Setting Trends: Milan Fashion Week, 2015

For the past week Milan, one of the fashion hubs of the world has been a host to the Milan Fashion Week, 2015. Participating in the event were the fashion world’s, who’s who. From well-established names to new emerging talents created fashion that is going to rule the fashion scenario in the coming months. Names like Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and Emilio Pucci were included. Arrays of trends have emerged from the Milan Fashion Week that has gained attention. Some of the trends that have made news are mentioned here.

Gender Bender

This fall season a lot of designers were seen playing with masculine silhouette with feminine beauty. The fall collection was all about suiting up. Gucci, Prada, Armani, Bottega Veneta, Fay, and Arthur Arbesser are just to a name few. The designers suited up the models with such style that it became one of the hottest trends in the Milan Fashion Week.

The Victorian Look

Victorian inspired blouses were popularized this season. Various fashion shows featured long sleeves, ruffled shirts and especially the droopy pussy-bow collar. The Victorian look was flaunted by Roberto Cavalli, Gucci, Emilio Pucci are just to name a few. This added a touch of romanticism to the very stylish trends.

Velvety Soft

For his final show for Emilio Pucci, Peter Dundas exhibited the beauty of well-designed velvet in his show. Moreover, the sensual fabric was seen across the fashion week shown in different designs and couture.

Red Hot

The Fall Fashion Week in Milan presented an interesting palette of colors. The runway was painted in a vibrant range of emerald green to russet to violet and orange. But the color that stood out was red in all its glory. Designers like Alberta Ferretti, Fendi, Gabbana, and Versace played with various hues and tones of vivacious red.

Belt it up

Every fashion week has some accessories that have made a statement. This time we have very fashionable belts. The beauty of the couture was accentuated with stylish belts by many designers making it a style statement. Moschino, Roberto Cavalli, Versace, and Marni are some of the designers who incorporated belts creating a new trend.

A couple of noteworthy trends were the fur shoes, yeti coats, and the 70's look. The Milan Fashion Week ended on a very fashionable note leaving strings of trends to be followed!

Jazzing it up with Accessories!

 The fabrics, the cuts, the use of shades, tones and hues are painstakingly chosen to make that prefect outfit that sets the runway on fire. Yet there is that something little that is needed to enhance the blaze. Accessories are that little something. As a collection or an outfit makes a style statement, so do the accessories chosen. Accessories are anything that accentuates the look, and could be anything from jewelry, bags, shoes or even a simple belt that complements your outfit.

Jewelry

Katie-Gallagher’s Spring-2013 saw some stunning earrings or the branch inspired earcuffs that made a style statement. Manish Arora paid homage to India in his 2013 spring collection in Paris. Besides the Gota- inspired borders, vibrant hand embroidery and the opulent brocade, it was the accessories that caught the eye. Inspired by Indian royalty, the Amrapali handcrafted vibrant piece brought a modern vibe with a touch of tradition. Quirky animal motifs and colorful tikkas, hand chains and jhumkas made for an excellent collection. This year’s collection too saw some amazing ancient inspired jewelry by Gabbana and Versace among myriad others.

Shoes

Finding inspiration from the ancient coins of Syracuse, Dolce & Gabbana’s Spring/Summer collection was just dazzling. The shoes complimented the outfits perfectly by reflecting the coinage theme. The Spring 2014 collection had some amazing shoes from Alberta Ferretti, Gianfranco Ferre and Gucci are just to name a few.

Bags and Belts

This is one category where men and women are equally active and this season has given them good reasons to be. Full of lively colors and floral prints for both men and women, from Gucci to Gabbana, everyone had innovative designs that boggled the senses.

Belts are another accessory that has seen innovation; be it Zuhair Murad with his leaf shaped belt or Gabbana’s coin inspired belts, there were many designers that experimented with belts.

In India there are designers well known for their presence on the runway through their outstanding creativity. A.k.a. bespoke known for their crafty shoe and bag making skills, are also known for gracing the runway for various well known designers. 

 Another familiar name is of Mavi who is known for her futuristic jewelry designing, who also made an appearance this season.

A simple outfit can be made grand with the correct accessory, and it does not have to be something over-the-top as the smallest of accessory can add elegance, completing the look.

In Search of Inspiration

No matter how skilled, talented or passionate you are, every now and again we need inspiration to strike. Be it a painter, writer or fashion designer, everyone seeks that burst of brilliance to achieve something stupendous. Inspiration can come in any form at any time, sometimes when you least expect it. Just as a painter can be inspired by the beauty of nature, a writer might find a lover to be his muse and a fashion designer might be fascinated by an era.

Dolce & Gabbana

Dolce & Gabbana, for their summer 2014 collection, found inspiration in ancient coins from a bygone era. A coin type from Syracuse which was used in the fifth and fourth centuries BC was the focal piece of the collection. Once the most powerful city in ancient Sicily, Syracuse crafted some of the most spectacular coin designs, which Dolce & Gabbana incorporated these designs in their large belts and shoes creating something truly spectacular.

Neeta Lulla

Neeta Lulla, the leading designer of our country, back in 2012 displayed her extravagant collection in the Lakme Fashion Week that was inspired by the saga of Radha and Krishna. With it, Neeta Lulla reached new heights of elegance and grace. The line was based on ‘Radha’ and actress Hema Malini graced the stage as the character and stunned the audience with her performance. For the talented designer, Radha has been a symbol of grace and believes her to be the epitome of beauty and romance. Radha inspired Neeta to depict feminity and grace in a never-before seen manner. 

Inspiration struck Rashmi Thakur, an aspiring fashion designer and a student of Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion. She found her inspiration in the busy streets of Mumbai. While travelling in a humble auto rickshaw, she realized that the rickshaws of Mumbai are an art in themselves. The hard and tough structure and the simple play of the two colors, black and yellow inspired Rashmi. The colors, for Rashmi, defined the vehicle, which she has portrayed in her designs. Her collection is inspired from the tough exterior and soft humility of the rickshaws.  

Below is the mood board, silhouette board and the rendered designs that she came up with based off her brush with inspiration.

 

Rashmi Thakur