Bottega Veneta MFW fall 2017

Donatellamamamia… TAKE NOTE!!!! This is what happens when you take a stand and not bother with the so called trends of the moment. To me, this is a huge departure for Maier who emphatically states through this collection that classic is not boring and retro is not dated… enter the strong shoulder… not the exaggerated shoulder but a strong demanding powerful silhouette.

click image to enlarge

Obviously, there is an equestrian bent to it at the onset and then it is all about the crisp sharp tailored pieces which some will say meh and I say they are sexy, laser sharp in their edges and what fashion is really missing and that is clothes to wear… no pretense… no blah blah … no gimmicks or sight gags. 

click image to enlarge

The next diversion or tangent for Maier is the 40s with dresses that memorialize those of that era yet they look totally au courant and massaged to be contemporary. Maier clearly has a deft hand when interpreting references of the past. If one wanted to be a bit more esoteric, one might say he drew inspiration from the infamous 1971 Saint Laurent haute couture collection that raised the ire of the international fashion press.

click image to enlarge

Nonetheless, I’m all in here... This was flat out polished chic, sophisticated, urbane, and so hard hitting without any reliance on any trickery or deflection from the fact that this is all about fashion! Yes, Virginia there are clothes you can WEAR!  Great coats... great separates… great palette … daywear... dinner dresses... great evening... OH MY… a collection!

click image to enlarge

Versace MFW fall 2017

Here is when you have to imagine what would have happened if a clear mind had prevailed and taken it upon themselves to edit the collection and yield a cohesive non gimmicky moment for this troubled brand. The trouble comes from the consistent flip flopping of looks in past seasons as well as the brand having lost much of its luster as well as its identity. 

click image to enlarge

Donatellamamamia could have actually presented a singular message that was deeply rooted in the tailoring DNA of the brand but instead it went to hell in a hurry with the sometimes silly Vetements moments and all the verbiage all over these rather expensive supposedly message sending clothes. It is my opinion that women who spend this kind of money don’t need to spend 1000s when they can achieve the same sentiments in a $20 tee shirt from H&M  or $500 ones from the likes of Vetements or now in the Maria Grazia days of Dior. 

click image to enlarge

click image to enlarge

Yes, I can forgive the overly exaggerated shoulders and the Donatellamamamia makeup of the models but how slick would it have been to show those Helmut Newtony rigidly tailored dominatrix power suits which would run counter to the current moods in our fashion capitols. Alas, Signora gives in to trend and gimmick and it cost her in more ways than one. When the signature chain mail pieces fall flat and the so called evening wear is either too tricked out or yawn worthy … well then you know something isn’t quite right.

click image to enlarge

So to demonstrate the point I broke it out in sets of images . .. the boners and the beautiful.. you decide!

click image to enlarge

Etro MFW fall 2017

It is riche... it is niche ... it is luxe... it is boho... it is an explosion of patterns... it is a souk of colors and it is undeniably ETRO. There is little like it and it is one of those brands that even though the audience is rarefied at best, it hardly ever deviates from its roots. 

click image to enlarge

The stars here are obviously the jackets and coats and god knows there are plenty of both. Unquestionably, these are the clothes or rather pieces that inhabit the wardrobes and closets of collectors and connoisseurs of fashion. These are not fashion victim clothes as they follow no trend other than that of its own particular DNA. 

click image to enlarge

click image to enlarge

Etro is all about and celebrates the art and craft of fashion starting with the fabrications and finishing with the Etro look which is described above in, I think , very accurate terms. It is almost unfair to measure them or for them to be measured against other brands as Etro is a sort of stand-alone collection in that it rarely if ever pretends to be what it’s not ... think Agnona!

click image to enlarge

Moschino MFW fall 2017

WE INTERRUPT OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING FOR THIS IMPORTANT MESSAGE!

click image to enlarge

Apparently the brand has 2 different designers since there is a portion, which albeit with some small changes, might be considered commercially viable if not quite pretty. Of course, the changes involved would be to remove any of the sight gags and gimmicks heavily leaned upon by Mr. Scott. The bigger problem is that Franco was an original and his humor can’t be mimicked or captured forever. Franco had an original tongue in cheek sense of humor combined with kitsch combined with genuine talent. Mr. Scott on the other hand does not possess all of these traits… or at least they have not been exposed yet.

click image to enlarge

The supposed humor and kitsch factor is wearing thin as the silly supposedly designs; the street wise over patterning that was what Mr. Scott did before hitching his wagon to Moschino is also something that is wearing even thinner. The Moschino apparel customer ... if there really is one ... must either be of Asian descent or possibly just a women who sees her life to be lived as a cartoon character rather than a woman who lives in reality.

click image to enlarge

 Cardboard boxes and d shipping labels and materials ...  frankly it’s looking forced ... trash bags, bubble wrap, duct tape,   Persian rug dresses, candelabras on the head or trashcan hats ... it’s all been done and it was really only funny the first time .. Time to take the brand to the next level ... you might want to ask yourself... what might that be?

click image to enlarge

Emilio Pucci MFW fall 2017

It was my intention not to focus on the collections that insult the concept of fashion or the business of fashion but I find this particular collection to be especially egregious when it comes to the atrocities that are committed on the runway

click image to enlarge

WTF is this mess? Someone had a spaghetti fringe attack! The only thing that links these clothes to the brand’s core DNA is that prints are used. It is a sad state of affairs when a brand that was known and built on taste and chic turns out a collection such as this. The original brand was worn by women (jet set) who were members of an elite group known for their sartorial splendor. In today’s incarnation the women who might wear these clothes might be equally notable for their lack of taste or for their hallucinatory drug habit. 

click image to enlarge

click image to enlarge

Emilio Pucci was an Italian aristocrat who mingled and cultivated his clients by inhabiting their worlds. Pete Dundas reimagined the brand in a rocker euro way that surely brought a heavy dose of sex appeal to the brand and now we have this nightmare which proposes prints that look like 50s and 60s banlon used for loungewear but now in clothes, and I  use the term loosely, in outfits costing $1000s.  Take your money and burn it… throw it out a window and donate it to a worthy cause but hell don’t waste it on this so you can look like an award winning tasteless fashion freak!

click image to enlarge

 On a positive note... the collection was colorful!