6.03.2009

Resort 2010 Goes All Out


This Resort 2010 season is on full force now, and it almoslooks unstoppable. It's almost becoming as important as any pre-at-porter season anywhere. One of many favorite fashion critics, Cathy Horyn, mentioned, "Resort collections have a life of their own, and they are a bigger deal than they used to be, with more media coverage." And it's not joke, resort is everywhere, starting with Kate Moss wearing a Marc Jacobs draped metallic one-shoulder mini dress at the Costumes Institute "Models As Muse" Gala, then it was Karl's turn to steal the spotlight. Lagerfeld's Venice resort collection for Chanel was to my opinion, dramatic yet intriguingly risky. There was as much of Coco's own look, to Karl's mysterious and impeccable head-to-toe presentation, he always manages to successfully combine both worlds to come up with a hit show. Karl got my attention right at the start. Karl's fav, Baptiste Giabiconi came out running onto the boardwalk with this black cape and this body suit underneath of the same shade, which cause a smile to some of thattendees. The show continued and models came out in sailor-inspired sportswear, striped long cardigans and matching pantin dark blue, black and grey, classic tweed ensembles and embroidered metallic evening gowns. Iwas hot. I love how Karl can be so amusingly innovative and still keep the Chanel's DNA present in every collection for every season, just genius. 

I felt this season, designers opted for two different routes. There was this minimalistic mood at Calvin Klein and Helmut Lang, and and easiness in Donna Karan and Gucci. In the other hand, thougthere seemed to be an explotion of eccentricity and optimism in Marc Jacobs and Isaac Mizrahi. Anybody else in between felt little flat. While going through the collections, there were some that stood out more than others. I loved YSL , Stefano Pilati's understanding of the women's body is a bit different from everyone else, therwas this slouchy, relaxed, exotic look to it mixed with an understated touch of glamour that screamed "I love fashion." Pilati showed this extreme harem baggy pants that almost went down your knees, which can go super stylish or super atrocious. There were also tux like blazers, printed shift day dresses in earth tones and structured coats, everything works so harmoniously well within each look, it looks like Stefano had in mind "the real women", the one who is not exactly a size 0, those women who don't starve themselves to look like sick bone-showing parisian mannequins, the ones who actually buy and wear his clothes on 5th avenue, HER!!!. He successfully married two elements that most women right now are looking for in times of crisis, practicality/wearability with sensual glamour, it was just a well-put-together collection. 
Another show that caught my attention was Prada. Miuccia midas' touch always seems to work wonders on her clothes. Flipping through the looks, it almost felt that the Prada woman is literary aging backwards, her previous show for the 2009 Fall/Winter season, showed a lot of tough structured suits with a touch of femininity, but it didn't look as naive as this resort show. Now, for this seasonshe turned the whole thing around, the look was much younger, more playful. As usual her take on fashion is somewhat quirkier than the rest, for this season Miuccia showed naughty bold printed tied tops, skirts and bikini bottoms. It was just a lovely, delicate and very youthful collection full of optimism and character, loved it. 
Overall, I feel like this was a strong season and becoming more influential each time around, designers are putting more work and thought in their collections as the market is becoming  even more competitive. This resort a.k.a pre-spring looks more interesting and intriguing than other seasons past. The collections look impeccably constructed with a clear focal point, below some of the few trends I spotted for this season...
Karl Lagerfeld once said, "There is no better color combination than black and white." Do you know any better?, designers went back to basics with sleek black and white looks.
Chanel
Isaac Mizrahi
Donna Karan
Stella McCartney
Narcisco Rodriguez
Stella McCartney
Michael Kors
Oscar de la Renta
And the little black dress, of course...
Zac Posen
Prada
Diane von Furstenberg
Marc by Marc Jacobs
Zac Posen
Chanel
A blazer is a great way to achieve a put-together look, especially when it fits at the right places. I love the fact that they can be so practical yet refined, with a shift, skirt and mini, biker shorts, an evening gown (peep Zac Posen's look), or even with nothing underneath to keep it sexy and demure. It's just one of those menswear pieces that few women can pull off very well. 
Stella McCartney
Derek Lam
Alexander Wang
Celine
Jason Wu
Oscar de la Renta
Anna Sui
Stella McCartney
Zac Posen
I remember when stripes were big a couple of seasons ago, and now they seem to come back for next year.
Chanel
Donna Karan
Bottega Veneta
Stella McCartney
Marc by Marc Jacobs
Chanel
Stella McCartney
Zac Posen
Blue and white striped tops can be mistaken for a Jean-Paul Gaultier piece, but designers went for a nonchalant, beachy, sailor feel for this season.
Marc Jacobs
Louis Vuitton
Chanel
Chloe
Chanel
Stella McCartney
There was a bold influx of colour from shades of green, orange and striking pink.
Bottega Veneta
Jason Wu
Diane von Furstenberg
Jason Wu
Elie Tahari
Preen
Marc by Marc Jacobs
Zac Posen
Donna Karan
Carolina Herrera
Rachel Roy
Yves Saint Laurent
Chloe
Stella McCartney
Oscar de la Renta
There seemed to be an African influence for this season, designers took inspiration from western cultures and used exotic animals prints in order to exude a wild and sexy attitude.
Michael Kors
Yves Saint Laurent
Isaac Mizrahi
Michael Kors
The classic tweed jacket is always a great option when looking for structure and strength.
Isaac Mizrahi
Anna Sui
Marc Jacobs
Chanel
Oscar de la Renta
For evening, designers opted for uber sexy strapless mini dresses to bring out the freak in you, =)
Marc Jacobs
Diane von Furstenberg
Jason Wu
Thakoon
Pixs: wwd.com, style.com