Rome Fashion Week July 2022. Couture in the City.

So exciting to see Couture - Alta Moda - back on the calendar and the catwalk of the Rome Fashion Week along with emerging and new brands. It slowly faded away once the Italian Couture household names had either gone somewhere else - Valentino in Paris - or disappeared/relocated with their founders - Sarli, Balestra, Curiel - just to mention a  few.  I vividly still remember the thrill back in the day - 2011/2012 - ti be able to witness those historical Couture names showing in Rome.

To be precise some names have sporadically shown in Rome in the last few season but this time the noticeable fact was that they were all on the calendar together. I also have to say that the brands I'm going to write about are really close to my heart as I do personally know the designers or the people that look after their PR. They are Luigi Borbone, Antonio Martino and Caterina Moro.

Before we go into the details of these names, just a word of advice. Looking at Couture requires us to suspend our beliefs as the looks evoke ideas and dreams. Therefore to appreciate it to the fullest you either embrace the over the top styling and hair and make up or ignore it and focus on the craftmanship of each piece ;-)

LUIGI BORBONE

Charlie Chaplin's 'Modern Times' and 'The Dictator' are the inspiration of Luigi Borbone FW 22/23 Couture collection. He encourage women to be playful with fashion and express themselves. Masculine and femminine looks are interchangeable and the designer  creates a relaxed, informal Couture that is very appropriate for this day and and age.

ANTONIO MARTINO

Antonio Martino takes us up in the sky on an imaginary walk though the clouds with the 'No Gravity' collection. Flashes of gold and silver light up the looks like the ray of lights and sun reflections. The colour palette takes us from the early hours of the morning with the whites and the pinks all the way to sunset with the fuchsia and the midnight blues of the night. 

CATERINA MORO

Even if Caterina Moro's is not technically Couture she truly deserves to be included in the list because the way she works, her techniques and craftmanship are of Couture quality and standards. Let's start with the fabric used; sustainable and eco-friendly - sustainable silk, organic cotton and knitwear, certified denim, Econyl ( recycled nylon) and pleated recycled polyester. The inspiration of the collection links in perfectly with the way the collection is made too. Daphne turns into a laurel plant in order to escape from Apollo.

 

The world of plants and flowers is printed or engraved on the collection with incredible techniques such as micro-scanned, recombined digitally and then printed on silk, imprinted on natural leather or engraved on wood and then printed. The results are simply excellent in Caterina Moro's SS2023 'Metamorphosis' collection.

 

I can't wait to see what the 2023 winter edition of Rome Fashion Week will bring but you can check all the videos and pictures of the July 2022 editions on its digital platform.

AltaRoma Gennaio 2017. The Secrets of Couture.

Lontano dalla frenesia delle passerelle e dal meccanismo del vedere/farsi vedere tra le sale del Guido Reni District, la mostra-installazione di questa edizione di The Secrets of Couture, ha dato al pubblico e agli addetti ai lavori ( non dimentichiamoci che ad AltaRoma ci sono sempre eventi aperti a tutti), un momento di calma, di riflessione per soffermarsi ad osservare con attenzione  capi di Alta Moda contemporanea e ammirarli in tutti i loro dettagli, come meritano.

Se A.I. Studio' ti prende per mano, ti educa e ti meraviglia, The Secrets of Couture, invece, si avvale del metodo opposto: bisogna trarre da se' le proprie conclusioni, nella semi-oscurita', sopraffatti dall'enorme e suggestiva video-installazione di Jeff Bark, dalla sua straniante colonna sonora e con il solo rifugio dei quattro palchetti illuminati dove sono in mostra gli abiti couture.

Spring Inspiration. SS16 Couture Edition

[EN] Spring is back - at least on the calendar her in the UK, as it's still a bit chilly - and with it a long season of weddings, first communions, confirmations, proms and holidays. Rather than flick through the SS16 trend reports, I believe that often is better to look above us for some style guidance rather than around; I'm referring to couture looks that can plant in your mind the seed of inspiration that you need when shopping around for occasion wear. After the silly Easter Fashion Fun post, here some serious visual references from the SS16 couture show.

The selection of the looks was harder than I though as I was determined to stay away from the obvious botanical/flowery prints and embroidery that you automatically link with spring. Despite my efforts some of them made the cut, as they were too beautiful not to be included. In no particular order:

[IT] La primavera e' tornata - almeno sul calendario che qui in Inghilterra fa ancora freddino - e porta con se' una lunga stagione di matrimoni, prime comunioni, cresime, feste di fine anno e vacanze. Piuttosto che sfogliare i report SS16, ritengo che spesso sia meglio guardare un po' piu' su del nostro naso per avere delle dritte di stile: mi riferisco ai look di alta moda che posso piantare il seme dell'ispiraizone di cui si ha bisogna qualora si deve fare shopping per un evento importante. Dopo il post frivolo Easter fashion Fun, ecco dei riferimenti seri dalle sfilate couture SS16.

