Speaking Style

If Amy Winehouse were to switch careers from music artist to fashion-forward and very chic librarian, she’d probably look like one of the models at Michael Kors’ show for Fall 2008. With the classic cuts, restrained use of colors and modern styling, the models looked like members of the fashionable academia instead of just models.

 

The popular TV show Mad Men apparently served as a big inspiration for this collection, as the designer himself pointed out. There was a very retro and sometimes vintage feel to the outfits that you really wouldn’t be able to ignore that element. It’s a good thing that the designer gave the 1960’s-inspired look a much-needed update with patterns, a new use of color and very modern styling, which included a lot of models with ‘dos teased all the way up Winehouse-style.

 

Although the designer had a very strong inspiration, you’ll still see a lot of this season’s fashion trends in this collection. The animal print is just one of them, albeit it only showed up a few times. The collection also has a considerable amount of fur – another of this season’s fashion shopping must-haves – placed as lining for a jacket or thrown over as a coat.

 

The evening was really when Kors’ collection shone the brightest, both literally and figuratively. Subtly patterned dresses in black or midnight blue played tricks with the light, creating an illusion of additional movement as it went down the brightly lit runway. There were several column dresses with different embellishments such as a high waist or that same, light-illusion pattern. Capping off the collection was a voluminous gray gown that was fortunately kept from looking somber by a marble streak print all over it.

It’s almost as if the Missoni collection for Fall 2008 came with a minimum age requirement. Whereas their previous collections – especially the ones for Spring – had several pieces that could be worn even by young ladies in their tween years, this collection is almost exclusively for the mothers of the said young ladies. Baggy, draping pieces make for a very grown-up collection indeed.

With all the flannel, cashmere tweed and other fabrics playing major roles in the Missoni collection for the season, it’d be hard to guess for a newcomer that the fashion house is actually a powerhouse in the knitting section of the industry. It’s a tad ironic, considering that knitwear is on many a designer’s fashion shopping list this season. In place of knits were plays on volume using fur, tulle and a few ruching techniques. There was also a lot of loose outerwear that either draped over the rest of the outfit or wrapped around the top of it, adding even more volume.

To be fair to Angela Missoni, there was a considerable amount of color in the collection, especially with the current fashion trend of sticking to more somber neutrals. Brighter colors did little, though, to give the collection some much-needed youthful energy. Very few of the cuts were body-conscious, which drives the Missoni designs even further away from a younger demographic.

Maybe the label is trying to get to older and more financially stable customers to buy their wares in these recession-hit times. Or perhaps it’s just trying to change its focus or aesthetics in general. Whatever the reason behind the movement, one thing’s for sure: moms everywhere will be enjoying Missoni this season.

Since the market’s slowing down and the country’s in a credit crunch, a lot of designers have decided to jump on the newest new fashion trend: frugality. But don’t expect Jean Paul Gaultier to jump on that bandwagon. You already know how far out of the box the man thinks, and this season he’s jumped from boxy to furry.

For the past several decades, fur has been a big part of fashion. Shopping for fur has gone everywhere from getting you envious looks to death threats from PETA. This season, Gaultier dares to be fabulously furry by putting all sorts of furs on all sorts of pieces. From the first piece – a parka with faux tiger fur on the hood and all over the back – to the last – a blouse-and-pants combo under a full fur coat – fur was just the fiercest item on the fashion shopping list. There were even entire bags made out of fur, like that black messenger bag made completely out of fox fur!

When the fur was absent, there were exotic animal prints taking their place. There was a ruffled boot-cut pantsuit-and-coat outfit that was covered from head to toe in a light tiger print. Another very sheer pantsuit looked like a big, taper-cut canvas with a print of birds and butterflies in branches going all over it.

If you’re a fan of Gaultier’s over-the-top designs, you surely won’t be disappointed by his collection for this season. While it’s missing the more colorful and eccentric styling of fashion shows past, it certainly captures that unconventionality that has become the Gaultier signature.

It almost makes you wonder how they kept PETA from storming the show