Milan Spring/Summer 2007 Wrapup III

Gucci
The clothes are composed of strong, bold colours: black, red, orange, purple and white. This collection was all about the sixties: from the short shifts to long, flowy dresses. At first glance, the Gucci girls looked more like 60s dolls than sexy dancing queens, but the extreme mini dresses prove otherwise.
Nevertheless, in the past few years, long Gucci dresses have been staples of many socialites' seasonal wardrobes to events. Such socialites love the obvious sexiness of Gucci dresses. This collection's long dresses are more sensual with a touch of bohemian -basically, they do not flash a lot of skin. Oh dear, what ever will socialites wear next season?

Alessandro Dell'Acqua
I've always thought of Dell'Acqua clothes as dark, like sort of rock'n'roll, goth sort of dark, which is why I always had a thing for this brand. However, I was quite disappointed with the SS07 collection. This collection is as usual, still very party and clubbing-ish. I really didn't like the huge belts as they look very two-dimensional on the clothes.
While I'm usually so-so on leopard-prints, I think the leopard-printed mini dress is really cool, (see look #6, the look on the right). However, there is just way too many animal-printed clothes in this collection.

Etro
I have never really paid much attention to Etro before because I'm not a big fan of bohemian-looking prints, but I do love all the other clothes from the collection. I especially love the short shift dresses with black leggings. The clothes are strong and colourful, making them stylish and youthful. Here are the looks I like::

Milan Spring/Summer 2007 Wrapup II

Prada
Prada is usually one of my absolute favourite collections, but to be honest, I was disappointed with the new SS07 collection. I hate those turban-wannabes on the models' heads, (maybe they are actually turbans.) I hate the tribal-looking dresses, which I didn't choose to show in the photos below. And a lot of the colourful tops with geometric shapes just remind me of the Prada collections from many seasons back.
Nevertheless, there are some things I like: The pretty silk tops are so pretty. And I love how the belts are styled on the outfits. Note that virtually all outfits have belts on. Next seasons's big thing -the sack dress, was also seen in the show.

Since Prada is one of the huge trendsetters, note that classic-looking, silk pointy heels were prominent in the show. Could it be almost time to say bye-bye to round, platform shoes and start to buy pointy heels again?
Bottega Veneta
While I am not a big fan of Bottega Veneta's suits, I do love its dresses. Botega has quite a wide range of dresses, from casual to cocktail. But no matter which type of dresses, one thing links them all: natural elegance. What does it mean? The dresses are so elegant without looking forced or too fancy.
Gorgeous daytime dresses.
Versatile cocktail dresses.
And well, no idea when one should wear these dresses, but they're pretty!

Marni
I usually love Marni, but I really, really love this collection. Each look is layered, but seems light and wearable. The whole volume concept is also made realistic with the sack dresses. Like Prada, almost all of Marni's looks have belts to strengthen the shapes and secure the layers. Most noteably, many looks of this collection is quite sporty. Usually I hate sporty clothes, but Marni just makes it so chic. I particularly like look #5 below: Black pants, white top with a long grey cardigan held together with a thick brown belt -stylish and simple.

Milan Spring/Summer 2007 Wrapup I

Pringle of Scotland
I always thought Pringles was a sweater brand for guys. Hence I was surprised and delighted to find their SS07 runway for women, so casual, feminine and airy.

The pieces were bright and refreshing. And the balance between looking casual cool and feminine was just perfect.

In addition, there were also more structured and boxy pieces like these that just looks awesome. I especially like the poofy sleeves white shirt with the grey shorts.

Evening wear that is casual, cool and youthful.

Giorgio Armani
For once one can use words other than sleek and elegant to describe Giorgio Armani. This season, he experimented with form and combined his signature sleek and elegant style with the casual cool that has been so popular on the runway this season. But I feel that Giorgio is trying too hard to be different from his usual designs and following the current trend, because while some looks that were more typically Armani were gorgeous, some of the more different ones were just wrong. The collection was also repetitive. I wish he'd just done a few remarkable pieces instead of a lot of unremarkable ones.

He combined sleek assymetrical blazers (which are absolutely gorgeous btw), with stylish loose pants, strucking a balance that is just genius. This worked.

Restraining scarves tied around the shoulders was also very prominent on the runway. Frankly, it takes away from the perfectly nice outfits underneath the scarves, but maybe Giorgio was just thinking of a way to work scarves into the runway for marketing purposes.

These two outfits looks frumpy. The multiple layers and proportions are all wrong. This definitely didn't work for me.

Evening wear wise, these two were just too much and the proportions were again all wrong and frumpy.

Thank god for these absolutely divine dresses to remind us that the true essence of Armani.

Burberry Prorsum
Chris Bailey continues to astound us with his gorgeous gorgeous designs. This season, inspired by Cecil Beaton's photographs from the 20's, he amped up his collection with more volume and shape. The effect is whimsical, feminine and oh-so-pretty!

The ways Bailey manage to reinterpret the trench coat never ceases to amaze me. Last season, he had fur and this season, he has these wide collars and princess-like sleeves. I want one of these!

Bailey also did some casual chic looks using volume and layers. The way it is put together is just genius.

Casual chic dresses. I adore the simple white dress with the slightly flared sleeves. Its so easy to wear and yet still so stylish.

For the evening, Bailey offers these shiny variations of the trench coat. I just adore the shape and the structure of these two looks.

Then there are these very very cute dresses that shine and sparkle. A stunning collection.

London Fall / Winter 2006 Wrapup IV

Aquascutum
This collection is very modern and well, so-so. There is a lot of nice work clothes, especially relaxed-looking ones. I particularly like the first white outfit below -the model looks so cool in the all white blazer and shorts combo. The yellow and green long coat is also really nice. The only problem of this collection is that nothing particularly stands out and is ground-breaking.

Issa
This collection seems more subdued than the ones from a few seasons back. For one thing, the colours are less crazy, and one could imagine wearing the clothes much easier. There were loads of leopard printed dresses, but my favourite is the yellow and white printed dress (the 4th outfit below.) The print is pretty and bold without being over the top.
Erdem
This collection is just soo pretty! What makes me like it even more is that it's not sugarly pretty -it's got a slight dark edge to it. (Most probably because of the emphasis on dark eyeliner.)
The first two outfits really caught my eye. Most designers don't start shows with such strong looks. The balance between lace and solids is fantastic.
The designer didn't just stick to the doll look. Different types of dresses were shown.
Since this is a SS collection, lighter outfits were featured. The dress on the right somehow reminds me a bit of Marni dresses a few seasons back. But Erdem added his own elements. I really like the prints and vertical lines at the bottom part.
I love the pattern on the dress on the left. It's so neautral and edgy at the same time. And the dress on the right ends the show with another sigh of prettiness. (although I would have prefered it to be less lacy.)

Braccialini

Flicking through Marie Claire, I came across this ad.
And I thought, ooo pretty ad, but whatever is it doing in a fashion magazine? Turns out that it is the latest very innovative creation of Carla Braccialini. Here are a few of her other more outrageous designs:
I am sure that the quality of the materials and craftmanship of the handbags are impeccable (why else would they cost on the upper side of $200USD?) but please, dear lord, do not let these become anywhere near fashionable!