Kate Moss is the new face of the Stella McCartney Fall/Winter 2014 campaign, and stars in a short film called “Kate Dreams” which is signed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.
‘Kate epitomizes the Stella McCartney woman and I wanted to capture her dreams and the moments we have shared over the years,’ she explained.I wanted to escape into something surreal this season and fashion should make us dream, sometimes.
The designer’s new campaign is the seventh featuring Kate, but it is the first time the model has worked with Stella in five years – with her last campaign coming in summer 2009.
The result of the collaboration is a short film that starts with Moss in bed saying “sometimes we are all sunflowers” and then cheering the designer. The film is notable since, apart from the aesthetic and the beautiful creation by Stella McCartney, is one of the few times we hear Kate Moss talking.
Asymmetry was the element used by Stella McCartney (photo 1) to explore fashion in her new collection. Asymmetry was in the panels of the beautiful dresses and jackets, asymmetry was in the cut resulting in amazing natural draping of the textile, asymmetry was in the mixing of prints - grey and paisley, for example.
Deconstruction can be researched in many ways - the one chosen by Sacai was through the use of materials with others which you would never think to put together. There were structured coats with the insertion of fake fur or panels of knitwear in pinstriped suits. And then ruffles and chiffon for the ‘feminine’ part. Quietly sneaking in the fashion week, Esteban Cortazar (photo 2) offered one of those collections you don’t see very often: short, very thoughtful, innovative in some cases but minimal. It was like ‘less is more’ and ‘more is more’ were possibly merged in a unique collection where black was the main colour, paired with other bright shades of red and yellow, where sheer fabrics were decorated by fringes and fringes became the only element constituting a whole skirt. A collection where curved cuts followed the lines of the body revealing what had to be revealed and concealing the rest. A very good surprise.
For Saint Laurent you wouldn’t think Hedi Slimane could become even more rock’n’roll, yet this collection proved all of us wrong. Starting from make-up, the hint was clear: it was hard rock. Ballerina skirts were structured in leather and paired to apparently sweet polka dots with biker jackets and super skinny trousers.
Day 8
I’m pretty sure whoever is lucky enough to attend a Chanel show (photo 3) gets shocked by how much creativity there can be in only one man - yes, I’m obviously talking about Karl Lagerfeld. A collection divided into two parts: the first half was clearly more avant-garde and experimental than the second one, more wearable, yet not less innovative and striking. In the first part Kaiser Karl played with textures, he gave us some origami sleeves, some extra-quilted coats and bombers, everything paired with very conservative tartan wool skirts and the usual tweed. The second part presented some very recognisable Chanel elements: one among others, the twin-set with hems in contrasting colours. Yet, what about the beautiful mosaic skirts? Or the floor-length knitted gowns, giving the body an extra-long and sophisticated shape with the maximum of comfort? Not to talk about the cute little dresses inspired by male tuxedo, with beautiful juxtaposition of layers of delicate materials. Exquisite.
Valentin Yudashkin knows what sexy means and showed it in his collection. Beautiful the multicoloured lace with flowers, leaves and animals. It’s impossible then not to love Valentino’s collection (photo 4) even when Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli don’t take a direction you would think extremely satisfying - and this was the case this time. The first part was unusual for Valentino: black and white, extremely structured pieces, graphic psychedelic quality of the prints. They actually played with psychedelia even in the second part, where the simple long shapes of the nearly Pre-Raphaelite dresses was the clearest sign of the latest Valentino aesthetic, this time revisited with a brightly coloured flowery lace. The coloured embroideries against the black background of such looks gave an even stronger optical impression.
If there’s someone who knows how to use materials - unconventional ones - that’s Iris Van Herpen (photo 5). It was amazing how she can translate beautiful feminine shapes, like cocktail dresses with round skirts or long evening gowns, into something new, still unseen, using metallic elements, silicon, or a fabric used in a way that makes it look like wood.
In Alexander McQueen’s collection decaying roses were the clearest metaphor for a theme which has been highly explored during this fashion month: death. Or time passing by, people getting old, life slipping through your fingers, just like a decaying flower. The slightly old-looking long dresses where stripes of chiffon were layered in a sort of ruffling seemed to convey that, as well as the beautifully sad cocktail dress with the skirt looking like a giant rose bouquet with burnt petals. Sarah Burton definitely knows how to continuously reinvent Alexander McQueen’s style.
Day 9
The day opened with the new Nicolas Ghesquière’s collection for Louis Vuitton, where luxury and wearability went at the same pace, followed then by Masha Ma, who chose activewear lines for really simple knitted dresses and beautiful sexy tailleurs with folding skirts. The richness came from the fabrics. Awesome the black coats.
Moncler Gamme Rouge (photo 6) specialises in outerwear, but this time really proved it can go successful even in the most basic pieces of clothing. The vichy prints over riding coats, trench coats or quilted windbreakers, sometimes with lace patterns, are translated into skirts, blouses, everything in a very rigorous style. Loved the plastic coated pieces.
Minimalism which doesn’t give up on elegance and sophistication came from Allude, with beautiful knitted long-sleeved dresses with criss-crossing of panels and floor length giving height to the body, or manipulated white chiffon to look wearied, but still feminine and fashion-forward. Zuhair Murad (photo 7) was really amazing at translating his beautiful elegant long gowns into cocktail dresses with lace or tribal prints.
Every time you look at a Miu Miu fashion show (photo 8) it’s like watching little girls playing with their mothers’ clothes - of course those mothers rigorously wear Prada. And so you find tartan and pied-de-poule trench coats reinvented in a cheerful nearly childish way: flamboyant colours, insertion of snakeskin or whole little dresses made out of fake croco in neon yellow or sky blue. Beautiful the maxi-skirts with giant buttons.
