Shoes are more than just laces and leather - for some women they may have therapeutic qualities, a new study suggests.
Research led by University of Canterbury PhD student Jessica Boyce has found that women who feel more insecure after exposure to "body ideals'' own more attractiveness-conferring accessories such as shoes and handbags, but not trousers.
"What the research suggests is that shoes and handbags are more appealing to insecure women because they increase physical attractiveness without drawing attention to one's figure. Trousers, on the other hand, tend to draw attention and that is why they are shunned by this group of women,'' she said.
"Some women may see shoe advertisements in stores, negatively compare themselves to the models and consequently purchase a pair of shoes. Given the increasing size of the average woman and the decreasing size of models, threats to appearance are likely becoming more frequent.''
Ms Boyce said the average number of pairs of shoes owned by women who participated in the study was between 17 and 18, while a few women owned up to 70 pairs.
The study involved 286 students from the University of Canterbury and 922 students at the University of Alberta, Canada.
The results of the study would probably have been different if they hadn't used only students.
Ms Boyce said she was a handbag and shoe lover, but not on the same scale of Filipina politician Imelda Marcos (1000 handbags and 3000 pairs of shoes) or Sex in the City's Carrie Bradshaw.
Worldwide the female shoe industry is enormous. In the United States alone, 886 million pairs were sold in 2008 compared with 144 million dresses, skirts, trousers, cotton shirts and blouses combined.
Angela Cleary took her shoe fanaticism to a new level and got a job at an inner-Auckland shoe store.
She estimates she owns more than 100 pairs of shoes and has spent some $8000 on her collection.
"I just really love shoes,'' she said.
One pair of shoes in particular were her favourite item.
"They're like these blue and white suede wedges and they're just like this most gorgeous cobalt blue, like this (Angela strokes a nearby pair of blue sneakers adoringly).
"They're amazing.''
She agreed with the research that some women's love of shoes stemmed from idealised images of women in the media.
"The women that are pictured in the media are like the perfect woman, and how many women would fall into that category? That's not necessarily attainable but shoes and handbags are. They can make you go from feeling bluh about how you look to feeling fabulous. That's why I buy so many shoes because I love the way I feel when I'm all dressed up.''
Shoe enthusiast Ayla Surtees has precisely 86 pairs in her collection.
"I just like how you can have all different shoes for all different outfits. I love my heels mostly, especially out-there high-heels, ones which are seven inches high and things like that.''
She was convinced of the benefits of "retail therapy''.
2012年4月18日星期三
2011年4月5日星期二
Head out on to the nature trail...
Head out on to the nature trail...
Nature has always been a big inspiration for spring trends but, this season, designers have gone wild for it.
Forget dainty blooms and freshly mown lawns and think bountiful, overgrown wilderness.
Catwalks came alive for spring with bold fruits, super-sized blooms, birds in flight and even a flurry of insects and bugs.
Celebrities Alexa Chung, Rihanna and Lily Allen have all been sporting garden-esque print gowns on the red carpets.
Essentially, this is a trend that's all about having fun with prints – an injection of these larger-than-life patterns is the easiest way to wake up your wardrobe this season.
British summertime is officially under way so take inspiration from the great outdoors.
Tangerine, lime and lemon aren't only the new hot colours for this season, the fruits themselves are going it large in delicious prints.
While Prada had fun with bold bananas, Stella McCartney wowed with citrus fruits and things got a little juicy at Betsey Johnson with strawberry, pineapple and grape references.
Fruity prints will be adding a retro edge to spring pieces on the high street.
Go as bold as you dare with this look, from dainty berries and cherries to super-sized lemons and apples. Think Katy Perry kitsch and you're on the right track.
If you like the concept but think you'll look more ‘fruitcake' than fruity fashionista, use accessories.
And if Charlotte Olympia's £950 fruit platforms push your budget, try the affordable range of fruity trinkets and charms on the high street to add a quirky edge.
Watch the birdie... butterflies and birds are the carefree way to do this season's natural selection.
Alexander McQueen's catwalk gowns and heels flaunted life-sized butterfly appliqués and Miu Miu showcased a graceful swan print dress. These prints are much more subtle than other nature-inspired trends – look out for dainty versions, such as repetitive mini swallow patterns or sheer, delicate butterfly looks.
And forget structured workwear style pieces, this trend works best with casual looks like floaty summer dresses or blouses for a nod to Seventies hippy chic.
If you want to be more adventurous, fly with bolder bird of prey prints.
No matter if you have an aversion to creepy crawlies, insects are this season's surprise fashion hit.
Fun and unusual, even arachnophobics can indulge in this quirky print trend.
From teeny ladybirds and dainty dragonflies to eye-catching bugs and beetles, it all works – just make sure your insects are colourful.
Go too monochromatic or dark and you're at risk of stepping into spooky Hallowe'en territory.
