Neil Barrett
For the most part, I like this collection. It includes a lot of staple pieces that translate well between seasons and appear to have a long style life. I also like the pairing of unconventional pieces. The cardigan with the shorts, the long sleeved shirt with the shorts, etc. I do this myself a lot, and people have asked, “If it is cool enough to wear a jacket, wouldn’t it be too cold to wear shorts?” Psh. That’s a rule meant to be broken. Articles of clothing have the tremendous ability to look better outside their element.
Alexander McQueen
I respect McQueen for the fashion genius he is, but dabbling in Lycra and the sort results in a collection with either highly unwearable pieces or pieces that quickly decompose from ready-to-wear.
Prada
For the last couple seasons, Prada has been experimenting with gender silhouettes and it is refreshing. However, sometimes it is taken too far. I love adrogyny, but there is a thin line between adrogyny itself and cross dressing. For the top row of photos, I love what they did. First of all, I love how long socks look with shorts. It dissects the body into two, drawing attention to the footwear and then the top half, rather than one omionous figure. In these pictures, the feminine lines work, because they are complimented by hyper masculine pieces For instance in the third picture, the femininity of the varying neck lengths is broken up by the length of the shirt, the pairing of shorts, and the socks. The look I absolutely love from this collection is the second picture. The crop of the blazer is fantastic, and while there is a lot of layering going on, it is subtle. This subtly is what the bottom row of pictures lacks. Over the shoulders and a halter top is a little too far fetched for me. The middle piece just made me chuckle. I assume it is made out of rubber–looks like a fruit peel to me. However–overall, I feel like this is another strong collection from Prada.
Bottega Veneta
I don’t have much to say about this collection, other than I love the wide legged pants. I’m not giving up the skinny silhouette anytime soon, but this is a welcomed occasional breath of fresh air.
Roberto Cavalli
I feel like Roberto Cavalli’s collection included everything I like and dislike in the collections of Prada and Bottega Veneta. I love the silhouette of the second picture–how it begins tight and then airs out with the wide legged pants. And I absolutely love the matching of the belt and slouch boots in the first picture. On the other hand, I like the gender twisting models used in the pictures to the left, but I do not like the execution. I love the idea of belting jackets, blazers, etc., but it looks better when done in an understated way with neutral colors and materials. Think Robert Geller. I also like the exaggerated proportions being used in a lot of shirts coming out, but this look falls dead because of the material. Again, it looks best when understated and based in neutrality.
It is only day two of Milan Fashion week, but I sense that wide legged pants are going to be huge in the spring!
I only included this last picture from Roberto Cavalli for fun. The Cavalli Beach Gang made me laugh. If you can guess why, you get +343434343 points.
