Author: Louis Dell'Olio

……………….I was a fan of MARIA GRAZIA CHIURI when she and PIERPAOLO PICCIOLI designed VALENTINO together……Of course you never know when a collection is designed by a team who actually designed what! Who’s influence was greater or was it an equal collaboration…..I always assumed the more feminine clothes were designed by Maria…..I think I may have been wrong. When they split and Maria went on to Dior and Pierpaolo remained at Valentino it soon became obvious that he was responsible for the feminine clothes that were a Valentino signature…….From her first collection at Dior I was disappointed, and I have been disappointed ever since…..It’s not that I don’t think she’s a talent, because compared to many so called designers today….she’s a genius. I guess I always liked Pierpaolo’s ESTHETIC more……Technically she is very good, but I always find something lacking in her collections…..SPIRIT and FANTASY, and always a little dour…….When Donna and I co-designed the Anne Klein collection some would always try to guess who designed what……50% of the time they were wrong!……ALL that said…..I think this was one of Maria Grazia’s better collections……….I think her more masculine clothes out shown the feminine clothes. She just seems to have a better understanding of masculine clothes…….I find her feminine clothing is a little CLICHE…….Her dependence on lots of ruffles….and SHEER SHEER fabrics made many of the clothes look more suitable for a BORDELLO than a red carpet….but that’s just MHO…..As I said, for me it was one of her better collections…..The production was outstanding….the staging and the set was wonderful, but the models were disturbingly ROBOTIC….It all must have cost a pretty penny!…..Thank goodness the bags looked great!

………………..There were definitely TWO SIDES TO THE COIN on this collection, and they couldn’t have looked more different…..almost as if they were designed by two designers…..The MASCULINE clothes were by far the stronger part of the collection. It was well tailored….well made and in beautiful fabrics……..However, the evening segment of the collection. was a different story….I think Maria Grazia relied TOO TOO much on sheer fabrics and see through clothing……Who is going to wear the???… Jeff Bezos girlfriend????or Kanye West’s girlfriend???…Madonna or her daughter….or one of the Kardashians?……..Ok, that’s four or five , but I don’t see the DIOR customer clamoring for these pieces….or being paraded down ant red carpet….unless the wearer wanted to shock!……What was good was GOOD, and what was bad [evening] was generally….IMHO…..JUST TOO SHEER!

……………I think the most successful clothes presented in the DIOR collection were the more MASCULINE pieces that looked inspired by menswear….Some of the pieces even had HISTORICAL references, as many of the jackets, weskits and leathers did….Even the KNICKERS, and “MUSKETEER”…balloon pants, photo at lower right had references to a time gone by. The ruffle blouses could be called the feminine touch to the menswear…..HOWEVER…..it was men who wore ruffle blouses under jackets centuries ago…..as the blouses shown here…..One of my favorite looks of the collection was the RED SUEDO RIDING JACKET with the black knickers…the white cotton ruffle shirt and the tan weskit….As I recall it may have been the ONLY RED piece in the show…….The COLORS were very restricted mainly to……BLACK….TAN….TAUPE…..GREY…..a deep dark NAVY….and WHITE…primarily as an accent in blouses and shirts….There were some ethereal long white ruffle dresses in sheer fabrics. Continuing with the men’s theme….there were some wonderful trench coats and jackets in tan, navy, black and a touch of olive…..The prints were very subdued as were the patterns used for clothing…..I guess I would say that the collection was……SUBDUED…….color wise…….again……very masculine.

……………..The DETAILS on clothing can make all the difference….The placement of lace on a dress as the upper left photo, sculpts the body giving the illusion of curves…..The layering of pleats in an unusual way as the photo at the lower right, can create a wonderful new way of showing a pleated skirt. The layering of a zip front weskit under jackets and coats gives the same feeling as a corset but worn on the outside of the body…..creating shape…..Details are everything….even on the simplest garments….the simplicity is a detail!……With some collections it’s all about COLOR and SHAPE……as Saint Laurent…..With DIOR it’s all about the DETAILS….the MASCULINE clothes, and the very MUTED COLOR SCHEME.

………………..This was……..DONATELLA VERSACE’S last collection for the HOUSE OF VERSACE before she steps down……”HER SWAN SONG”……..When her brother Gianni, the creator of the Versace line, was murdered….Donatella took over….Even though she had always worked beside her brother….the question was….can she fill his BIG SHOES!!! Over the years since….I think she has proved over and over again that….YES….she could carry on the name of VERSACE…….and make it as relevant as it always had been without skipping a beat…..It was clear that they had the same taste, the same philosophy, the same mind and HEART about clothes…..and…..SEX….was at the top of the list……If I were to use one word to describe Donatella it would be……FEARLESS!!!….Her brother was fearless too…..That is the GREATEST attribute any designer could want….not all have that in them….Being FEARLESS is what is needed to free your mind of negative thoughts, and doubts….and create incredible things!…..It will be very interesting to see WHO will fill GIANNI’S SHOES and DONATELLA’S HIGH HEELED PLATFORM SHOES!…..I HOPE whoever it is keeps the DNA of the HOUSE, and doesn’t try to prove who they are as a designer by changing everything as so many do……case in point VALENTINO!….I think her last collection was a HIT!…..Was it her best??? I can’t say….I will gladly give her the benefit of any doubt…..but she had every VERSACE SIGNATURE in this collection and then some!…..She started the show with three outfits that were tongue-in-cheek….in that they were made out of signature printed QUILTS for the bed…..which I think was a clever nod to the HOME DECOR DIVISION……Then THEY CAME OUT…..one signature look after the other…..a BOMBARDMENT of SIGNATURE PRINTS….and COLORS! There were plenty of severe BLACK LOOKS too……and a barrage of leather for men and women…..The men didn’t play second fiddle either!….There was a lot of emphasis on men’s clothing too…….Donatella also showed BIG shoulders, but hers were manageable, and never looked unwearable….Her EVENING CLOTHES were PURE VERSACE…..beautiful and….yes….SEXY!!!….If you are a VERSACE customer…..and they are a very specific group of women and men…….you will LOVE Donatella’s final SWAN SONG….Years ago I recall her doing a beautiful fall collection that was almost ALL WHITE….A reporter asked her “what do your customers do to clean them???”…her answer….”they don’t clean them….they throw them out!”…..FEARLESS!……..I would imagine with everything she has been through….loosing her brother so many years ago, taking over the reigns and having to PROVE herself, and leading this company to greater success these long years since…….it must be difficult to walk away!…….but from experience….the loss of not creating on a daily basis, and not being around the people you love and have grown up with….not having the anxiety of deadlines, and the anxiety of every season starting a new…..only lasts for a short time before your “present new life” takes over……I wish her all the best for what’s NEXT TO COME!