This season's insects are ideal for curvy girls who should avoid extremely busy prints and opt for scattered print styles to flatter your figure.
There's only one way to come up smelling of roses this season... with super-sized blooms.
These floral prints are so lush, they look like they've been grown in a hothouse.
Erdem, D&G and Cacharel's catwalks were blooming with vibrant colour using bold florals and the high street have followed suit with overgrown bloom prints.
Just like a wild bouquet, this is one trend where mixing up your blooms by clashing two different prints can work really well.
Just make sure the colours and tones still complement each other, without being too matchy-matchy.
Take inspiration from Alexander McQueen's applique and try pop-up flower details on occasionwear dresses or shoes for a real summer talking point.
Nature has always been a big inspiration for spring trends but, this season, designers have gone wild for it.
Forget dainty blooms and freshly mown lawns and think bountiful, overgrown wilderness.
Catwalks came alive for spring with bold fruits, super-sized blooms, birds in flight and even a flurry of insects and bugs.
Celebrities Alexa Chung, Rihanna and Lily Allen have all been sporting garden-esque print gowns on the red carpets.
Essentially, this is a trend that's all about having fun with prints – an injection of these larger-than-life patterns is the easiest way to wake up your wardrobe this season.
British summertime is officially under way so take inspiration from the great outdoors.
Tangerine, lime and lemon aren't only the new hot colours for this season, the fruits themselves are going it large in delicious prints.
While Prada had fun with bold bananas, Stella McCartney wowed with citrus fruits and things got a little juicy at Betsey Johnson with strawberry, pineapple and grape references.
Fruity prints will be adding a retro edge to spring pieces on the high street.
Go as bold as you dare with this look, from dainty berries and cherries to super-sized lemons and apples. Think Katy Perry kitsch and you're on the right track.
If you like the concept but think you'll look more ‘fruitcake' than fruity fashionista, use accessories.
And if Charlotte Olympia's £950 fruit platforms push your budget, try the affordable range of fruity trinkets and charms on the high street to add a quirky edge.
Watch the birdie... butterflies and birds are the carefree way to do this season's natural selection.
Alexander McQueen's catwalk gowns and heels flaunted life-sized butterfly appliqués and Miu Miu showcased a graceful swan print dress. These prints are much more subtle than other nature-inspired trends – look out for dainty versions, such as repetitive mini swallow patterns or sheer, delicate butterfly looks.
And forget structured workwear style pieces, this trend works best with casual looks like floaty summer dresses or blouses for a nod to Seventies hippy chic.
If you want to be more adventurous, fly with bolder bird of prey prints.
No matter if you have an aversion to creepy crawlies, insects are this season's surprise fashion hit.
Fun and unusual, even arachnophobics can indulge in this quirky print trend.
From teeny ladybirds and dainty dragonflies to eye-catching bugs and beetles, it all works – just make sure your insects are colourful.
Go too monochromatic or dark and you're at risk of stepping into spooky Hallowe'en territory.
This season's insects are ideal for curvy girls who should avoid extremely busy prints and opt for scattered print styles to flatter your figure.
There's only one way to come up smelling of roses this season... with super-sized blooms.
These floral prints are so lush, they look like they've been grown in a hothouse.
Erdem, D&G and Cacharel's catwalks were blooming with vibrant colour using bold florals and the high street have followed suit with overgrown bloom prints.
Just like a wild bouquet, this is one trend where mixing up your blooms by clashing two different prints can work really well.
Just make sure the colours and tones still complement each other, without being too matchy-matchy.
Take inspiration from Alexander McQueen's applique and try pop-up flower details on occasionwear dresses or shoes for a real summer talking point.
2011年3月30日星期三
No shirt, no shoes, no class
LBCC is a school rich with student diversity. Every student contributes a different style to the school making it more colorful and multi-factious.
Each student has the opportunity to express oneself as they please. Many identify themselves with the fad they express. Without the variety we all possess on campus, the school just might be boring. The person and there style is what gives that extra touch we need on campus that makes our school glow.
As of now LBCC does not possess a dress code prohibiting student's freedom of fashion on campus. Students are able to dress freely without having a consequence. But would a dress code be needed for LBCC? Is the way students are dressing prohibiting them from learning?
The truth is we don't think it matters. It doesn't seem to be a big issue as long as it does not offend other students. The clothing does not make the student. We do not see how a fashion can affect a student's academic capacity.
The capacity is within the student and there should not be any other factor that a student might be critiqued by. We should all be proud that LBCC does not have such standards that prohibit us from our expression, as some of us recall the uniform look some of us adopted in elementary making us feel imprisoned and just simply bland. Imagine going back to a white collard shirt and blue bottoms.
We're pretty sure nobody wants to go back to that.
This is why as students we should not abuse this right we possess on campus. Common sense should be used we obviously know that a bathing suit will cause controversy and even racy t-shirts can cause a stir.
