Just Cavalli, Jil Sander, Francesco Scognamiglio

With each passing season, I like Just Cavalli more and more. It used to be too flashy, too over-the-top for me -- not to say that this is tame, not by any measure -- but now, the "audacity" seems relevant. Not much bling here; I suppose Lagerfeld was right (although, uh... no one calls it "bling" anymore. Nor has bling been cool for at least like, 5 years. But I know what he meant.). Lots of pop culture references here... I don't know if they're on purpose or not, but you can see the Pollock splatter print, a Thriller-esque jacket, grunge/hippie shredded jeans. All in all, quite nice, I think.

What to say about Jil Sander... Austere, futuristic in its simplicity... Nice. The Washington Post said that these clothes erased the curve from the feminine body shape, but I disagree. There are clearly nipped-in waists and the clothes flow around the models' curves -- and I use that term loosely. Then again, maybe that's a good point to make -- most thin women don't have much in the way of curves, but these clothes make all the models look "womanly"... so at second glance, the curve is emphasized instead of erased.

Maybe I have Star Wars on the brain or something, but all I could think about when I saw these pictures was how apropriate they'd be in outer space. I loooooooove the lapels on the white suit.

These reminded me of frill-necked lizards. Yeah.

Photos: www.style.com. Collages: me.

Missoni

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This is pretty much EVERY look that went down the runway. I figured I'd just let the pictures do the talking.

Photos: www.style.com Collages: me.

Pucci and D&G

Pucci without the psychedelic print... pretty awesome. I really hated the pants (the fabric looked so strange), but the parka with the fur collar is pretty cool. I also really like the two sweaters shown here.

I find it so interesting how a lot of labels not really known for a "rough" vibe have gone that direction. For the most part, it's been successful and not forced. In fact, I quite like the combination of saccharine and toughness.

That leather dress is to DIE for, for lack of a better phrase.

Okay, so I adored this collection. Ugh, it's just perfect. (I wonder how many italics I can use in one sentence...) Russian inspired brocades, Napoleonic military jackets, romantic blouses... Maybe I like this so much because it appeals to the history buff in me. Yeah, that's probably it. I've decided that I will go out and buy some piping and spice up some jacket I have. Actually, that would be pretty fun!

The jackets, the jackets, the jackets. I want! Also, I thought it was cute how that last skirt looks like a duvet.

Is that first model wearing...a stomacher?? I'm not usually a fan of embellished jeans, but these are pretty interesting. I especially like the last blouse. I can't really see what the print is, but it reminds me of Michaelangelo's ceiling painting.

Dsquared2, Burberry Prorsum, Aquilano.Rimondi, Alessandro Dell'Acqua, Albino

This time around, I'm really enjoying Milan Fashion Week. Usually, it's just too... "too much" for me (funny to say that after London Fashion Week, right?). A few highlights below.

In covering all these runway shows, I've realized that I am a big fan of layering. These five looks are pretty sloppy -- it seems like the model started with a pretty summery outfit, stepped outside into the cold, rushed back inside and threw on a few more pieces. My favorite is the last outfit: those shoes look like those pink ones Forever 21 ripped off (were those Miu Miu?), and the vest is SO cute. Lots of knits (cashmere?), scarves and socks. Bundle up!


I didn't really care about much else than the coats and bags. I think I need something with shearling. I really hate these colors though. I'm pretty sick of neutrals, and they're making me depressed.

I'd never heard of Aquilano.Rimondi before. I really liked the exaggerated shoulders and the jewelry -- the first necklace is gorgeous. It kind of reminds me of art nouveau jewelry; I'll try to post some pics if I can find some. I especially like the coat in the middle picture. I like how the shoulders have folded around to the front, like folded-up bat wings.

It's all about the "chain-mail" knits.

I really liked how the skirts looked like pieces of cloth wrapped to stay on. The third and fifth skirts remind me of those dress-shirt skirts some bloggers were doing a while ago.

Photos: www.style.com. Collages: me.