Fashion Show

Milan Fashion Week Final Balance

Even the Milan Fashion Week Autumn Winter 2014 has come to an end, but what were the most important facts that marked the week and which trend will actually mark the next cold season?

 
Gucci FW 2014
Gucci FW 2014

 

Welcome to Italy: the luxury brand supermarket

 
Let’s start by looking at with the “power games”: first of all, the cessation of the activity of Gianfranco Ferré by the Dubai based company Paris Group. A very sad news, especially if we consider the recent exhibition that the Textile Museum of Prato dedicated to the great architect of Italian fashion.
As if that were not enough, also Krizia fashion house announced that the company will be sold to the Chinese Shenzhen Marisfrolg Co. Ltd owned by Mrs. Zhu ChongYun, the businesswoman who since 1993 has built a financial empire based on her passion for beauty, and who will become the Chairman of the Board and the creative director of the fashion house. Mrs. Mariuccia Mandelli (aka Krizia) said “My team and I are delighted to have found in Mrs. Zhu ChongYun a successor to our work. She has strenght and talent and is willing to lead Krizia’s idea of fashion, made of visionary research and immense creativity”. Needless to say, I really hope that the iconic Krizia tigers and panthers of the past will come back to roar, even if I’m sure things will never be the same again.
After a bad news there’s always a good news, infact, a few minutes before the fashion show of Marco De Vincenzo it was confirmed that he French luxury giant LVMH bought a substantial minority stake (45 %) of the young Italian brand. As the designer himself said: “The sale is the only way that can make me grow without falling into traps, making the right choices and not just those I can afford”. In the fashion business many people would argue this type of financial operations, deeming them necessary to mantain the excellent standards of made ​​in Italy products.
So, considering all the billionaires who live in Italy, I wonder why there isn’t anyone who wants to emulate groups like LVMH and Kering, trying to keep Italian things in Italy.
I’d like to explain that my point of view transcends the pride of being Italian and it came from the sad and shameful truth that Fashion in Italy is not considered as a resource yet, and unfortunately only Italian politicians do not believe in its power and potentials.
 
 
Marco De Vincenzo FW 2014
Marco De Vincenzo FW 2014

 

M as Moschino or McDonald’s?

 
Finally, after several months since the spread of the news on fashion magazines, Jeremy Scott succeeded to Rossella Jardini as creative director of Moschino. The change didn’t pass unnoticed, infact in the following days after the show the most popular question that ran across Milan was : “Did you see the Moschino fashion show?”, followed by answers such as “Jeremy Scott is a genius!” or “Terrible, who will ever dare to wear a McDonald’s uniform?”.
I personally believe that Jeremy Scott is the spiritual heir of Franco Moschino due to his pungent contemporary irony. He brought a great breath of fresh air in a style office which merely repeated the same themes since the death of the founder. As concerns the criticized and praised McDonald’s/Moschino logo, I think it is a very funny idea, but not so new as many people may think. It seems that the fashion world has a short memory, have you already forgotten about the avant-garde style of Anna Piaggi?
 
 
Fashion Meme: Jeremy Scott for Moschino FW 2014 collection inspired to McDonald's logo VS Anna Piaggi wearing an original McDonald's vest in a portrait by Marco Glaviano in 2010

Fashion Meme: Jeremy Scott for Moschino FW 2014 collection inspired to McDonald’s logo

VS

Anna Piaggi wearing an original McDonald’s vest in a portrait by Marco Glaviano in 2010

 

The Other World

The words “Fashion Week” and “performance” usually go hand in hand, especially when the scenic design of the fashion shows brings the viewer into another reality as in the case of Roberto Cavalli, who made his models dancing around the sacred fire of fashion, evoking the imagery of wild beauty with animal prints, furs and fringe.
 
The duo Dolce and Gabbana preferred to set the show in an enchanted forest where the characters are an hybrid between the protagonists of Russian fairy tales and their Sicilian memory, imagining a magnificent, precious and ultra-decorated collection that winks to the excessive taste of the Eastern Europe.
 
Finally Fendi that took us into the future, somewhere between Avatar and Tron, presenting the show streamed through the bionic eye of high-definition cameras installed on some drones that fly around the room. Another way to break the barrier between the fashion niche and the final consumer.
 
 
Roberto Cavalli FW 2014
Roberto Cavalli FW 2014

 

Roberto Cavalli FW 2014
Roberto Cavalli FW 2014
Dolce e Gabbana FW 2014 (photo: Alessandro Garofalo/indigitalimages.com)
Dolce e Gabbana FW 2014 (photo: Alessandro Garofalo/indigitalimages.com)

 

Dolce e Gabbana FW 2014 (photo: Alessandro Garofalo/indigitalimages.com)
Dolce e Gabbana FW 2014 (photo: Alessandro Garofalo/indigitalimages.com)

 

Dolce e Gabbana FW 2014 (photo: Alessandro Garofalo/indigitalimages.com)
Dolce e Gabbana FW 2014 (photo: Alessandro Garofalo/indigitalimages.com)

 

