Daily Front Row

2011 September 22

Spring 2012: MaxMara, Fendi

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MaxMara Spring 2012
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(MILAN) MaxMara
“Streamlined” and “lean” were the buzz words whirling chez MaxMara as commercial classics with a sportif bent transpired on the runway. Citing the minimalistic aesthetic of famed architects Jean Nouvel and John Pawson, the Italian design team (led by Ian Griffiths) refrained from the trend-driven motifs popping up on catwalks from Milan to New York. Instead, the attention was focused on a muted color palette, heavy on the brand’s iconic camel, with an electric shock of turquoise. Retail-ready sportswear anchored the collection with a hearty dose of zip-up vests and pencil skirts, leather shorties with pared-down blazers, and (for the athletically-inclined) warm-up capri leggings and color-blocked onesies. For the grand finale? MaxMara spoke to its core customer base with an assortment of covetable coating: fuss-free track jackets, poppy trenches upgraded with a less-is-more philosophy, easy motos, and scene-stealing cocoon coats. 

Fendi
Karl Lagerfeld’s debut designs for Fendi took to the runways earlier today as polished, a little vampy, and mostly crisp with a touch of the unkempt, thanks to double-tiered sleeves, ample collars, and breezy knee-length skirting in stripes—done in shades of blue, cream and a smidge of russet or mustard—alongside slightly nurse-like white shifts sprinkled, in moderation, with Indian shisha-style embroidery. Cutouts appeared subtly at moments, at the shoulders of blazers or as a keyhole neckline of a sweet spearmint green day dress (topped in a luxuriant, dark flash of fur), while thick cable knits got halved in terms of bulk and multiplied in sexiness, thanks to sheer paneling on cardis. Beyond sharp trenches and ladylike skirts, things got a bit funkier in the form of a sporty, perforated camel-hued suede jacket, hood on. Or the massive, asymmetrical coifs that looked positively post-convertible jaunt, especially when paired with huge frameless shades perched atop eyelids awash with a generous, kind of magical spackle of gold leafing. Girly pinafores in pale blue or white, plastered with square, frilly paneling at the chest like eyeleted kitchen trivets, and dainty strapping on the shoulders, then got trotted out in a sheer black iteration. The latter was dichotomously naughty-innocent perfection! More noir evening frocks, plus a shimmery jumpsuit, traced with curlicued detailing or straps swinging freely, before Silvia Venturini Fendi and the Kaiser of fashion emerged for a bow.