Celebrity Life

For Autumn/Winter 2020, Giorgio Armani dialled up the glamour with a showcase of ultra-sophisticated apparel and a snazzy update of its iconic La Prima bag.

Here are 3 key highlights that left lasting impressions.

Drama Queen

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As work from home takes hold more around the world, the casualisation of clothing has come to create a huge impact in fashion. However, we’d argue that outside of comfort clothes we still like to dream — we still want a touch of fantasy and still need the glamour and maximalism that’s made characters like Killing Eve’s Villanelle or Emily from Emily in Paris such a sartorial delight to watch on TV. We’re talking drama and glamour and irreverence — which fashion will always need.

This season, we look towards the delicate glimmering beaded fringes capping the shoulders at Giorgio Armani‘s winter collection. Movement, shimmer and Great Gatsby glitz is a welcome reprieve from sweat pants at home. The collection also features dramatic flourishes, such as long delicate feathers along the collar of a black velvet top, or bold graphic pink or blue prints that made it on to ready-to-wear as well as accessories and jewellery. Pass the champagne please.

Distinguished in Grey

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Grey is a Giorgio Armani classic hue — indeed, over the past 45 years, perhaps no other designer has made such use of it. The range of shades — from dark charcoal to concrete to light dove — has been expressed in fabric not only for mens- and womenswear, but also in Armani homeware, hotels and even architecture.

This autumn/winter 2020, the main Giorgio Armani men’s range devotes a big chapter to the hue, but we see novel blocks, stripes, pinstripes, checks, plaids, zig zag and other geometric motifs, as well as rich textures. Big double-breasted coats and jackets, and three-piece suits — the look is ultra-layered with forms that break up the palette and some really interesting Asian-inspired shapes and heritage fabrics on jackets. The message isn’t just to wrap up in this steely, masculine colour, but do it with attitude and irreverence.

La Prima Donna

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Carried by celebrities and fashionistas alike, the La Prima range of handbags from Giorgio Armani is sleek with simplified lines and the perfectly versatile number for autumn/winter — Hong Kong celebrity Fala Chen certainly looks like she’s a fan here.

The original La Prima was designed in 1990, but these new models incorporate items such as the contemporary mini-bags, fun charms and iPhone cases, as well as new shapes and handles for all occasions. These beautiful leather bags don’t look out of place at the office or when you’re out at night for cocktails and, best of all, some of these fresh hues are extremely covetable. Black or navy might be a safe muted tone to go with, but the range of metallics is a lovely precursor to the festive season next month. These shiny sweet-wrapper leather colours are fun, fabulous and a great way to introduce a punchy statement to your outfit, without going out there too far.

The post Key Highlights From Giorgio Armani’s Autumn/Winter 2020 Collections appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Style director Jing Zhang breaks down some of our favourite menswear looks from Emporio Armani's Autumn/Winter 2020 presentation.

This show contained many collections wrapped up in one EA experience.

In the middle there was an EA7 aside (military skiwear) and at the end, a new R-EA (recycled Emporio Armani) sub-collection in which Armani presented presumably all-renewed, all-navy pieces of attractive, tactical streetwear.

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Oversized baseball jacket/parka hybrids in scarlet herringbone wool were mixed with matching pants, oversized black notch-collar puffer jackets with buffalo-check pants, and evening-biker looks (in pleather) with fine red irregular herringbone and oversized gilet; there was also a turn to expressively progressive formalwear: black jackets etched with silver beads and suits in silver-etched pinstripe.

After that, we progressed through the recycled workwear of the final R-EA chapter.

[caption id="attachment_211080" align="aligncenter" width="682"] The Emporio Armani Autumn/Winter 2020 collection also featured snazzy eyewear. (Image: Emporio Armani)[/caption]

The details

1. Herringbone emerged as a hero
2. Recycled fabrics and sustainable style in R-EA
3. Slick, aerodynamic black nylon and leather

The post Style Spotlight: Herringbone and Recycled Fabrics at Emporio Armani A/W 2020 appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Paris Fashion Week 2020 closed yesterday on a high note with spectacular shows from Chanel and Louis Vuitton.

Chanel went back to the timeless glamour of black and white Hollywood movies while Louis Vuitton embraced a gender neutral future.

Tinseltown galore at Chanel

[caption id="attachment_211025" align="alignnone" width="1024"] (Image: Chanel)[/caption]

At Chanel's presentation, an army of the world's top supermodels walked under a huge Hollywood-style sign spelling out the brand's name in its biggest catwalk spectacle since designer Virginie Viard took over the fabled French house from Karl Lagerfeld after his death last year. They included the body positive pin-up, Jill Kortleve, a Dutch model who is a voluptuous size 16 (US size 12).

Covid-19 restrictions may have limited the number of fashionistas allowed into the immense Grand Palais in central Paris, but like the decor, Viard wrote her ambitions large. Her collection was no less than a grand sweep through the long history of the label founded by Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, with a giant nod to Chanel's time in Tinseltown in the 1930s when she dressed stars like Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich and Gloria Swanson.

