A sandy beach and the sea were
the backdrop for Giorgio Armani's spring-summer 2015 women's
collection showcased in Milan over the weekend.
'Sand', a short film by Paolo Sorrentino, known for his
award-winning 'The Great Beauty', opened the show with two naked
bodies entwined in naval ropes on a beach landscape of the
Aeolian islands off Sicily, an area which Armani loves.
And the area explored by Armani to craft his collection was
indeed one he has visited before, made of superbly elegant
tailored jackets, tunics over sheer trousers and long skirts -
yet with a light-as-air touch.
Indeed, the erotic scenario set by Sorrentino gave way to
layers of fabrics of such lightness they were just a little more
than a shimmer.
Nude shades including sandy beige and pink, as well as
animal prints, starred in the show with crystals and paillettes
on key pieces for a touch of exoticism.
The draped chiffon dress evoking an Indian sari and
accessories like gilded metal necklaces, however, gave an
antique rather than an ethnic feel to the light breeziness of
Armani's take on elegance for next spring.
And if a fresh sea breeze swept through the Armani
collection, Versace also took an unexpected turn as sex took a
step backwards to send a more sophisticated brand of audacity
down the catwalk.
The Versace woman for next spring "is new," Donatella
Versace said backstage - bold yet fresh, sensual yet
cutting-edge.
This new concept, styled to dress the brand's aficionados -
40-something clients "who are younger than ten years ago" -
translated into colour-blocked streamlined silhouettes in a
strong collection of quiet sophistication.
Jackets played a leading role for the first time on a
Versace catwalk, starring alongside surprisingly bon ton A-line
dresses in new circle motifs, a pattern also worked into a star
piece, a kinky white leather jacket.
Sharp black paired-down pieces - like a suit with a long
jacket over a side-slit elongated skirt - had oversized white
stitching, balancing sense and sex into this new aesthetic.
Jersey sweatshirts and knit dresses matched with a jacket
gave sportswear a new edgy makeover.
Another master of sensuality, Roberto Cavalli, debuted his
"light of summer" collection for spring, as described by the
show notes, which shimmered in bright shades of yellow, orange,
red, green and blue over patterned short dresses and full-length
gowns.
White lace and black dresses subtly played with shadow and
light.
The show-stopping psychedelic dresses that opened his event
had a taste of the 1970s though fashioned through a fresh new
take on the house's craftsmanship.
So did the cotton lace dresses or the perfect jacket and
short skirt in croc or the sequined jeans and gowns - plain sexy
while shimmering with life beneath the surface.
Denim on jackets and slit jeans, the slashes filled with
sequins, contributed to create the feeling that the Florentine
label was returning to its heyday while infusing new life into
its original vocation just as the its sale is still very much on
the cards.
Cavalli is allegedly negotiating with Russia's VTB Capital,
the investment arm of the country's second-largest lender VTB
Bank, the sale of a majority stake in his company.
The label has previously proved too expensive for would-be
investors with a potential sale reportedly abandoned in 2009.
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