Yet we see students doing it everyday. Someone mentioned how they can not stand seeing how girls dress up for school looking like its saturday night and they are ready for the club.
As much as some students might not like this, there is nothing that can be done because it is that person's right to wear whatever pleases themselves and not anyone else.
As long as everyone respects each other and every one's unique way of dressing we have nothing to worry about.
We can all continue wearing what makes us who we are. And enlighten LBCC with our colorful clothing that paves the way to new students and the new trends that are here to come.
Each student has the opportunity to express oneself as they please. Many identify themselves with the fad they express. Without the variety we all possess on campus, the school just might be boring. The person and there style is what gives that extra touch we need on campus that makes our school glow.
As of now LBCC does not possess a dress code prohibiting student's freedom of fashion on campus. Students are able to dress freely without having a consequence. But would a dress code be needed for LBCC? Is the way students are dressing prohibiting them from learning?
The truth is we don't think it matters. It doesn't seem to be a big issue as long as it does not offend other students. The clothing does not make the student. We do not see how a fashion can affect a student's academic capacity.
The capacity is within the student and there should not be any other factor that a student might be critiqued by. We should all be proud that LBCC does not have such standards that prohibit us from our expression, as some of us recall the uniform look some of us adopted in elementary making us feel imprisoned and just simply bland. Imagine going back to a white collard shirt and blue bottoms.
We're pretty sure nobody wants to go back to that.
This is why as students we should not abuse this right we possess on campus. Common sense should be used we obviously know that a bathing suit will cause controversy and even racy t-shirts can cause a stir.
Yet we see students doing it everyday. Someone mentioned how they can not stand seeing how girls dress up for school looking like its saturday night and they are ready for the club.
As much as some students might not like this, there is nothing that can be done because it is that person's right to wear whatever pleases themselves and not anyone else.
As long as everyone respects each other and every one's unique way of dressing we have nothing to worry about.
We can all continue wearing what makes us who we are. And enlighten LBCC with our colorful clothing that paves the way to new students and the new trends that are here to come.
In Praise of High Heels
Even before Cinderella's step-sisters tried to squeeze their feet into her glass slipper, women's shoes were already the schizophrenic icon of female subjugation and folly, as well as sexuality and power.
Folklore around the world has various versions of the Cinderella story, dating even as far back as the ancient Greeks. The female foot has been bound, twisted and fetishized over millennia, and this practice continues today with the eternal popularity of the high-heeled shoe.
On Saturday, a Singapore radio station, will stage a Stiletto Race at 11am at the Singapore Flyer, where participants will have to run 100m in three-inch high heels. The race is akin in spirit to similar events in Milan, New York, Sydney and even in Tenerife, where the race is run by drag queens.
At the peril of sprained ankles and shattered tarsals, there will emerge an eventual winner on Saturday. But of what? Of negotiating urban terrain in impossible footwear? It is a Pyrrhic victory, some cry, one that reinforces the stereotype of the woman as a hobbled, tethered creature of man's and now her own volition.
Feminists have long vilified the high-heeled shoe as the devil's work, leading many strong and successful women to have a somewhat conflicted love-hate relationship with their vertiginous indulgences in luscious Pierre Hardy or the latest Giuseppe Zanotti number.
Feminist arguments aside, any woman in high heels understands the power she immediately wields. Her posture changes as she straightens up, her back arches and her shoulders are pulled back. She is automatically elevated, physically, to stand shoulder to shoulder with a man, if not towering over him. High heels, with a suit, convey sexuality, femininity and power - an intoxicating combination in the boardroom.
However, Elizabeth Semmelhack, curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Canada, in an interview with Collectors Weekly last year, expressed her reservations about this common perception: "It seems like what wins for women in the culture is not the Harvard education that you have and how many cases you correctly argue in court; it's whether or not when you walk into a room, you make all the men want to drop to their knees. For me that's very problematic, because if the high heel is an accessory of female power - and if the definition of female power is sexual - that power has a very short shelf life."
Semmelhack is right, but only up to a point. Shoewise, a woman's power is derived not just from her high heels, but from the fact that she has many choices today. No woman lives in stilettos exclusively. She is likely also to own sneakers, flip-flops and ballerina flats, among others. Her shoe collection reflects her many personality aspects and roles - as CEO, mother or sportswoman.
High-heeled shoes have long signified power and status, even among men. In the French court and in Europe of the 17th century, men wore heels to mark themselves as part of the elite (prompting women to hike their heels up even higher). In the early 1700s, Louis XIV, the Sun King, who wore heels as high as five inches, decreed that red heels were to be worn only by nobility and that no one's heels could be higher than his.
Today, with more women earning their own money, heels have inadvertently become a sign of empowerment and emancipation. It is little surprise, therefore, that this trend has dovetailed with the rise of the celebrity shoe designer in the 1990s. The high-priced creations of Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik go beyond mere footwear, approximating near works of art.
