities than that which will ensure that your detailing will bear your own particular imprimatur. Whether it be color or skins or the finish of the “gancio” bit, this shoe can become your trademark as well as offer you entry into the world of bespoke footwear. This abbreviated set of circumstances allows futures owner to flex their sartorial muscle. Of course, as with anything, this service comes with a price and that is you must wait 90 days to receive your treasured creation.

You need to think of the habitually chic of the Italianate nature of men’s style and what the jet set represents in the 21^st century. In my head there is something about the overwhelmingly chic and polished aura that men like Gianni Agnelli or Marcello Mastroianni radiated in their personae and manner of dress. The MTO Driver can and should be an integral part of that “la dolce vita” fashion attitude that men of that world emitted while being emblematic of the lifestyle they lead.

The newest campaign features photography by Johannes Huebl and featuring Mathias Lauda, race car driver and Alexander Ljung, Sound Cloud founder. Massimiliano Giornetti elevates the collective fashion quotient of the brand with the introduction of this “get away” campaign. Make no mistake, Giornetti continues to enlarge and enhance the presence and vocabulary of this blue blooded name with great confidence and with ever increasing possibilities.

A Man’s Story will be available for viewing at www.ferragamo.com as well as on any of the brand’s digital channels … #ManStory #FerragamoEscape