La selzione e' stata piu' ardua di quanto pensassi pocihe' avevo deciso di tenermi lontano dagli ovvi ricami e stampe floreali che automaticamente si associano alla primavera. Nono stante i miei sforzi pero' alcuni hanno passato il vaglio, visto che sono troppo belli per essere ignorati. In ordine sparso: 

#WorldCupFashion: J-Lo Wears Charbel Zoe at the Opening Ceremony.

Since I watched pictures and this morning the video of J-Lo performance at the World Cup opening ceremony, I was curious to know who designed her mega sparkly emerald green 'playsuit'. It's from a Lebanese designer, Charbel Zoe, who dresses J-Lo in the past for her appearance on American Idol back in May.

Charbel Zoe is a fairly new label that has only shown at the Miami Fashion Week  and the Dubai Fashion Forward in 2013 but he's getting a lot of recognition by getting his playsuits on J-Lo and his Haute Couture gowns on the Lebanese singer and actress Haifa Wehbe and other celebrities. His website is still under construction but he's quite active on his Facebook page and Twitter account and after the J-Lo/Rio boost I'm sure that Charbel Zoe will be in demand as never before.

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Dal momento in cui ho visto le immagini e, stamattina, il video della performance di J-Lo alla cerimonia di apertura dei Mondiali di Calcio, sono statocurioso di sapere chi fosse lo stilista dello scintilantissimo 'playsuit verde smeraldo che indossava. E' del libanese Charbel Zoe, che l'ha vestita anche a maggio per l'esibizione ad American Idol.

Il brand Charbel Zoe e' abbastanza recente, avendo sfilato solo alla Miami Fashion Week e al Dubai Fashion Forward nel 2013 ma sta ottenendo molta visibilita' vestendo la J-Lo, la cantante attrice libanese Haifa Wehbe e altre celebrities con i suoi abiti di Alta Moda. Il sito del brand e' ancora in costruzione ma il designer e' molto attivo sulla sua pagina Facebook e su Twitter e dopo l'effetto J-Lo/Rio sara' ancora piu' richiesto di prima.

S/S14 Haute Couture

J-Lo @ American Idol

 Haifa Wehbe

Vionnet Reloaded Delusion. Haute Couture SS14. Pret-a-Porter FW14-15

Un paio di mesi fa scrissi un post di attesa per la sfilata di demi-couture del marchio Vionnet, rimesso in piedi dall'imprenditrice Goga Ashkenazi, la quale non solo ne e' il Direttore Creativo ma nel gestisce anche l'aspetto economico-finanziario. La sfilata SS14 a Parigi di fine gennaio e' stata affidata al talentuosissimo Hussein Chalayan e quella pap Fw14-15 che ha sfilato qualche giorno  fa.da team della Ashenazy Impressioni? Miste direi.

Le aspettative per un marchio storico come Vionnet sono altissime, ovviamnete e siceramente, esclusa la collezione di Chalayan che non solo ha rispettato il DNA della Maison ( taglio a sbieco e drappeggi ), ha dato anche la sua impronta personale. 

La collezione pret-a porter invece? Di un marchio qualunque. Goga Ashkenazi e' ferratissima su come gestire soldi, asset e cifre ma il creare una collezione in linea con l'heritage di un marchio (vedi i successi di Wang per Balenciaga e Simons per Dior) e fargli seguito con un branding e marketing di impatto e' un'altro' paio di maniche'. Speriamo che la Ashkenazi prenda a bordo un designer di professione che metta Vionnet sulla retta via. Vi metto alcune immagini e fatevi voi un'idea.

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A couple of months ago I wrote a post waiting for the demi-couture collection of Vionnet, revived by the enterpreneur Goga Ashkezazi, who is not only the Creative Director of the brand but she also manages the conomic and financial side of it. The SS 14 collection was designed by the super talented Hussain Chalayan and the ready to wear that by Ashkenazy team. Impression? Mixed I say.

Expectations for an historic brand like Vionnet are, obviously really high and , to be honest, apart from Chayan collection, who not only paid respect to the Maison DNA ( bias cuts and draping ), gave his personal touch. 

The ready to wear collection instead? it could have been of any other brand. Goga Askenazi had lots of experience on how to manage money, assets and numbers but create a collection in line with the heritage of a brand ( see the successful cases of Wang for Balenciaga and Simons for Dior) and follow with a powerful branding and marketing activity is a different kind of business. I really hope that Ashkenazi will hire a professional designer that will put Vionnet on the right path. I leave you with few pictures so you can form an idea.

Demi Couture SS14

Pret-a-Porter FW14-15