While my Chinese ancestors had their feet cruelly mangled in lotus shoes, women today enjoy the benefits of 21st century engineering and research that have created towering wonders that raise us up even as they encase our feet securely and safely.
Most importantly, a woman wears high heels today because she is allowed to celebrate her sexual power. In the past, her sexual appeal came from the perception of frailty symbolized by restrictive footwear and curtailed movements.
So the fact that we can take part in stiletto races today is progress indeed. There is also smug satisfaction to be had in the knowledge that very few men can sprint 100m in high heels with the same balance, style and power as we can.
Drag queens excepted, of course.
Folklore around the world has various versions of the Cinderella story, dating even as far back as the ancient Greeks. The female foot has been bound, twisted and fetishized over millennia, and this practice continues today with the eternal popularity of the high-heeled shoe.
On Saturday, a Singapore radio station, will stage a Stiletto Race at 11am at the Singapore Flyer, where participants will have to run 100m in three-inch high heels. The race is akin in spirit to similar events in Milan, New York, Sydney and even in Tenerife, where the race is run by drag queens.
At the peril of sprained ankles and shattered tarsals, there will emerge an eventual winner on Saturday. But of what? Of negotiating urban terrain in impossible footwear? It is a Pyrrhic victory, some cry, one that reinforces the stereotype of the woman as a hobbled, tethered creature of man's and now her own volition.
Feminists have long vilified the high-heeled shoe as the devil's work, leading many strong and successful women to have a somewhat conflicted love-hate relationship with their vertiginous indulgences in luscious Pierre Hardy or the latest Giuseppe Zanotti number.
Feminist arguments aside, any woman in high heels understands the power she immediately wields. Her posture changes as she straightens up, her back arches and her shoulders are pulled back. She is automatically elevated, physically, to stand shoulder to shoulder with a man, if not towering over him. High heels, with a suit, convey sexuality, femininity and power - an intoxicating combination in the boardroom.
However, Elizabeth Semmelhack, curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Canada, in an interview with Collectors Weekly last year, expressed her reservations about this common perception: "It seems like what wins for women in the culture is not the Harvard education that you have and how many cases you correctly argue in court; it's whether or not when you walk into a room, you make all the men want to drop to their knees. For me that's very problematic, because if the high heel is an accessory of female power - and if the definition of female power is sexual - that power has a very short shelf life."
Semmelhack is right, but only up to a point. Shoewise, a woman's power is derived not just from her high heels, but from the fact that she has many choices today. No woman lives in stilettos exclusively. She is likely also to own sneakers, flip-flops and ballerina flats, among others. Her shoe collection reflects her many personality aspects and roles - as CEO, mother or sportswoman.
High-heeled shoes have long signified power and status, even among men. In the French court and in Europe of the 17th century, men wore heels to mark themselves as part of the elite (prompting women to hike their heels up even higher). In the early 1700s, Louis XIV, the Sun King, who wore heels as high as five inches, decreed that red heels were to be worn only by nobility and that no one's heels could be higher than his.
Today, with more women earning their own money, heels have inadvertently become a sign of empowerment and emancipation. It is little surprise, therefore, that this trend has dovetailed with the rise of the celebrity shoe designer in the 1990s. The high-priced creations of Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik go beyond mere footwear, approximating near works of art.
While my Chinese ancestors had their feet cruelly mangled in lotus shoes, women today enjoy the benefits of 21st century engineering and research that have created towering wonders that raise us up even as they encase our feet securely and safely.
Most importantly, a woman wears high heels today because she is allowed to celebrate her sexual power. In the past, her sexual appeal came from the perception of frailty symbolized by restrictive footwear and curtailed movements.
So the fact that we can take part in stiletto races today is progress indeed. There is also smug satisfaction to be had in the knowledge that very few men can sprint 100m in high heels with the same balance, style and power as we can.
Drag queens excepted, of course.
2011年3月28日星期一
Who says rural elements of fashion
By now, even people who do not like country style, probably can not ignore its existence! Chanticleer launched a strong brand Chanel handbags woven clogs and almost all of the moment becomes a fashion magazine "Must Buy", together with YSL, Chloe and other fuel to the flames, he just let the wind become a country not with the season not to hot frenzy . Of course, this season is no longer a traditional country style Floral Plaid skirt or shirt, Bottega Veneta white cotton in the most primitive expression of spirituality; YSL printing to reflect the sweet strawberry; play was undoubtedly the most wonderful time of the Dolce & Gabbana, their main and lines were demonstrated to the Older version of our version of the village and the Maiden Style ... ... No matter what type you belong to, in this season, I think you can find the most fashionable Look to the corresponding country.
