Every once and a blue moon, all the elements in the galaxy line up to form a perfect union, the ebb and flow of life falls perfectly into place and perfection is spewn forth. This is exactly what happened to Raf Simmons for his last Jill Sander collection (Jil Sander is returning as the designer to her namesake line). It was evident from the moment models entered clutching their coats closed and then there was no doubt left in one’s mind when they were followed by a seamless parade of peerlessly beautiful dresses and coats. After the show Simmons identified his muse as two, delving into a day in the life of those in love and then celebrating that pure and simple pleasure. Raf Simmons may be leaving the house of Jil Sander, but no doubt he has paved the way to starting his own home.
Bottega Venata has always exuded understated luxury. There is an elegance in the strength of Tomas Maier’s vision of a woman, he has a way of doing expensive that is not offensive. The audience was moved and transfixed with the parade of perfectly tailored coats, suits, and chic yet elegant dresses that Maier sent down the runway. I can see any starlet on the red carpet at today’s Oscars donning the velvet evening gown with a fitted bodice and a skirt of feathery layered chiffon. As Sarah Mower from Vogue.com wrote, “His view goes beyond clothes to reach a truth about women today — someone adult, chic, and subtly powerful, emanating a deep sense of self.. And that’s what touched the heart.”
Versace gave us another version of “strong women”, one that was a dramatic mixture of goth and glamour. Donatella used a strong cross motif which was riddled throughout the collection: their were crosses silk-embroidered on a short black velvet coatdress, spangled in dark jewels, embossed into leather and photo printed on body-gripping leggings. Her predominately black and white collection was punctuated with acid yellow and a most vibrant orange, with shaggy silken strands of alpaca and Gianni Versace’s signature chain mail adding the texture.
As we move on to Paris, the final city in the 2012 Fall/Winter collections, I leave you with some of my other favorite looks.
!st Group is Jil Sander Fall/Winter 2012.
2nd Group – first two rows Bottega Venetta Fall/Winter 2012 and the last row Versace Fall/Winter 2012.
3rd Group- clockwise from top left: Emilio Pucci, Emilio Pucci, Alberta Ferretti, Piazza Sempione, Sport Max, Gucci.
