Paris Fashion Week: Tuesday 28th February

ANTHONY VACCARELLO

There is a lot of the feminine take on masculine tailoring going on and Anthony Vaccarello took advantage of this theme too. His idea was to mix this with the shapes of 1950s lingerie to give a strong enpowering look for the modern woman. I felt like there was a sense of a futuristic vibe going on too here with all the metallics and techno shapes. I thought it was an edgy collection and probably the best of the 5 or 6 that showed on Tuesday

 COMMUUN

I think there was another 1950s/60s theme going on here but a simple nod towards it rather than taking it as direct inspiration. They kinda did there own thing here and it worked out well for them. 

Milan Fashion Week: Monday 27th February

ROBERTO CAVALLI

As always, Cavalli was wild and bold but fashion elite agreed that this collection was one of his most well put together, luxurious and stylish shows ever. His show was a jungle of leopard and tiger prints and reptiles with an array of sequins and there were some really interesting silhouettes amongst the mix.

GIORGIO ARMANI

A collection was produced with an easiness to it but in vibrant colours such as bright orange and fuscia to fit the summery season. There was a sense of an eccentric look going on here but still mixed in with formal tones.  Warm exotic skies seemed to play a huge influence here reminding you or somewhere like Morocco. It was definitely youthful however. 

 GIANFRANCO FERRE

Gianfranco Ferre has received some negative reviews recently but being someone who likes something slightly unusual, I kind of liked this collection. They focused mainly on the cut of silhouettes producing some interesting asymmetrical shape, particularly on coats. There was some desirable metallic evening looks in the mix too with a futuristic take on the 1960s. 

Milan Fashion Week: Sunday 26th February

DOLCE AND GABBANA

Domenico Dolce's homeland of Sicily was alluded to in this collection taking note of its religious aspects and its baroque themes. Ideas were taking from traditional costume and native dress and transformed into beautiful, innovative pieces for the runway. Embroidery, embellishment and prints played a strong role here and were done remarkably well. 

 BALLY

The collection is described as being 'Diplomatic' with reference to the 1970s. The designers made it modern by bringing in new themes like the military and bikers and altering shapes with drastic structure and asymmetry. 

 VERSUS

Taking Camden as influence, this was all about the alternative crowd-the punks, the rock and rollers and the more edgy experimental girl. There was slashing, tie dying ribbons etc and maybe it wasn't the most glamorous of all collections but it was something that the younger generation are going to realistically  want to buy and wear 

Milan Fashion Week: Saturday 25th February

JIL SANDER

This collection marked the last for Raf Simons for Jil Sander and it is evident that this was his best collection yet. It was just such as beautiful collection. The best part of it was its overall elegant simplicity mixed with a romantic kind of theme and highly feminine. 

 EMILIO PUCCI

The best part of this collection was the lack of its traditional paisleys and flowing designs. It was fresh, sharp and tailored with a more edgy appeal to it. There were slashed dresses and leather and twisted blouses-totally unexpected ! The dark and gothic theme continues !

BOTTEGA VENETA

I started off thinking this collection was going to be boring but as I went on, I was pleasantly surprised. It took Vintage elements as gave them a luxury approach and there was some definite interesting structures in there I enjoyed seeing. 

Milan Fashion Week: Friday 24th February

VERSACE

Donatella alluded to her brothers last collection before his death with this collection where she brought back a highly gothic element. Crucifix's were key (though you don't see it here as they weren't my favourite pieces in all honesty) There was a strong theme of futurism mixed with rock and roll elements (Think Metropolis) 

MOSCHINO

Moschino is such a playful brand but does it in a really sophisticated way. There was a definite feel of the 1960s here but obviously with a more modern element. Sports influences were seen in the middle of the collection too though not presented above. 

 GABRIELE COLANGELO

The British artist Jason Martin was a muse for this collection. As well as this, there was an obvious Dior New Look inspiration behind the shapes in the collection. 

Milan Fashion Week: Thursday 23rd February

PRADA

Though seemingly inspired by modern digital society and power, Prada claimed her collection was simply about the pleasure of fashion. The collection took mens shapes and transformed them into feminine designs, futuristic prints and embellishments from plexi and sequins. I liked this colllection. It wasn't over the top, it was wearable and I do love heavy embellishment !

FENDI

Fendi takes the starting point of Roman heritage and like Prada, hints at the digital world and futurism, a lot more strongly in this case. This notion comes curtosy of Lagerfeld whos goal is to propel fashion into the future and not consistently allude to the past. This was a powerful and highly innovative collection with some real creativity and imagination behind it. 

LUISA BECCARIA

I did think this was a stunning collection but I felt that there was a massive influence from Valentino here: you just have to look at the middle dress which is practically a replica of a SS12 one. The hard and soft mix was clever with soft lace against velvet jackets in contrast colour.  There was some desirable product here

Milan Fashion Week: Wednesday 22nd February

What you tend to get from Fashion Week is New York very much presenting comfort clothing, followed by London that is a little more quirky then you get the real couture and beauty with Milan and Paris. Kicking off yesterday, this was definitely no exception to the rule and first of all, Gucci delivered a beautiful show just like I hoped they would. 

GUCCI

Gucci was all about dark glamour and modern romanticism. It alluded to the decadence of the 19th Century as well as a classic gothic influence. There was a really edgy look to it and each piece was just so stunning. There was velvet, lace, feathers and sheer silk fabrics in colours such as deep red, black and grey. Another top show for fashion week

 ALBERTA FERRETTI

As usual, Ferretti was romantic and floaty but there was a definite idea of taking masculine elements but making them highly feminine. There was no use of prints, just a very monochromatic look with slight pops of colour every now and again. Everything was delicate and sensual and it was a perfectly great collection on a whole. 

FRANCESCO SCOGNAMIGLIO

What was most noticeable of this collection at first was that it was less elaborate than usual and kept very tame. There were a few pieces that got a lot more exaggerated but on a whole, it was definitely a lot less shocking. There was some amazing pieces in the collection though some would argue that Scognamiglio is better when he is going more overboard.