A hand-knitting grandmothers wardrobe pressure Po Box
Yes, you read right, old-fashioned knitting equipment and back! This crochet way, once popular, but popular in just a few years, hate the old woman who gave it aside. Unexpectedly, in this season Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana and other brands of strong blessing, the hand-knitted even once again "re-energized" and return to the field of fashion, but also with the most traditional flower decoration, antique clothing to is this tone. Therefore, the fashion girls, do not hurry to go home looking through my grandmother's closet, surprise waiting for you in there!
Hand taste, hollow, flower decoration, thick lines
Simple, solid, basic models
Burberry
Life Style suggestions may be good to hear
T stage of the Total Look inevitably exaggerated, it may be, and Camilla Belle, the choice of boots with a rugged flavor to dilute the Floral Skirt openwork knit with a "rural flavor" can instantly change from the old-fashioned fashion.
● rural flavor of the hollow sweaters, need to shape Zhuopu wooden bracelets, sweet romance flowers decorative, rather than aggressive in recent years, those extremely hot rivets, metal and other rock style accessories.
● filled with big Logo, and Bling Bling or handbag, not suitable for use with hollow with a sweater, knitting bag or vintage leather satchel taste very strong, is the appropriate choice.
● The more old-fashioned style to the more need to reconcile the youthful temperament, so if you are no longer twenty-eight Love the girl, or try to carefully choose.
B 70's teen idol born naturally white
Now you also believe that the pastoral = Saika, that this season in white dress playing in the garden, should give you a thorough update of this idea. Faction was represented by simple Bottega Veneta and YSL, with almost no processed white cotton cloth, but using Chouzhe, straps and other decorations, simply stylish interpretation of a rare taste. Go girl Zeyi line D & G lotus leaf and lace layered, with cowboy boots and tough, with a sweet Lolita tower rebellious temperament. As for Chloe's fairy veil, as if the 70s fantasy art films heroine, if there is not enough beauty and temperament, in fact more difficult to manage.
A hand-knitting grandmothers wardrobe pressure Po Box
Yes, you read right, old-fashioned knitting equipment and back! This crochet way, once popular, but popular in just a few years, hate the old woman who gave it aside. Unexpectedly, in this season Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana and other brands of strong blessing, the hand-knitted even once again "re-energized" and return to the field of fashion, but also with the most traditional flower decoration, antique clothing to is this tone. Therefore, the fashion girls, do not hurry to go home looking through my grandmother's closet, surprise waiting for you in there!
Hand taste, hollow, flower decoration, thick lines
Simple, solid, basic models
Burberry
Life Style suggestions may be good to hear
T stage of the Total Look inevitably exaggerated, it may be, and Camilla Belle, the choice of boots with a rugged flavor to dilute the Floral Skirt openwork knit with a "rural flavor" can instantly change from the old-fashioned fashion.
● rural flavor of the hollow sweaters, need to shape Zhuopu wooden bracelets, sweet romance flowers decorative, rather than aggressive in recent years, those extremely hot rivets, metal and other rock style accessories.
● filled with big Logo, and Bling Bling or handbag, not suitable for use with hollow with a sweater, knitting bag or vintage leather satchel taste very strong, is the appropriate choice.
● The more old-fashioned style to the more need to reconcile the youthful temperament, so if you are no longer twenty-eight Love the girl, or try to carefully choose.
B 70's teen idol born naturally white
Now you also believe that the pastoral = Saika, that this season in white dress playing in the garden, should give you a thorough update of this idea. Faction was represented by simple Bottega Veneta and YSL, with almost no processed white cotton cloth, but using Chouzhe, straps and other decorations, simply stylish interpretation of a rare taste. Go girl Zeyi line D & G lotus leaf and lace layered, with cowboy boots and tough, with a sweet Lolita tower rebellious temperament. As for Chloe's fairy veil, as if the 70s fantasy art films heroine, if there is not enough beauty and temperament, in fact more difficult to manage.
2011年3月6日星期日
Living the dolce vita: Milan's glamorous catwalks
Italian fashion's raison d'etre has always been wearable luxury, ever since plucky young things like Emilio Pucci first made their way across the Atlantic in the mid-20th century to provide an international market with chic, simple couture that could be produced and bought at a fraction of Parisian prices.
Last week in Milan, the country's top fashion houses stayed true to this heritage. Okay, okay, not everyone is going to be able to pull off – or afford – one of Gucci's bright purple furs, Prada's roomy python jackets or Dolce & Gabbana's bedazzling golden evening gowns (luxury comes with a capital "L" for autumn/winter 2011/12, by the way), but it seems likely that a lot of people will want to. And why? Because it all just seemed fun, plain and simple – high-end without being too high concept, upmarket but not too uptight. In fact, a lot of the collections seemed to have a sense of optimism, colour and freshness that is more characteristic of the spring/summer season – take the D&G show, for example, possibly the most youthful, fluorescent and irreverent collection that Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce have produced in years. Or Angela Missoni's offering – a bright pastel paean to leisurely outdoorsiness, replete with what looked like suede and snake wellies. Of course this is Milan so, like it or lump it, there was a huge amount of fur. But, moral problems aside, even the most extravagant of these were far from heavy or dowdy. Karl Lagerfeld stuffed his full of glitter at Fendi. Gucci seemed to go twice round the rainbow in mink. Add a sense of cinematic mystery – Emporio Armani did spies, Gucci did femme fatale, the Jil Sander girls could have been female Bond villains – a pretty thrilling first foot into the new season.
