Versace | Spring Summer 2012 Full Fashion Show | Exclusive

Mood/Style:
Neoprene mermaids with studs in place of scales. This is how Donatella Versace described her woman for the next spring/summer season. Short hyper-glam sheath dresses, mini-skirts revealing the legs, sharp-cut plissé peplums. A tribute to Gianni Versace and to his gladiator woman, to Magna Graecia and to the Maison imagery. Textiles such as neoprene and leather are covered with studs, the evening dresses spangled with glowing crystals. The collection is steeped in tradition but looks at the future 
Lenghts: 

short dresses and mini-skirts. Midi and micro perfecto sheath dresses 

Colors: 

white, black, purple, green, light blue, gold. Starfish and shell prints 

Textiles: 

neoprene, leather, chiffon, cotton
Shapes:
Hyper-slim silhouettes both in the suit worn with shorts or high-waisted micro skirt or in the more elegant sheath dress version. For the evening: streamlined and sharp peplum dress in chiffon 

Accessories:
Leather sandals with plateau in Plexiglas. Macro sunglasses. Bracelets. Leather or printed handbags spangled with studs

Roberto Cavalli Man Spring Summer 2012 Fashion Show

Daniele and Roberto Cavalli are pleased to present a special video version of the Roberto Cavalli Men's Spring / Summer 2012 runway show, held on June 18 against the stunning backdrop of Palazzo Serbelloni in Milan.

Jon Kortajarena, an icon of charm and masculinity, is the protagonist of this video.The introduction gives an enhanced insight into the intimacy of the male ritual of dressing, before an encounter, in which the tailored suit is a means of bestowing full of confidence and self-awareness.

Through images and sounds the director brings this ritual to life for the viewer's experience.

The soundtrack for the video was created exclusively by the Fun Lovin' Criminals, who worked directly with Maison Cavalli to mix an original track that best expresses the mood of the collection.

A vision, a dream, a fusion of different art forms.

Versace, Spring/Summer 2012, Milan Fashion Week

MILAN - There was a resort feel to the Versace Spring/Summer 2012 collection at Milan Fashion Week, but in true Versace style. In true Donatella Versace style, that is. It's no wonder that Style.com reported people leaving the show saying, "That was so Donatella." Gold was there, but in a completely different style from that of the sensational Roberto Cavalli. Instead, they were light embellishments in the form of grommets highlighting outfits. Greek perhaps? Roman goddess? Or something along the lines of a resort vacation in a Greek or Roman paradis. A level of sophistication in the painting and faces emblazoned on the dresses and the florals. Again, in pure Donatella style--showcasing the importance of a fashion personality as part of the overall brand.

Appearances: Lindsey Wixson, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Daphne Groeneveld, Ginta Lapina, Kasia Struss, Nimue Smit, Ruby Aldridge, Karmen Pedaru, Sarah Blomqvist, Arizona Muse, Daria Strokous, Sigrid Agren, Zuzanna Bijoch, Josephine Skriver, Melissa Tammerijn, Mirte Maas, Hanne Gaby Odiele, Siri Tollerod, Kate King, Anabela Belikova, Jourdan Dunn

The Best of Paris Spring/Summer 2012: Paris Fashion Week Review

PARIS - FashionTV hit up Paris Fashion Week Spring 2012 to catch the last of the major fashion weeks in succession (New York, London, and Milan came first) and the best of Paris fashion and fashion designers. 

Hussein Chalayan, a sometimes controversial designer who fuses modern art and fashion, showcased a minimalist collection infused with the occasional screen printed graphic pattern, where models walked down the runway before standing in the back to sip champagne handed to them by the designer himself. FashionTV was backstage at the Vivienne Westwood Gold Label where models flaunted thick, dramatic makeup in a Baroque 18th century style and a "ruined royalty" look under a big chandelier. The Chloe label also went back to basics, infusing minimalism with the signature femininity of the brand. Sonia Rykiel is in the audience for her namesake collection presented by head designer Nathalie Rykiel, who says she wanted the collection to be quite feminine and airy. Short bangs accentuate the faces of models at the John Galliano show taken over by Bill Blass in the wake of Galliano's controversy. The show takes on a Victorian Mary Poppins theme. Mugler's show, while much more subdued than last year's Fall 2011 collection with an appearance by Lady Gaga, has a projected image of the pop and fashion icon in the background. Bette Franke opens the lacy, floral and uber-romantic Valentino collection. Sarah Burton turned out another beautiful and eccentric Alexander McQueen collection, which is everything McQueen himself could have hoped for. Kenzo's Spring/Summer 2012 collection was bright and happy. Natasha Poly opened the Viktor & Rolf show by walking out of a life size skirt to bring the Barbie doll theme to life. Nina Ricci was beautiful and feminine, and while the girls wore midriff-baring bandeaus and tops, it wasn't overtly sexual. Alber Elbaz cut every piece by hand for the Lanvin collection, which was a winning feminine look with sharp shouldered tops in muted colors and form fitting pencil skirts. The makeup inspiration for the JC Castelbajac show is 60s model Twiggy. The clothes are galactic and alien-like with a Mickey Mouse theme throughout the collection. Serbian model Simona Andrejic opens the show. Nina Garcia calls Giambattista Valli one of her favorite shows this season. Jean-Paul Gaultier's uber-French collection is set at a retro-style fashion show from the 50s without music. Each model walks down the runway carrying a number as a woman describes their look. Finally, Rosy De Palma headlines the eccentric Manish Arora show which is both colorful and architectural.

