valentino fall/winter '13.

 

 With the artistic flair and sophisticated vision that is expected of designers of the highest calibre in the industry, designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli drew inspiration from the connections between traditional Flemish art and our contemporary society to formulate Valentino's highly successful Fall/Winter 2013 collection. I was invited by Access Communications to preview the collection with fellow bloggers and media representatives at the Valentino store at Ion Orchard, and I thoroughly enjoyed being up close to such an impeccable collection, as well as reconnecting with many familiar faces I hadn't seen in a while. The following photographs comprise of both media-kit images of the pieces on the runway, as well as my own pictures from the event. Read on for an in-depth review of Valentino's Fall/Winter presentation!

 Honestly speaking, it's very hard to fault a collection of such rich inspiration and inarguable depth and character. The ensembles maintained a muted, somber feeling, customary to Fall/Winter collections, yet in no way lacked charisma. Channeling exciting contrasts and unexpected details of commendable authenticity while maintaining a polished, sharp façade caused almost no gaps to be left in the completion of a perfect collection. The bags exuded sophistication and a sense of desirable expensiveness; achieving modernity and versatility without abandoning the essence of classic European styles. More "extreme" fabrics such as the speckled white fur were utilized in measured doses so as to avoid an overwhelming outcome, and were cleverly constructed into more modern silhouettes for the sake of reinventing a classic, old-fashioned fabric. In my mind, fur coats carry an awful connotation of Cruella de Vil's heinous white mink coat; a shapeless, overly extravagant, bathrobe-esque blanket of unflattering proportions, but Valentino has successfully convinced me that fur can be tailored, nonchalant and sexy - and can keep you as warm as a blanket without looking like one.

One of my favorite aspects of the collection were the linear and scalloped mesh cut-outs, which added a youthful wearability to otherwise serious and "grown-up" dresses. As well as allowing a peek of skin, the mesh texture added an eclectic twist which also served to modernize the collection. The horizontal linear cut-out at the collarbone also created an amusing illusion of the bottom half of the dress magically floating to stay up, seemingly disconnected from the collar and the top half of the dress. Contrasting colors in faded hues made for a handful of sorbet-sweet frocks, punctuated with scalloped mesh sleeves for a very refreshing silhouette.

Bloggers Genie, Andrea and Jemma all busy Instagramming!

The lacy, angelic collars, reminiscent of doilies and afternoon tea parties, were enough to make any girly girl smile. While I don't necessarily agree with combining white crochet/lace with red and navy blue, I did enjoy the juxtaposition against black. The details were extraordinarily visible on the runway and proved to be more of a white-hot statement than a sideline embellishment, but I'm not complaining! While I love the contemporary schoolgirl vibe from the picture on the far right, the awkward attempt at lacy "peplum" in the picture second from the left stood out as quite a disappointing design decision.

And now for the bulk of the collection (and the best part, in my opinion): the floor-grazing, ornate gowns in every shade of blue, from azure to stony to teal and every mouthwatering shade in between. One would usually pass off such a single-hued emphasis as one-dimensional and limited, but this is blue at its best; blue like I've never seen it done before. From sweeping gowns nipped in at the waist to shorter, art-deco A-line shifts, blue has never looked so good in so many ways, all on one runway. The short dresses tend to carry the bolder colors and prints, reminiscent of blue and white china teacups in ornate, digital floral prints. The sheer, chiffon gowns with linear ruched detailing and brocade accents were just as stunning as the lacy overlays on flesh-toned fabric, and the astounding elegance of the pieces were only emphasized by their dramatic length and dynamic movement. Predominantly matte but sparkling and shimmering in all the right places, I have yet to find a better purveyor of understated glamour and unrivaled elegance than Valentino. 

Here are a few more snippets of what I deem to be a highly successful collection. The solid colored dresses in navy blue and black enjoy seemingly slashed necklines which reveal a sensual display of shoulder and collarbone skin, while the gorgeous shoes (which, in my opinion, beat Valentino's studded heels and flats by miles) have wide tongues and chunky heels, serving to simultaneously reveal and conceal. How very sneakily sexy, Valentino!

What do you think of this collection?

pre-fall 2013 | carven.

The rancid, delirium-inducing burden of exams has finally been lifted (for now), and I can't tell you how happy I am to be able to drift aimlessly from blog to blog and catch up on all that I've missed - namely this monstrosity of a success that is Carven Pre-Fall 2013. 

Firstly, I've always kind of had a crush on the whole concept of Pre-Fall. While it can be perceived as an aspirational attempt by the modern fashion industry to suck even more money out of consumers' pockets in the form of a 'not-really-season' sandwiched between S/S and F/W, I actually think it's a beautiful concept that is somewhat relieved of the impending expectations that Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter collections find themselves buried under year after year. Everyone is now so accustomed to holding their breath during the two main seasons because we all expect to be absolutely blown away; I don't know about you, but I certainly didn't see the whole "let's put a train on the runway" thing coming (cough Marc Jacobs). Not that that's a bad thing of course - we all like to be surprised and thrilled during fashion week, but sometimes I think the large-scale theatrics and superfluous stunts can end up taking away from the fashion itself. It suddenly becomes a question of "what crazy shit can we do on the runway THIS time round?" as opposed to "what kind of aesthetic, era, emotion or concept can we evoke and be inspired by this season?"

And that's why I love Pre-Fall. There are no loco expectations of trains and oversized crystals adorning the runways; heck, it's not a competition of which fashion house can drive an A380 down their runway first - it's just about the clothes. Pre-Fall collections are smaller and much more focused, with a refined aesthetic and an almost nonchalant vibe, in the case of most of the collections I've browsed. They tend to have a ready-to-wear flair to them which I absolutely adore, because that way, the clothes are automatically brought one step closer to you.

 Okay - onto Carven.

 I don't know how a collection can embody youthful sportiness and elegant sophistication at the same time while exuding silhouettes from both the past and the present, but Guillaume Henry clearly has that downpacked. The eccentric, well-selected colors have an ornate, historical feel to them - terracotta parkas, muted blue lace sheaths, speckled vermillion trenchcoats and prussian-blue everything is evidently all that's needed to make for an absolutely dashing Pre-Fall collection. It's all very young and nonchalant, yet it's clothing that seems self-assured of its sophistication. The smooth leather separates were a refreshing reincarnation of the raging trend which dominated the runways over the last few years, and it reminded me why equestrian-inspired clothing has such a universal appeal. There's a great emphasis on visually manipulating the neck too (a good way to move on from the Fall 2012 shoulder-obsession!), be it with high collars, fur, or simply lots of volume. The verdict? Ah-mazing.

"She likes to collage textures, prints and color," Guillaume Henry says of his muse. Yep, sounds about right.

Vote for this post on Lucky Community here!