Collage/Clash
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All over Milan runways, designers played with eye-grabbing clashes of texture, colour and mood, both in looks and individual pieces. The first evidence of this was at Fendi, where what looked like a wall-sized collage of papery swatches formed the backdrop for a collection that was all about unexpected mixtures and chic assemblage. Voluminous coats, gathered daintily at the elbow, looked as if they'd been assembled from a series of disparate elements, garnished as they were with coloured patches, false lapels, piping, shawl necks and unexpected cutaways. At Bottega Veneta, Tomas Maier was also playing a sartorial Frankenstein. Commenting that designing his 1960s-tinged but undoubtedly forward-looking winter collection "was like being in a laboratory" he did his best to create some sublime mismatches of textile, pattern and style. Fur and nylon met on an oversized, amber-coloured parka; spidery prints in deep yellow, green and orange vied against each other in clashing twinsets; delicate, neutral silk blouses were paired with mottled orange suits in a blotchy, thick wool weave. At Salvatore Ferragamo, Massimiliano Giornetti also got his clash on, playing with classic menswear textiles – houndstooth, pinstripe, woven wool – by setting them against each other (and black and white leopard print) in composite dresses and mix-and-match suiting. Meanwhile at Dolce & Gabbana – a superbly entertaining, surprisingly youthful show in which masculine tailoring and star prints were the defining elements – the designers proudly proclaimed that "clothes and accessories are mixed almost randomly, with no rules".
Iridescent
Nothing draws attention like a sparkly dress and it seemed like Milan was keen to push this 1980s favourite for winter 2011/12. Dolce & Gabbana produced the most bombastic expression of this: a knee-length, long-sleeved gold number in sequins and stars; answered in separates by similar skirts, trousers and oversized dinner jackets. But there was a range of intriguing takes on the trend, from the futuristic, metallic gleam of the heavily layered looks at Roberto Cavalli to the rhinestone-bedecked dresses at Emilio Pucci and the intricately woven, geometric glitter shifts at Marni. At Versus, Versace protégé Christopher Kane used sequins and iridescent glitter as a counterbalance to his winter collection's somewhat surprising sobriety. In Kane's predominantly black looks, which mixed simple, tailored shapes with corsetry and boning at the midriff, glitter became a jarring accent, splashed over the front of dresses in a triangle check pattern and encrusted upon the thick heels of clunky platform shoes. Miuccia Prada, of course, didn't present anything so obvious as a sequin in her fascinating, 1920s-meets-1960s Prada collection, but towards the end of the show she fielded a series of dresses (worn with fur and intricately textured plastic bathing caps) in which pearlescent fish scales (not unlike something that Paco Rabanne might have come up with in his heyday) swished and tinkled against each other for a delightfully shimmery effect. It was half cocktail party, half synchronised swimming gala – and all the better for the confusion between the two.
Green
The Autumn/winter palette in Milan was full of loud, arresting shades, continuing a trend for colour-blocking that has been on and off the runways for the past five years. But if there was one colour that predominated for winter (last season we had orange) it had to be green. Frida Giannini got the ball rolling with her astoundingly luxurious, darkly mysterious collection for Gucci, which was a riot of colour, fur and glamour; spot-on, not just for the brand, which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, but for the season. The opening looks said it all: a teal goat shawl, a deep green chiffon dress, an emerald python blazer and a bulky, turquoise fur coat trailing equally bright foxtails. Though Giannini went through some gorgeous shades of amber, mauve, pink and red, it was those deep greens that she returned to for the finale piece – a sheer, halternecked evening gown topped by an elaborate set of handmade green flowers that seemed to burst into bloom across the shoulders. And where Giannini began, others seemed to follow: at Prada, green was a dominant colour in the maxi-tartan print, low-belted dresses (wryly cut with a swooping back), as well as the snakeskin jackets, furs and boots (which came served up with a tromp l'oeuil dance shoe on the foot). Marni, too, had its fair share of green in its geometric-print, cropped-sleeve jackets, deep-green fur coats and contrasting jewelled neckpieces. And Peter Dundas's Emilio Pucci collection, inspired in part by the rustic colours of Tyrolean dress, was almost green all over, beginning with the kaleidoscopic, lace-embellished print dress that he opened with.
