(by Elisa Cecchi).
A new wind is blowing through
Milan fashion week.
It started with Gucci's Alessandro Michele and his
intellectual vision of womanhood, and continued through the
second day of women's wear shows with Emilio Pucci's completely
new touch from MSGM creative director Massimo Giorgetti.
Giorgetti, who was debuting his first collection for the
Florentine fashion house, has been a rising star of Italian
fashion since he launched his successful label MSGM in 2009.
Known for his colorful pizzazz and ability to overhaul
iconic staples such as the Chanel jacket into funky bestsellers,
he appeared like the ideal match to take on Pucci after Peter
Dundas in March resigned as creative director to take over
another Florentine label, Roberto Cavalli.
And overhaul the label he did in the spring-summer 2016
lineup he presented on Thursday.
His sea-inspired collection included subtle hints at
classic Pucci prints while glitter shimmered throughout the
show.
Yet the unique, aristocratic mantle of one of Italy's top
heritage houses that has weighed on the shoulders of a number of
talents who have walked in and out of its doors, did not appear
to stifle Giorgetti's sparkly style.
His collection clearly targeted a younger audience with
casual silhouettes defining stylish streetwear and an aura of
trendiness replacing Dundas' glamour.
''Ever since I was little, Pucci's spring collections meant
the sea, evoking places like Saint Tropez and Capri, so going
through the archives I studied all the label's key elements
before it became famous with optical prints'', said Giorgetti,
who in April became creative director of the house founded in
1947 by the Marquis Emilio Pucci.
The fashion house is today owned by French luxury group
LVMH.
Giorgetti drew inspiration from prints dating back to the
1950s and 1960s and used by Pucci for his foulards with big
seashells, sea gulls, mermaids, fishermen and fish.
The past was ''reviewed with a contemporary vision because
it should not smell of vintage'', noted Giorgetti.
The Milan-based designer, who spends two days a week at the
label's Florentine headquarters in Palazzo Pucci, clearly
expressed his intentions after getting the job in a press
release featuring two models wearing T-shirts with the message:
''Like blank paper - a new story to tell''.
And the new story Giorgetti began to tell for next spring
was full of transparent fabrics mixed with metallic pleated
skirts.
The casual dresses and tops he debuted featured the new
logo 'Emilio' in macramé as did the sandals and funky bags.
And the clashing prints that have turned MSGM into one of
the most successful new launches in an era when Italian fashion
has struggled to nurture new labels, were revisited Pucci-style.
The colors and sparkle of Pucci were all there - but shaped
into something new.
Giorgetti mixed materials and volumes, layering sequin
dresses over long-sleeve lace or pleated sheaths.
He mingled sheer black or white tops with matching sheer
trousers embroidered with shells.
Sequin tops and dresses also featured sea-inspired prints,
in Pucci's classic bold summer colors - pink, green and blue.
There were furry slippers - a hot trend in Milan - and
there were feathers.
''Emilio Pucci was a revolutionary in the 1960s, he thought
about pieces that were 'easy to wear' - a concept I want to
translate into 'easy to desire'', said Giorgetti.
Lightness and sparkle were not part of the storyline at
Fendi, where Karl Lagerfeld designed a collection strong in
leather, featuring snakeskin trench coats and bomber jackets and
even a one-piece swimming suit in black leather.
The leather was akin to a body armor giving edge to clothes
with an Edwardian touch seen in the high necks and puffed
sleeves.
The armor-like quality of clothes was enhanced by bold
colors - red, black, blue, white and olive green.
There were short dresses with big sleeves and a smocked
bodice and there were boxy jackets and stunning boxy bags.
Yet beyond the bold silhouettes, it was the craftsmanship
that caught the attention - the braiding and stitching.
Shoes were also sculptural and, as expected at Fendi, there
were furs to add warmth to this tough summer collection.
Miuccia Prada gave a completely new rendition of her
classic kitsch- meets-good-taste approach.
And Prada's post-classic vision of elegance translated into
a strong focus on suits.
The emphasis was on skirt suits, which included short and
knee-length skirts, with finely cropped jackets.
A pale leather skirt suit opened the show with a
blouson-shaped jacket and soft skirt reaching the knee.
There were suits in mismatched tweeds and sheer suits.
Dropped-waist silk dresses resonated with the collection's
sense of nostalgia, echoing the 1950s and its obsession with a
formal brand of elegance. The dresses were styled over tank tops
- in stark contrast with their elegance.
Indeed the collection's glamour was charged with sense of
humor, highlighted by diverse quotes ranging from 1970s patterns
to Tom Dixon furniture to celebrate memories of bygone times.
The Inside bag launched by Prada earlier this year - the
house's most important launch of a bag since the Galleria eight
years ago yet also a mockery of the It bag - starred in a bold
color palette.
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