Fashion designers at Milan Fashion Week delivered a dark palette and masculine styles for autumn-winter wardrobes in a reflection of Italy’s bleak economic and political landscape.
Giorgio Armani, Gucci and Roberto Cavalli were among the fashion houses whose darkly coloured catwalk collections for the 2013-14 autumn/winter season evoked the anxiety over grim expectations for Italian fashion sales, worries over European economic health and uncertainty over domestic politics.
Designer Miuccia Prada, whose sleek collections are eagerly awaited at the Milan week, chose a post-industrial setting to present her look for a modern woman hemmed in by the grim realities of life since an economic downturn began in 2008.
“It seems to me that in the contemporary world you cannot let yourself go completely,” Prada said after her show.
Armani re-worked a masculine style for a collection that included suspenders and jumpsuits in black velvet accessorised with black berets.
Sculpted beauty
Gucci designer Frida Giannini offered jackets narrowed at the waist with egg-shaped shoulders and worn over pencil skirts below the knee. A mostly pragmatic look designed for work.
Giannini, who is going to have her first baby in a couple of weeks, used colours like purple, rust, moss green and dark blue for a femme fatale she said was “steely yet sexy”.
Dark colours, bold materials
Neoprene, lurex and vinyl surfaced everywhere, with Versace delivering the most daring looks in a rock-and-roll show.
Creative head Donatella Versace showed ankle-length silk dresses with vinyl details contouring the body, while oversized coats came in bright yellow and black-and-white colours.
Accessories
Designers reserved their boldest ideas for accessories, where sales have risen during the recession because they are more affordable in price and can be used for more than a season.
While Armani showed shoes with sculpted heels and a variety of handbags, Versace opted for silver spikes on chain necklaces and studded boots. Roberto Cavalli crafted necklaces in the shape of snakes and roses and large earring enveloping the ears.
Dolce & Gabbana, who drew inspiration from Byzantine mosaics, had shoes with inlaid sculpted heels, capped their models with golden crowns and draped them in jewels.
Other trends for next winter include zips, seen at Etro, pleated skirts from Blumarine, and the return of padded shoulders.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 28th, 2013.
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