Oversize
Alongside all the rather upfront glitter and glamour of the Milan collections, several of the more forward-thinking designers were getting a bit tricksy with the shape of the human body, playing with proportions and creating an interesting, slightly hulking silhouette. At one more wearable end of the spectrum, there was D&G, where a renewed vigour for all things 1980s called for masculine, oversized blazers. The feminine/masculine mix-up also made for broad shoulders at Salvatore Ferragamo, where models donned suit jackets with veryWall Street shoulder pads. But the most exciting developments came from Milan's intellectuals, namely Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons. The former tailored her jackets with a wide armhole and an odd, curving seam that wound around the back of the arm to a cropped sleeve. The result was lobsterish in the best sense possible – one of those unique frumpy/chic touches that have become Prada's unmistakable trademark. Raf Simons, meanwhile, was all about extending the body in the most extreme ways possible in his Jil Sander collection, which featured simple, massive jackets with a sleeve that was turned and dropped to the front – resulting in a sandwich-board-like flat back. It's probable there might not be many takers for his satin, padded duvet dress (the challenge of the season will be to see if anyone can wear it and not look like a walking bolster) but the rest of his silhouettes had a graphic impact that made this one of the strongest Jil Sander collections since he started.
Florals
A bit of a surprise for winter, this, but what can you do? Gucci did flowers, Just Cavalli did flowers, Jil Sander did flowers: it's undeniable. But the concept of extravagant blooms suddenly opening in winter chimed nicely with the rest of the colour and glitter that marked the season and has a nice, irreverent sense of humour to it. This, of course, was the whole point at Moschino, where the brand's logo above the catwalk was rendered in red roses; the flowers dictating the colour palette of white, navy and bright scarlet. In a collection that took many cues from naval dress – visored caps, gold rope and aviators were all in play – the roses provided a shock of romanticism and towards the end were rolled out in a maxi print for dresses and dinner jacket lapels, as well as a humorous headpiece (there was also a chicken hat kicking about – though it's anyone's guess as to what trend that's part of).
Raf Simon's flowers – printed on the neat surfaces of his spacious dresses – were similarly large and bold, though of a darker variety.
Last week in Milan, the country's top fashion houses stayed true to this heritage. Okay, okay, not everyone is going to be able to pull off – or afford – one of Gucci's bright purple furs, Prada's roomy python jackets or Dolce & Gabbana's bedazzling golden evening gowns (luxury comes with a capital "L" for autumn/winter 2011/12, by the way), but it seems likely that a lot of people will want to. And why? Because it all just seemed fun, plain and simple – high-end without being too high concept, upmarket but not too uptight. In fact, a lot of the collections seemed to have a sense of optimism, colour and freshness that is more characteristic of the spring/summer season – take the D&G show, for example, possibly the most youthful, fluorescent and irreverent collection that Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce have produced in years. Or Angela Missoni's offering – a bright pastel paean to leisurely outdoorsiness, replete with what looked like suede and snake wellies. Of course this is Milan so, like it or lump it, there was a huge amount of fur. But, moral problems aside, even the most extravagant of these were far from heavy or dowdy. Karl Lagerfeld stuffed his full of glitter at Fendi. Gucci seemed to go twice round the rainbow in mink. Add a sense of cinematic mystery – Emporio Armani did spies, Gucci did femme fatale, the Jil Sander girls could have been female Bond villains – a pretty thrilling first foot into the new season.
Collage/Clash
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All over Milan runways, designers played with eye-grabbing clashes of texture, colour and mood, both in looks and individual pieces. The first evidence of this was at Fendi, where what looked like a wall-sized collage of papery swatches formed the backdrop for a collection that was all about unexpected mixtures and chic assemblage. Voluminous coats, gathered daintily at the elbow, looked as if they'd been assembled from a series of disparate elements, garnished as they were with coloured patches, false lapels, piping, shawl necks and unexpected cutaways. At Bottega Veneta, Tomas Maier was also playing a sartorial Frankenstein. Commenting that designing his 1960s-tinged but undoubtedly forward-looking winter collection "was like being in a laboratory" he did his best to create some sublime mismatches of textile, pattern and style. Fur and nylon met on an oversized, amber-coloured parka; spidery prints in deep yellow, green and orange vied against each other in clashing twinsets; delicate, neutral silk blouses were paired with mottled orange suits in a blotchy, thick wool weave. At Salvatore Ferragamo, Massimiliano Giornetti also got his clash on, playing with classic menswear textiles – houndstooth, pinstripe, woven wool – by setting them against each other (and black and white leopard print) in composite dresses and mix-and-match suiting. Meanwhile at Dolce & Gabbana – a superbly entertaining, surprisingly youthful show in which masculine tailoring and star prints were the defining elements – the designers proudly proclaimed that "clothes and accessories are mixed almost randomly, with no rules".
