Ready to Wear AW16/17: The World Over
The Ready to Wear AW16/17 fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris showed a great diversity in design approach, from the classic to the experimental, with size and colour, to clashing patterns, textiles and incorporating emoji. We give you a look into this diverse spectrum from one end of the world to another.
New York
Alexander Wang
Freed from his commitments in Paris with Balenciaga, the designer had one thing on his mind: returning to champion his eponymous label. The space was a church on Park Avenue where models traipsed to a soundtrack of Drake. Wang’s collection was about the wearable offbeat. Strong and outgoing, the pieces were inherently punk with words like strict, faded, tender, and girls emblazoned across the fronts of fluffy sweaters and fluffy camisoles, on beanies, and on the thighs of tights. Cropped blazers and knee-grazing skirt combos featured prominently, zips, stud-work and cutouts composed the pieces, held together with a straightforward black and white colour palette – uncomplicated but distinguished.
Proenza Schouler
This season guests attended the AW16/17 presentation blindly as prefall was kept away from the public eye until the collection becomes available in May. Nevertheless, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez’s pre-collection at Proenza Schouler gave lovers of the brand a feel for what to expect. Their AW16/17 collection displayed an angularity: triangular silhouettes for blazers that saw lapels crossed over the chest. Ribbed blouses slit in the front, a strap woven to keep it together, flowing angular fabric underneath. Cinched trousers with a tie around the waist, ribbed tube dresses, sliced dresses and shearling collars on long coats presented a glimpse into a collection ruled by angularity.
MoMA’s PS1
Greater New York was this year’s installment for MoMA PS1 that recurs every five years. The exhibition seeks to present a collection of 400 works – including film and performance – from 157 emerging and established New York artists. The marriage of art and fashion was ever prevalent as the event saw Eckhaus Latta stage their AW16/17 presentation at MoMA PS1 in Queens.
London
Burberry
The collection, said Christopher Bailey, was inspired by a “patchwork” of influences. And what transpired on the runway clarified his description. The collection was a medley of eras – 60s style suede double-breasted coats and car coats and of course the classic trench but with a patterned twist. Patterns clashed on dresses with floral prints and art deco style embellished motifs, sheer sleeves embroidered with a bold floral pattern, and a patchwork style cape featuring long emerald tassels – in fact tassels featured on a number of items representing a Western element, but coupled with unlikely, yet fitting counterparts including leopard print and bohemia inspired folk dresses. The collection didn’t seem out of place from Woodstock or a snap of 1960s inner-city life.
Marques’Almeida
Inspired by the vibrant, ambitious and career girls that surround them, Marques’Almeida presented a collection centered on the notions of flamboyance, fun and (dis)proportion. Almost as though it was something out of a 21st century mad hatters party, exceptionally oversized and loud pieces were the focus. The colour palette was immensely playful luminous greens, yellows, purples and oranges were partnered unlikely counterparts yet created a quirky aesthetic harmony. In essence, three words ruled the collection: fun, expression and flamboyance – which is not too alien for the creative team that also brought the SS16 collection that was all about grunge.
Milan
Gucci
This collection marked the third womenswear collection for Alessandro Michele. But it has been one year since the creative director of Gucci unveiled his first womenswear collection for the Kering-owned house which has seen the label go from being marginal and stagnant to popular and profitable. The collection was diverse, although it somewhat transcended the eclectic. A conglomeration of styles, classic, to comical, somber – a page from 60s cartoon-y playfulness to 1920s tweed suits to fantastical gowns festooned with fluff and delicate light flowing peach coloured fabric. One dress featured a tiered rainbow starting with a mint green top embroidered with an intricate and bold bird motif. Michele worked with the Brooklyn artist called GucciGhost, best known for his graffiti involving versions of the brand’s famous logo. This street aesthetic was certainly prominent throughout, but tinted with certain artistry – elements of design that Gucci has been known for.
MSGM
Creative Director Massimo Giorgett had a message to relay to his show’s attendees. “We kindly ask you not to post any pictures of the show on social media… Put back your phone and enjoy the show.” For Giorgett, this presentation was about the experience of fashion wholeheartedly, and not a passive and second hand experience through a phone’s camera lens. It would be remiss to have not experienced the at times vibrant colour palette composed of bold patterns and prints, often clashing, layered upon prints and colours. Size was also toyed with which saw an oversized white car coat with large red spots. In essence the concept of the clothing was inherently classic, trench coats, high-waisted skirts and sheer blouses, but the execution veered a little more into art through the mixture of colours, patterns and fabrics.
Paris
Saint Laurent
It was a return to a sharp 1980s aesthetic filled with metallic for Hedi Slimane. Sharp shoulders, thick belts, tight fitting tops and skirts and leather bomber jackets dominated the collection. It wasn’t a shy collection. Limbs were on show, and enhanced by stiletto pumps and tights with tapered, tight, voluminous shoulders, surprising volumes and asymmetry. Metallic gold belts on luminous silver off the shoulder dresses, an electric blue fur coat, balloon skirts and glitter detail showed the crowds that Saint Laurent was about attitude, fearlessness and great attention to form and line.
Chanel
Karl Lagerfeld revisited the allure and the codes of the House in a very contemporary spirit with this collection that focused on the fundamental elements of the House that have been forever synonymous with the Chanel allure. Mid-length and longer, the silhouette reasserted the emblematic codes of the House: over strict coats and men’s reefer jackets in wool, accumulations of long strings of pearls are worn like scarves. In between boaters, helmets and riding hats, hats in tweed, felt or leather are held on with a strap adorned with byzantine crosses, pearls or camellias. On the models’ feet were boots with horizontal lacing and moccasins with a new heel that further accentuated the modernity of an attitude. Chanel came into the digital age with cat cuffs, emoticon jewelry, and bobbin and hanger handbags. Breast pockets were transformed into a smartphone holder. Size was again played with and others came in a pale-gold upholstery silk embroidered with chenille velvet, mini chains and gold beads. The gabardine trench coat becomes a maxi volume duster jacket. The dress coats in tweed are understated, zipped from top to bottom, or with an integrated tone-on-tone belt.
Ellery
Through Moody autumnal tones including ink blue, grape, rust and black, Ellery presented a collection that was timeless and classic. Ellery designs were clean, simplistic yet with a slight edge to elevate their standing from regular to exquisite. Elongated military style coats and trench coats in grey and white, angle grazing trousers with a slight flare at the bottom were matched with long sheer shirts and blouses. There were little surprises throughout the collection like sapphire coloured buttons on a navy coat, gold and black jacquard floral print skirts, metallic silver coats as well as spots of tartan strapped across a redefined caftan type pantsuit. Ellery was not far from a redefined version of elegance, where classicism met a quiet modernity. Australian designers are certainly putting their name on the map.
The pieces presented as part of the AW16/17 fashion weeks across the globe again demonstrated that fashion is about pushing forward, borrowing from the past, but ensuring that what is created today looks to the future. Stay tuned to fluoro for further fashion insights and coverage.
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