"I was thinking of actresses on the red carpet... some of whom we haven't seen in a long time... their faces a little somewhere else as the photographers call out to them," Viard said afterwards.

[caption id="attachment_211019" align="aligncenter" width="619"] (Image: Stephane de Sakutin/ AFP)[/caption]

The show — dominated by black and white interspersed with splashes of bold colour — coincides with the first-ever museum exhibition dedicated to Coco Chanel in the French capital, which opened last week to rave reviews.

Big screen glamour

Viard recreated and updated some of Coco's most beloved looks, with a nod to her predecessor Lagerfeld's more street fashion sensibility with logos a gogo.

"Gabrielle Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld dressed so many actresses in their films and in their lives," Viard added. "They made us dream."

"Without redoing clothes exactly and falling into vintage, I wanted it to be very joyous and colourful and full of life."

[caption id="attachment_211020" align="aligncenter" width="594"] (Image: Stephane de Sakutin/ AFP)[/caption]

With Paris Fashion Week 2020 forced largely online by the coronavirus, Chanel streamed the show live for fashion fans. "Lights, cameras, action!" it declared on Instagram as it aped the opening of a silent black and white film, placing a huge Chanel sign on the Hollywood Hills.

Viard kept up the theme of the brand's long association with the silver screen with video clips of models reclining in luxury hotels like movie idols about to attend premieres.

The brand's association with Hollywood began in 1930 when studio mogul Sam Goldwyn begged Coco Chanel to come to Los Angeles to give his stable of stars some "class", offering her US$1 million to come twice a year.

Gender fluidity and stiletto clogs at Louis Vuitton

While Chanel looked back, Nicolas Ghesquiere's Louis Vuitton could not be more resolutely now, with the opening look a sweater emblazoned with "Vote", a rallying call for the liberal left in the upcoming US presidential election.

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But that was as conventionally political as it got, with the highly rated French designer insisting that his eyes were set firmly on the possibilities that gender fluid clothes might offer in the future. "What cut might dissolve the masculine and the feminine?" he asked. "What wardrobe might make them come together in one?"

Ghesquiere said he wanted to bring the world's richest luxury label on a "voyage of exploration... to discover and abolish the last [gender] frontiers."

The bravura show was held in the long-closed La Samaritaine department store, which is due to reopen next year. As always with Ghesquiere, it was all in the cut, with classic business and streetwear uniforms given surprising turns.

[caption id="attachment_211022" align="aligncenter" width="509"] A model wearing Louis Vuitton's clog stilettos. (Image: Lucas Barioulet/ AFP)[/caption]

But perhaps the most eye-catching thing about his spring/summer 2021 collection were the shoes, with a line of pointed clog stilettos sending Instagram into spasms.

(Main image: Stephane de Sakutin/ AFP; Featured image: Lucas Barioulet/ AFP)

The post Chanel and Louis Vuitton Round Off Paris Fashion Week on a High Note appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Giorgio Armani proved the show must go on — in spectacular style — with a virtual Spring/Summer 2021 presentation that provided a fresh interpretation of the brand’s timelessly elegant aesthetic.

Whatever the circumstances, some things remain eternal – as Giorgio Armani’s Spring/Summer 2021 collection amply demonstrated. The collection, which was presented virtually under the title Timeless Thoughts, showcased the latest iteration of the storied Italian fashion house’s signature aesthetic. Featuring soft textures, fluid lines and a sophisticated colour palette combined with eye catching geometric patterns, it blended the traditional and structured with the unexpected and daring to head-turning effect.

The women’s collection presented a series of fluid silhouettes in soft fabrics, favouring the kind of neutral colours that are traditionally at the heart of the brand’s palette, such as grey, beige and black, but with regular pops of sea and baby blue and silver, as well as some heavier tones and regular use of abstract patterns. Pieces elegantly combined the simple with the sophisticated, including soft suits, patchwork jackets, silk trousers and loose dresses, alongside minimal accessories – mainly, a small number of sleek, svelte clutches.

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For men, the look was similarly approachable and comfortable but sophisticated and classic. The emphasis was on suits in soft materials, with the focus again on classic shades of grey and blue, often featuring intricate patterns expressed in subtle colour combinations. Several casual three piece suits come with a vest that served in lieu of a shirt, while accessories were typically in suede, including bags and tasseled loafers.

The presentation of the show took the form of a video, the second time Armani has presented a seasonal show virtually, after it became the first fashion house to take action as a result of the pandemic back in February, when it moved its Autumn/Winter 2020 show behind closed doors. The maison’s Spring/Summer 2021 show also marked a couple of firsts: It was broadcast on Italian national television during prime time, as well as being streamed online; and was preceded by a 20 minute documentary detailing the history of Armani, also called Timeless Thoughts.

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Narrated by much loved Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, the film detailed the evolution of the brand over the ages, highlighting in particular its consistency – a commitment to a certain interpretation of elegance, based around a perfect balance of innovation and restraint, and of the urban and the exotic, that again received a dazzling expression in its most recent men’s and women’s collections.

