March Editorial
What fashion will be that of next fall / winter? The Milanese fashion week has just closed its doors to pass the baton to Paris but without the audience of journalists, buyers, influencers and testimonials who accompanied and enriched these events full of glamor, beauty and work of course. We all hope that these are the latest digital fashion shows and that we can go back to looking at fashion closely, to touch and try on clothes, to present the collections in front of a real and not virtual audience.
After a year spent at home, the designers’ challenge was to propose a fashion that can reconcile dreams with reality. We all need dreams, but reality still scares us and forces us to limit contacts, to look at the world from a screen, to live with the handbrake on, to no longer feel like eccentric looks, accustomed by now to a routine that makes us less protagonists.
In fact, we saw few oddities in the collections that were presented: dresses, coats, practical suits, for morning and evening. The revisited silhouettes are increasingly large and voluminous, practically extra-sized. Neutral and sober colors, which often evoke retro atmospheres, but always with a pinch of light, brilliance and glamor that cannot be missing. Lots of military green, all the shades of Nicole Kidman-style burgundy of The Undoing and unusual combinations such as peacock blue and leaf green, camel and ocher, as well as brown that is once again overbearing and chic. And some fluorescent touches that make us happy.
The one proposed for next season is ultimately an essential and contemporary fashion, more stylish than crazy. It is the mood of the moment, but it is also (and this makes us very happy) the basic idea of the Crida project, born a few months before Covid changed the habits of our life, with the firm belief that elegance does not consist in seasonal trends but in the beauty of the fabrics, in the classicism of the shapes, in the fluidity of the volumes, in the small details. Beauty is the key, says Armani who once again does a job of subtraction and minimalism to his new collection, achieving a perfect balance of style and rigor. Indeed, beautiful.
Beyond King Giorgio who is not discussed, I tell you which seasonal trends I liked the most: the return of the dress and a soft and non-aggressive femininity, and here at Crida we can say that we have almost anticipated the trend: our goal is to make women fall in love with clothes again and next autumn we will see a lot of them, easy to wear, never excessive, of very refined fabrics and colors. I also find the decidedly masculine suit super chic, perhaps softened by a belt over the jacket, but with a decidedly mannish style, like the one proposed by Genny.
The Max Mara world, which has always been in my strings and in my heart, this year celebrates the 70th anniversary of the birth of the brand by reaffirming the cornerstones of its style: clean lines, camel colors, enveloping coats and a hint of British in the moccasins and in the checks of the skirts. The trend to follow is that of the total look in neutral colors and oversized lines, as in the aviator jacket worn over the tailored suit. I loved the Alberta Ferretti fashion show, the lady of chiffon, who proposed a triumph of Italian tailoring with dresses and outerwear with essential lines but with very refined workmanship. The explosion of the gold-colored final dresses is a hymn to optimism and glamor that we hope will return. Speaking of extreme luxury, the return of furs (and what furs …!) From Fendi does not go unnoticed, where Kim Jones presented a woman who casually flaunts an excess to which we are really no longer used.
The flou coat by Prada will certainly be on trend next autumn, as well as the optical patterns in contrast with black. Even Prada tells with its clothes the change we are going through but with perhaps excessive forcing. Very little femininity (the wet effect hairstyle penalizes even the most fascinating models) and in my opinion also little elegance. All very conceptual.
A return to the joie de vivre instead is the collection of N 21 for winter which tells of a sensuality typical of the Italian bourgeoisie, revealed by transparencies, lace, exposed underwear. Her pencil skirts with large mohair sweaters are a perfect synthesis of what we women would like today: warmth, protection but also a little sex appeal.
What, then, are women dreaming of now? I was very curious about an investigation by Io Donna (which I always read from top to bottom) on women’s desires for the next season: they say no to heel 12 (but yes to the slipper) and yes to the dress for spring that makes them feel feminine. They would like to buy a new bag or, among beauty products, a face cream. Between shopping for stores and online, they have no doubts, they prefer the former, perhaps with friends. They would like “light” clothing to go out, which is not just a matter of grams, but of dreams. Another shared desire is the possibility of inviting friends home, or the dream of enjoying a weekend in a special place as a reward at the end of this tiring journey.
Concrete, active, dreamers but super efficient, women have faced this terrible year with courage, patience and effort and today they are ready to leave again. Also from a fashion that makes them feel good, beautiful and feminine, but always ready to walk fast towards the goal and to do a thousand things at the same time. We have met many women in recent weeks in our pop-up store in Rinascente (where we will remain until March 15), and we had exactly this impression: the women have their feet on the ground and their gaze turned up towards the sky. And in the end, the trend we like best is this one, in which we all recognize ourselves.