Geometric Embroidery

Valentino and Prada revisits folk costumes. An elaborately crafted white coat suited for cavalry  hand stitched with geometric embroidery opposite a purple coat featuring wooden bead work.

Anna Piaggi, Vogue Italia, August 2012, n. 744, p.144

Qatari royal family buys Italian fashion house Valentino

Iconic Italian fashion house Valentino has been snapped up by the Qatari royal family for 700 million euros , marking one of the most prominent purchases of a European top designer brand by an emerging market investor.

Valentino said Mayhoola for Investments S.P.C, which is backed by a leading Quatari investor, had acquired full ownership of Valentino Fashion Group SpA from London-based private equity fund Permira and Italian textile entrepreneurs Marzotto.

Valentino did not disclose financial details of the sale nor name the investor. But two sources close to the deal told Reuters the Quatari royal family had acquired Valentino in a deal that values it about 700 million euros.

Valentino is the latest Italian luxury brand to be bought by a foreign investor, a sign of the resilience of the sector even as Italy sinks into a deep recession.

reference: reuters

Valentino Fall/Winter 2012-13

Set in building symbol of Sicilian baroque,Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi, Valenino's Fall/Winter 2012-13 Ad captures a sophisticated, romantic atmosphere with a subtle darkness that characterizes the new collection. 

The campaign was shot by the renowned American photographer Deborah Turbeville. Models are Frida Gustavsson, Jac and Caroline Brasch Nielsen

Haute Couture Revival

Dior

At present  haute couture is the most modern way to dress because it's very individual," says Pier Paolo Piccioli, who with Maria Grazia Chiuri designs Valentino's ethereal gowns. "It's like customizing your life; it means uniqueness."

The current state of couture has emerged from the ashes of economic turmoil. "Couture seems more relevant now than it was in the boom years," says designer Donatella Versace, who this season returned Atelier Versace to the official couture runway after eight years of low-key presentations. "The global downturn has made people think about the value of things. Couture may be expensive, but as a reflection of the designer's art, and as an expression of pure creativity in fashion, it is unsurpassed."

This evokes a culture very different from that of traditional haute couture: wealthy socialites in grand dresses from designers such as Jeanne Lanvin and Christian Dior. For many years, that's certainly what it was. Now, they stand in stark contrast to the discreet shopper of today, it's difficult to find women who so openly display their membership to the couture club.

Couture seemed to hit rock bottom in the middle of the last decade, when Christian Lacroix, Yves Saint Laurent, Emanuel Ungaro, and Balmain all showed their last collections. For the labels that remained, couture became a way to stand out amid the clutter of hundreds of ready-to-wear lines. For the likes of Dior, Valentino, and Chanel—which all typically reserved a sky's-the-limit budget both for dramatic staging and the collections themselves.

As haute couture undergoes the process of revival once more, its insular and quintessentially Parisian nature is changing. Perhaps it's only fitting for what appears to be couture's ever more global future.

reference: WSJ

Color of Designers

Emilio Pucci at work via lifeinitaly.com

Every designer marked an age in their own way, a particular cut, an element, or an innovative material. This happened also through the invention or the choice of a particular color that even inherited the name of the designer, making them immortal.

It was Jeanne Lanvin in the 20s to have the first color bearing her name: Lanvin Blue. It was a pale cobalt blue; rumors said that Madame Lanvin was inspired by the sky in Beato Angelico’s frescos.

During the mid-30s an Italian woman shook the Parisian bourgeoisie with her creations: Elsa Schiaparelli. Her clothes were surreal and provoking and so was her fragrance. The bottle, designed by Léonor Fini, inspired by Mae West’s curves and sold ina box of an extraordinary bright shade, in the color of Fuchsia flowers; it was lively, striking, and brazen. It was renamed Shocking pink, like the perfume itself.

Within the 50s another Italian became famous for his use of color, Emilio Pucci. He was shocked by the dreadful quality of color palette presented by print works; therefore he produced the first summer collection in 1949, which was entirely in black and white. He designed swimsuits, sundresses, shirts and trousers with ground-breaking and convenient shapes, but he felt he had to add colors. Therefore in the following season he made up by creating his own touch, among which the Capri Blue, inspired by the colors of the Blue Grotto in Capri and the Emilio Pink, dedicated to the bougainvillea that decorated every little street of the island.

While Valentino’s legendary Red appeared in the 60s, the story set offs during his Parisian training period, while he was on holiday in Spain. One night at Barcelona’s Liceu Theater, the fiery red costumes in a scene struck him and thought that any woman, if entering a room wearing that color, could have the same paralyzing effect. It then became his unmistakable signature, in any collection there was at least one item in that color and it inevitably entered the most important wardrobes in the world.

In 1972 the Biagiotti White was established, one that the Lady of cashmere’ showed at a runway at Palazzo Pitti in a collection of few white clothes which were wearable and adaptable to any moment of the day, a modern way of dressing but also a symbol of simplicity and peace that is a classic Laura Biagiotti.

Metal Polka Dots

To tiny metal “polka dots” to golden cones, they come in many shapes and sizes and had come a long way from a mere decoration

The Sex Pistols wearing Vivienne Westwood

The stud is a tiny metal, disc or square, used as an ornament on leather accessories, but also suits, shirts and trousers.They add instant flair to everything from jeans to sandals, and lend a slight edginess to even the fussiest of fabrics. They were first used in the seventies and they were associated with the punk movement, which saw the light in the States but thrived in the UK, especially in London, where various elements of the movement were in fact institutionalized.

Alexander Wang's Brass Studs Duffle Bag 

In the 70's and 80's studs were spiky ornaments that defined a deliberately tough look which was meant to shock society. Among the designers that used them  was Versace, who use studs to decorate suits and jackets which then became one of the symbols of his maison; and Alexander McQueen, who used various elements of the punk style in his ’95 and ’96 autumn/winter collections titled "Highland Rape". In the early 2000 other designers added studs to their collections, like the Chanel jacket decorated with small round silver studs, or the black leather belts that resembled a studded fabric. Alexander Wang created the Brass studs duffle, a bag that has become a cult item ever since it came out and it is now produced in various models with studs and different materials. But the real studs explosion was in the 2010/2011 season, when many designers brought on the catwalk not only some studded accessories, but also clothing.

Versace’s woman is a siren, 

with studs replacing the scales” 

The trend continued on the spring 2012 shows, where studs made an appearance on various items: Donatella Versace’s woman is “a siren in neoprene with studs replacing the scales”; and Valentino presented new versions of his famous Rockstud bags. For the studs, Shoes became the accessory where they create the most original effects, which reflect Westwood’s motto: “when in doubt, exaggerate”.