Appearances: Aline Weber, Maud Welzen, Ella Kandyba, Hanne Gaby Odiele, Victoria Lee, Vivienne Westwood, Yulia Lobova, Val Garland, Bette Franke, Zuzanna Bijoch, Arizona Muse, Kate King, Ines de la Fressange, Daga Ziober, Kinga Rajzak, Sigrid Agren, Fei Fei Sun, Josephine Skriver, Siri Tollerod, Jacquelyn Jablonski, Joan Smalls, Julia Nobis, Hannah McGibbon, Lou Lesage, Izia Higelin, Sonia Rykiel, Beatrice Rosen, Bryanboy, Florence Foresti, Vahina Giocante, Nathalie Rykiel, Sigrid Agren, Anais Pouliot, Suzie Bird, Mirte Maas, Nimue Smit, Monika "Jac" Jagaciak, Daria Strokous, Magdalena Frackowiak, Daphne Groeneveld, Karlie Kloss, Juju Ivanyuk, Ruby Aldridge, Melissa Tammerijn, Abbey Lee Kershaw,
Nicola Formichetti, Karmen Pedaru, Frida Gustavsson, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Pier Paolo Piccioli, Francois-Henri Pinault, Salma Hayek, Viktor Horsting, Freha Beha Erichsen, Miranda Kerr, Aymeline Valade, Lindsey Wixson, Nyasha Matonhodze, Natalia Kills, Kesh, Guilhem De Castelbajac, Louis-Marie De Castelbajac, Sliimy, Josephine de la Baume, Simona Andrejic, Nina Garcia, Bianca Brandolini, Giambattista Valli, Ginta Lapina,Tanya Dziahileva, Rosy De Palma, Manish Arora

D&G | Spring Summer 2012 Full Fashion Show

MILAN, September 22, 2011

Today's D&G show was the last of its kind. The designers plan to integrate this collection into their main signature line. So, why not go out with a bang? Domenico and Stefano wouldn't have it any other way. The foundation was simple: scarf prints borrowed from Messrs. Dolce and Gabbana's own back catalog, with what looked like a wink and a nod to those of Versace and Hermès as well. You can't do a foulard show without at least a sidelong glance at either of those houses. And did we see Lilly Pulitzer in a matching pink and Kelly green cami and bloomer shorts set? Anyway, what the duo did with all those polka dots, crests, medallions, butterlies, and flowers was pure D&G, be it wrapping and knotting scarves into a tiny strapless cocktail dress or whipping them up in sequined shorts and matching tees. The firm of body and young of heart will scoop them up for the party scene, along with the gold coin jewelry and scarf-wrapped wedges.

Dolce and Gabbana had a red-carpet hit on their hands with the star motifs from their Fall main line, and they've clearly absorbed the message for Spring. Prints continue to be the big story both on the catwalks and in the front rows. Might as well get in on the action when the getting's so good. Now that D&G is finito, their souvenir prints of seaside Italian scenes will be collectors' items in more way than one.

Chanel | Spring Summer 2012 Full Fashion Show

For today's Chanel spectacular, Karl Lagerfeld recast himself as Prospero, conjuring a magical underwater world from the raw stuff of fashion. The Grand Palais was transformed by huge, blinding white sea shapes—corals, shells, sea horses, stingrays—and Florence Welch arose like Botticelli's Venus on the half shell to sing "What the Water Gave Me." It was a bravura performance all around.

What the water gave Karl was the kind of acute overview that only he could turn into a dazzling collection. He'd been musing on the fact that forms as modern as anything designed by the architect Zaha Hadid have been shaped at the bottom of the ocean by natural processes taking millions of years. Chanel hasn't been in existence for quite that long, but there was an impressive, graphic modernity shaped by lengthy natural processes (Karl's thoughts) in most of the 80 or so outfits that strolled around today's massive set. Lagerfeld said he wanted lightness. He'd used new fabrics even he didn't know how to define. They brought an iridescent mother-of-pearl shimmer to the collection—the lightness literally shone through. That was also why Lagerfeld strung pearls, instead of belts, around waists. And Sam McKnight dotted pearls through the models' slicked-back hair, too.

Lagerfeld's aim was nothing too "Chanel" because, he sagely noted, there are already so many other people doing that style. Still, he insisted on something that was recognizably within the codes of the house. So there were boxy tweeds, drop waists, mille-feuille pleats, and an ocean of prettiness for the fans. It was enthralling to watch the way he insinuated his underwater theme into this traditional Chanel lexicon. The ruffles on one dress looked like sea sponges, the iridescent streamers flying from another like seaweed. It wasn't always successful—one of Stella Tennant's outfits sprouted unfortunate seaweed panniers—but how many other designers are there who are prepared to take such risks after six decades in the business? Strike that. Who has this much energy and creativity at any age?

Prada | Spring Summer 2012 Full Fashion Show | Exclusive

Leave it to Miuccia Prada, the industry's most accomplished spin doctor, to nail the mood of the new season with one word: "sweet". And sweet it is, as pretty as the proverbial picture and with all the fondant colour (pistachio, lilac, lemon and every shade of rose), uplifting print (graphic, picture postcard, paisley and floral) and delicate, shimmering fabrics (chiffon, lace, aluminium organza) to match. Meanwhile, figurative details – faces, animal and human – bring a smile to even the most po-faces.