Iridescent
Nothing draws attention like a sparkly dress and it seemed like Milan was keen to push this 1980s favourite for winter 2011/12. Dolce & Gabbana produced the most bombastic expression of this: a knee-length, long-sleeved gold number in sequins and stars; answered in separates by similar skirts, trousers and oversized dinner jackets. But there was a range of intriguing takes on the trend, from the futuristic, metallic gleam of the heavily layered looks at Roberto Cavalli to the rhinestone-bedecked dresses at Emilio Pucci and the intricately woven, geometric glitter shifts at Marni. At Versus, Versace protégé Christopher Kane used sequins and iridescent glitter as a counterbalance to his winter collection's somewhat surprising sobriety. In Kane's predominantly black looks, which mixed simple, tailored shapes with corsetry and boning at the midriff, glitter became a jarring accent, splashed over the front of dresses in a triangle check pattern and encrusted upon the thick heels of clunky platform shoes. Miuccia Prada, of course, didn't present anything so obvious as a sequin in her fascinating, 1920s-meets-1960s Prada collection, but towards the end of the show she fielded a series of dresses (worn with fur and intricately textured plastic bathing caps) in which pearlescent fish scales (not unlike something that Paco Rabanne might have come up with in his heyday) swished and tinkled against each other for a delightfully shimmery effect. It was half cocktail party, half synchronised swimming gala – and all the better for the confusion between the two.
Green
The Autumn/winter palette in Milan was full of loud, arresting shades, continuing a trend for colour-blocking that has been on and off the runways for the past five years. But if there was one colour that predominated for winter (last season we had orange) it had to be green. Frida Giannini got the ball rolling with her astoundingly luxurious, darkly mysterious collection for Gucci, which was a riot of colour, fur and glamour; spot-on, not just for the brand, which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, but for the season. The opening looks said it all: a teal goat shawl, a deep green chiffon dress, an emerald python blazer and a bulky, turquoise fur coat trailing equally bright foxtails. Though Giannini went through some gorgeous shades of amber, mauve, pink and red, it was those deep greens that she returned to for the finale piece – a sheer, halternecked evening gown topped by an elaborate set of handmade green flowers that seemed to burst into bloom across the shoulders. And where Giannini began, others seemed to follow: at Prada, green was a dominant colour in the maxi-tartan print, low-belted dresses (wryly cut with a swooping back), as well as the snakeskin jackets, furs and boots (which came served up with a tromp l'oeuil dance shoe on the foot). Marni, too, had its fair share of green in its geometric-print, cropped-sleeve jackets, deep-green fur coats and contrasting jewelled neckpieces. And Peter Dundas's Emilio Pucci collection, inspired in part by the rustic colours of Tyrolean dress, was almost green all over, beginning with the kaleidoscopic, lace-embellished print dress that he opened with.
Oversize
Alongside all the rather upfront glitter and glamour of the Milan collections, several of the more forward-thinking designers were getting a bit tricksy with the shape of the human body, playing with proportions and creating an interesting, slightly hulking silhouette. At one more wearable end of the spectrum, there was D&G, where a renewed vigour for all things 1980s called for masculine, oversized blazers. The feminine/masculine mix-up also made for broad shoulders at Salvatore Ferragamo, where models donned suit jackets with veryWall Street shoulder pads. But the most exciting developments came from Milan's intellectuals, namely Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons. The former tailored her jackets with a wide armhole and an odd, curving seam that wound around the back of the arm to a cropped sleeve. The result was lobsterish in the best sense possible – one of those unique frumpy/chic touches that have become Prada's unmistakable trademark. Raf Simons, meanwhile, was all about extending the body in the most extreme ways possible in his Jil Sander collection, which featured simple, massive jackets with a sleeve that was turned and dropped to the front – resulting in a sandwich-board-like flat back. It's probable there might not be many takers for his satin, padded duvet dress (the challenge of the season will be to see if anyone can wear it and not look like a walking bolster) but the rest of his silhouettes had a graphic impact that made this one of the strongest Jil Sander collections since he started.
Florals
A bit of a surprise for winter, this, but what can you do? Gucci did flowers, Just Cavalli did flowers, Jil Sander did flowers: it's undeniable. But the concept of extravagant blooms suddenly opening in winter chimed nicely with the rest of the colour and glitter that marked the season and has a nice, irreverent sense of humour to it. This, of course, was the whole point at Moschino, where the brand's logo above the catwalk was rendered in red roses; the flowers dictating the colour palette of white, navy and bright scarlet. In a collection that took many cues from naval dress – visored caps, gold rope and aviators were all in play – the roses provided a shock of romanticism and towards the end were rolled out in a maxi print for dresses and dinner jacket lapels, as well as a humorous headpiece (there was also a chicken hat kicking about – though it's anyone's guess as to what trend that's part of).
Raf Simon's flowers – printed on the neat surfaces of his spacious dresses – were similarly large and bold, though of a darker variety.
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