Giorgio Armani fall 2017 men's

Usually having “a case of the blues” means you are feeling down or possibly depressed but that’s certainly not the case here at casa Armani; here it means feeling fabulous and ecstatic about fashion in its truest sense!

click image to enlarge

Today we are testing out a stream of consciousness or how I viscerally reacted to what I saw so here we go :

click image to enlarge

You must forgive him his occasional “trespasses” like the strait jacket scarf ... When classic becomes exciting, lush, rich and not boring.. When tweaking the classics is more than just elongating or shortening.. it is about button stance.. Closure positions … Oh the texture the fabrics, the colorations the styling and yes the models . .

click image to enlarge

it is grown up chic  the essence of raffine and urbane .. not the clothes of the fashion victim ... consistency ... dissect it or take it as a total look it is about an attitude a  way of dressing,  a sprezzatura,  using luxurious fabrics in an almost oxymoronic way  like silk velvet as a hoodie .. this is the epitome of the evolution of fashion, the massaging of a brand’s DNA

click image to enlarge

If you are looking for clothes that set the world on fire then just keep moving as there is nothing to see here  but if you crave and aspire to timeless and exquisitely executed clothes then go no further.

click image to enlarge

Etro fall 2017

How blessed is this brand that it and the designer, an Etro himself, is free of trying to be all things to all people and so above the fray of trying to fit into or design into the seasonal trend. This is just an exuberant explosion of patterns, fabrications, colorations and looks that stand alone season after season. It is the ultimate expression of lush and luxe!

click image to enlarge

click image to enlarge

The richness that these clothes exude is without equal given their over the top approach and with such minimal appeal in terms of male audience. The trained eye sees so much here as this is a wildly expensive and superbly rendered collection limited only to those who see past an overall look to the singular beauty of so many pieces.

click image to enlarge

There is nothing boring here; whether the silhouettes or the colorations or combinations, it is just one of those real fashion moments where it is all about design and not about commerce and hype. How refreshing even though I am so often beating the drum of merchantability. As said, Etro is an acquired taste for those who want clothes that define what a designer collection is  and speak as much about the wearer as about the brand.

click image to enlarge

Even the casting is a case for individuality... as for the styling as in hair and makeup... well you can’t win them all but hell it all looks good when it’s all assembled!

click image to enlarge

Salvatore Ferragamo & Prada fall 2017

Guillaume Meilland’s freshman outing at Ferragamo is pitch perfect except for a few things that have nothing to do with the actual design of the clothes and more to do with the logic of how you show the clothes. When a collection is seemingly based of 50 shades of grey and I mean that literally, the clothes will tend to all blend in in one’s memory or become a blur. 

Make no mistake the outerwear is the star and Meilland dealt a  winning “full house” hand  including the most classic shapes as well those tweaked to be seen as modern such as the spencer and moto jackets and even the jean jacket reimagined in a variety of chic monotone pattern collages. 

click image to enlarge

click image to enlarge

My issue is that simply why does classically based clothing have to be boring or even perceived as such? There comes a time when safe is too safe and making a point misses the point. Dissecting the collection will yield more than enough to make cash registers, if they still exist, sing and ring especially for men who need beautifully made stylish and timeless clothes.  These are the clothes of the fashionably grown up whom, for the most part, eschew trend and are always adding to their constantly evolving wardrobe that will never go out of style.

click image to enlarge

click image to enlarge

On the flip side we have the so called uber revolutionary and always boundary pushing Prada which showed a collection that hums along to the tune of ugly is the new pretty and boring is the new trend. Yeah I get it; she purposely jars the eye and accentuates small details to the point of in your face. From the wookie shoes to the exaggerated bellow pocket details, your eyes are forced to see these first. 

click image to enlarge

click image to enlarge

Yes the sweaters are the main even here and, well, the rest can be found at any number of thrift shops worldwide. On the whole if you take away the knitwear you have a lot of retread 50s and 60s clothes that were a lot better the first time around no matter the label.

Versace men's fall 2017

What just happened here? I could have sworn this was a Versace collection but alas I must be mistaken. What happen to the inherent sexiness that has always been pervasive in past collections? So instead of that oozing kind of sex appeal we get generic, boring and me too clothes that can hang or show under any label at any price. Yes of course the clothes are beautifully made but who cares when the bomber jackets and buffalo checks look like the Kmart Adam Levine collection and the one or 2 really out of the ordinary pieces look like re-tread Dolce or some Vetements variations. So I repeat, “What happened to the collection once known as Versace?”

click image to enlarge

click image to enlarge

Donatellamamamia needs to get her act together before she sends the business off the deep end. Gone are the days of label whores buying the latest and greatest but there is neither here that fits that bill. The styling could not be more ghastly or more unflattering. I mean what’s the enhancement of hair extensions that look like greasy dirty hair. Am I to believe that this is the 21^st century youth quake that is as elusive as the Holy Grail?  To my eyes, this is just a pile of clothes that have no meaning, no identity and surely do not warrant the label that bears the legacy of the once great Gianni Versace.

click image to enlarge

click image to enlarge