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The post Cutting-Edge Meets Classic Styles at Giorgio Armani Spring/Summer 2021 appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Face masks may have been a standout accessory at Milan Fashion Week 2020, but designers who defied the pandemic to put on shows dispelled gloom with love letters to Italy and brighter, sunnier times.

The week ended Sunday with Valentino, which had moved its catwalk from Paris this season as a show of support for an Italy devastated by the virus earlier this year.

Here is a round-up of the top three Spring-Summer 2021 trends at Milan Fashion Week 2020:

Italy my love

[caption id="attachment_210750" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Dolce & Gabbana opted for brightly coloured patchwork details. (Image: Dolce & Gabbana/ Facebook)[/caption]

Whether or not people will be permitted to travel to Italy next summer, they can be transported there through their wardrobes.

Dolce & Gabbana paid homage to the designers' beloved Sicily, with a patchwork collection evoking the island's warmth and colours, while Etro was inspired by the picturesque Amalfi coast.

"I started the collection during the lockdown," designer Veronica Etro said before her show. "Like everyone else, I was at home doing housework. And my mother and I restored an old record player and started listening to old Neapolitan songs, and we were bewitched by the serenity, timelessness and elegance.

"Then I started thinking about a trip I made in 2019 to Ischia, Capri, Naples and Positano, and -- maybe because we were feeling so patriotic then -- I thought, okay, let's do the collection on Italy," she said.

Silky caftans in sorbet colours, patterned bikini tops and straw hats suggested walks on the beach before enjoying chic aperitifs.

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Pucci instead headed for the island of Capri, distilling the fashion house's signature prints and '60s silhouettes -- including its famous Canzone del Mare pattern -- in pastel sheer silks and organzas.

Max Mara's creative director Ian Griffiths thought not of seaside pleasures but summer in Italy's art cities and the Renaissance, with hexagonal motifs mimicking the mosaic floors of the country's cathedrals.

Retrospection, reinterpretation

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The nationwide lockdown also appears to have prompted Italy's luxury brands to dust off their archives and reinterpret key pieces from the past.

Versace led the way, with Donatella Versace building on Gianni Versace's "tresor de la mer" collection for Spring 1992, with its starfish, coral and seashell motifs.

At Fendi, the collection was inspired by the finely embroidered household linen owned by designer Silvia Venturini Fendi's family.

[caption id="attachment_210749" align="aligncenter" width="683"] At Fendi, the collection was inspired by the finely embroidered household linen owned by designer Silvia Venturini Fendi's family. (Image: Miguel Medina/ AFP)[/caption]

Over at Marni, coats made from up-cycled pieces from previous collections were then hand-painted with words that designer Francesco Risso collected from exchanges he had with friends and his team during lockdown.

Dolce & Gabbana used remnants of fabric from previous seasons to lower the environmental impact of their show.

Lockdown lazing

[caption id="attachment_210756" align="aligncenter" width="758"] Valentino revealed a surprise collaboration with Levi's that showcased a coed model of the 517 boot cut jeans. (Image: Valentino)[/caption]

It was an oft-heard debate of lockdown: Does not leaving the house mean you can stay in your pyjamas all day?

Italy's designers gave an out to those reluctant to suit up: Armani proposed silk sweatpants, while Fendi paired outfits with slippers.

Etro encouraged lounging in caftans and nightgowns, while Max Mara indulged slouchers with hooded sweatshirts.

And Valentino provided the cherry on the home-comfort cake with a surprise collaboration with Levi's that produced a coed model of the 517 boot cut jeans.

(Main and featured images: Valentino)

The post Milan Fashion Week: Trends That Reigned on the Runway appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

This season, the chunky shoes are the new classic. Modern and trendy, they can level up any look, even the most sophisticated ones.

The post Trendy chunky shoes appeared first on Suite Life.

Kim Jones helmed Dior Men’s seasonal range will be walking down the runway in a few. The collection is said to pay tribute to British stylist and jeweller, Judy Blame. Livestream Dior Men’s Fall/Winter 2020 Paris Fashion Week Runway above.

Start time: 18 January 2020 | 1:30 AM (HKT)

The post Livestream: Dior Men’s FW20 Collection appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

It's the stuff love stories are made of: two lovers meeting, making two halves to one whole. The archaic gestures like hearts and flowers, veiled with lace and sewn together with love. But then there's the other side of romance that we all know to be true, and Prada explores the anatomy of romance both bad and good, light and dark. Just like a good horror film, danger is attractive and the notion is expressed through military-inspired clothing, even mohair fur.

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Marrying the two is a theme seen clearly with the collection. These contrasting sides two romance meet each other in harmony and in doing so, reflects the strengths and fragilities of humanity. Ideologically, emotionally, and of course, stylishly, love is realised with Prada's Fall/Winter 2019 womenswear collection. Dare we say, we love it already.

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