Dolce e Gabbana FW 2014 (photo: Alessandro Garofalo/indigitalimages.com)
Dolce e Gabbana FW 2014 (photo: Alessandro Garofalo/indigitalimages.com)
Fendi drones
Fendi drones on the catwalks (photo: ansa.it)

 

Trend: luxury, colors and men

 
Analyzing the fashion trends for the coming winter, even in Milan (as in New York) many brands aim to the utmost and exclusive luxury, using high quality raw materials and the finest workmanship that go far beyond the concept of pret-a-porter, getting closer to high fashion and cutting out the average consumer as a consequence.
The key-colors of the season will be the pastels shades of Gucci and Ermanno Scervino (pale pink, canary yellow, baby blue, lilac and mint); the lime green of Giorgio Armani; the red flashes of Prada; the metallic colors (bronze, silver and gold), and finally the classic white, gray and black presented as plain color or in combinations of patterns ranging from leoprints to tartan.
As usual the silhouettes take inspiration from the twentieth century, this time it’s the turn of the 60’s and 70’s, mixed with oversized knitwear and garments stolen from the male wardrobe such as the white shirt and tailored coats.
 
 
Bottega Veneta FW 2014
Bottega Veneta FW 2014

 

Emporio Armani FW 2014
Emporio Armani FW 2014

 

Ermanno Scervino FW 2014
Ermanno Scervino FW 2014

 

Giorgio Armani FW 2014
Giorgio Armani FW 2014

 

Gucci FW 2014
Gucci FW 2014

 

Jil Sander FW 2014
Jil Sander FW 2014

 

Max Mara FW 2014
Max Mara FW 2014

 

N°21 FW 2014
N°21 FW 2014

 

Prada FW 2014
Prada FW 2014
 
 
Alessandro Masetti – The Fashion Commentator
Photo credits: vogue.it, ansa.it, style.com

Italian architect into fashion. Art curator in love with books, flea markets and interior design.

6 Comments on “Milan Fashion Week Final Balance

  1. Un post denso e molto interessante. Mi è piaciuto molto quello che hai scritto su Moschino, concordo pienamente, mi permetto solo di aggiungere che sono mancati solo un po’ i capi classici e di buona qualità che Franco Moschino sapeva inserire e mescolare con le gag più impensabili! Per il resto finalmente qualcosa di nuovo, con la sola “portabilità” ed il buon gusto si va poco lontano.
    Per quanto riguarda il made in italy sono qui che piango proprio come te. Dico solo questo: se io fossi multimiliardaria non aprirei MAI un’azienda in italia, probabilmente farei produrre in italia, potrei prendere un designer italiano, ma terrei sede e quartier generale ben lontani da qui. Del resto Bertelli ha spostato la sede di Miu Miu in Francia. Siamo un paese bello per le vacanze (ma anche in quel settore investiamo sempre peggio), ma per il resto vacche da mungere, prestatori d’opera e siccome siamo anche cari, bisogna cercare di tenere il livello alto, altrimenti si finisce diretamente nel terzo mondo. Buona giornata

    Cecilia

  2. I big mi sono piaciuti quasi tutti quest’anno, ovviamente mi sono piaciuti via streaming!
    Devo dire che Gucci non mi delude mai, come Scervino (ah che bello, uno stilista che ho potuto ammirare dal vivo), Giorgio Armani, Max Mara e Dolce&Gabbana. Cavalli non era male, questa collezione non mi dispiace!
    Per quanto riguarda Moschino, è ovvio che non siano capi da indossare per andare al supermercato, ma si anche io non li ho trovati poi così innovativi..segue un filone lanciato anni prima!
    Di Ferré e Krizia ne avevo sentito parlare, mentre di Marco De Vincenzo non lo sapevo..eh questi francesi ci compreranno tutto prima o poi!

    XOXO

    Cami

    Paillettes&Champagne

  3. Wow che post! Mi hai fatto il riassunto delle puntate precedenti in un colpo solo e ne avevo proprio bisogno. Tra l’altro si legge tutto d’un fiato.
    Allora, sapevo anch’io di Ferré ed è una cosa che mi dispiace tantissimo. Non posso credere che il nome Ferré finisca nel nulla così. Una griffe tanto gloriosa con tutto quel materiale d’archivio avrebbe meritato qualcosa di più. Che poi non ho capito perché sia andato tutto in malora.
    D’accordo anche sulla tua riflessione in merito ai milionari italiani. Non credo che Arnault e compagni siano dei filantropi, quindi vuol dire che con la moda e con la bellezza si guadagna. La verità è che la maggior parte dei milionari italiani (non tutti ovviamente) preferiscono andare sul sicuro – magari intrallazzando con la politica – e prendersi pochi rischi.
    Per il resto Marco de Vincenzo spettacolo. Moschino è stata carina ma non posso dire mi abbia fatto impazzire. Forse Jeremy Scott è effettivamente il più adatto e ha anche portato un po’ di aria fresca però credo che manchino lo spessore e il coraggio di Franco Moschino. La tua fashion meme è eccezionale. Ecco, la Piaggi avrebbe dovuto disegnare Moschino 😉

    Alessia
    ElectroMode

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