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LOUIS VUITTON

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Fashionby Tracey Porter

WOMeN’s

Fantasy versus reality, it’s a sartorial showdown as international fashion houses demand we choose

a side this season.

If the beginning was out of this world, so too were the designs when Louis Vuitton took to the Paris runway to launch its latest spring collections.

Inspired by the notion of inter-galactic travel without moving, the fashion house’s design head Nicolas Ghesquière managed to make it one hell of a journey.

In just his second season for the brand after replacing former creative director Marc Jacobs, the current British Fashion Awards International Designer of the Year award winner embraced wearable design with beautifully cut blazers, cleverly knitted-together textured tops, raw indigo denim jeans and quilted biker jackets as close as it got to offering any form of tradition.

But whether in this world or the next, fortune clearly favours the brave and it was his nod to the ‘70s. The flashes of velvet as seen in pantsuits, the sequined mini dresses and the splashes of leather – whether, acting as colour strips on a shirtdress or woven with metal rings - added real daring to the collection.

Belted cargo jackets and print-laden white leather trousers rounded out the offering while an array of denim-looking leather bags and patchwork-looking ankle boots aptly filled ticked the box when it came to cool accessories.

New Revival Boots monogram canvas - $1,380Petite Malle Calf Leather Bag - $4,750

Denim Twist Bag with epi leather - $4,100

www.louisvuitton.comStockists: 1300 883 880

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MIU MIUNo where does it say that you have

to have been a punk, a tart, a thief or a rebel in a former life to fall in love

with Miuccia Prada’s magnificent summer 2015 offering.

Because in trying the key ready-to-wear pieces on you will almost

certainly be transformed into one, or perhaps all, of the above.

Boasting all the hallmarks of Prada’s impeccable attention to detail and beautiful tailoring, this collection is

the very epitome of good girl gone not bad exactly, but… raunchy.

Referencing John Waters twisted comedy Female Trouble; it combines

rich 18th century-style silks with fraying wool checks and frills plaid

bra tops.

In another designer’s hands the ‘50s-influenced housecoat, pencil

skirt and capri pant are the very essence of gentrification but in

having their fate decided by Prada they are given bold new purpose.

Daring décolletages and exposed midriffs are teamed with dirty shades

of leather while on the feet large mules are dressed up with bows

while gigantic platforms complete the reconstruction.

But for those who are not quite ready to submit wholeheartedly into the

new aesthetic, there is still a chance to buy into the Miu Miu magic with

the label recently announcing plans to make its first foray outside of fashion

and accessories and into the world of beauty with the launch of its first

fragrance later this year.

Camoscio Vernice Boots - $1,910Box Calf Bag - $2,430Tricotina Belt - $390

www.miumiu.comStockists: 02 9223 1688

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CHRISTIAN DIOR

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They say history never repeats but of course it is the unwritten rule of all super sartoralists to not only break with convention - but to utterly decimate it.

And so it was when Dior head designer Raf Simons took to the runway to showcase his work on the brand’s Spring Summer 2015 ready-to-wear collection.

Justifiably pleased with what he achieved for Dior’s breathtaking couture show several months earlier, he sought to emulate it for his legion of fans seeking less expensive equivalents - in the process confirming the Belgian’s oft-quoted mission to bring a reality and modernity to the label that reflects the way women live their lives today.

Producing a masterful blend of both fantasy and reality, key looks were repeated in the form of his 18th century-influenced egg shaped skirts, smock shirts and sublime white cotton shirtdresses. While lacking some of the embellishment witnessed in the couture line, Simon’s signature tailoring meant the pieces lost little, if any, of their shine.

With the collection themed around the concept of “looking forwards and backwards to prepare for the future through a dynamic sampling and remixing of history”, the evidence was clear with pleated minis, quilted silk skate shorts and floral bomber jackets rounding out what makes Simon one of the most in-demand designers on the planet.

Large Diorama bag in Rose Poudre smooth calfskin - $7,100Diorosphere necklace in metal with palladium finish - $2,700

High boot made of black hand-knitted elastics and calfskin toe - $3,600

www.dior.comStockists: 02 9229 4600

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prada

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Diehard Prada disciples over the ditch are delighted by the news the design house has opened a new store in Auckland’s Queen

Street. Spread over two floors, the new space houses the women’s

and men’s ready-to-wear, leather goods, accessories and footwear

collections.

Featuring the brand’s signature black-and-white marble chequered

flooring, the bricks and mortar space is characterised by green fabric-clad walls while perspex

display cases, transparent skylights and originally shaped tables

complete the furnishing.

The Italian fashion house, which also owns the Miu Miu and Church’s

brands, currently operates nearly 500 stores around the world and has

announced plans to open a further 35 to 40 stores before 2016.

The Kiwi store launches with the current spring/summer collection in

stock which translates to mean its rails will be heaving with an array of mix and matched vintage-style

brocades, top stitching, A-line skirts, lace and leather coats, oriental silk

shirts and splashes of colour via ribbed knitted vests.

Following the cool ‘70s vibe, fabrications will include denim,

leather and raw cotton while key colours include apple green,

lemon and vibrant reds combined with neutrals and blacks. Key

accessories include platform clogs and two-tone bags.

Vitello bag - $2,600Vacchetta shoes - $1,370Earrings - $760

www.prada.comStockists: 02 9223 1688

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GIORGIO ARMANI

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Giorgio Armani’s much celebrated sense of class and power has always appealed to the Hollywood set so it is no surprise that in a career spanning more than 40 years he has designed costumes for more than 100 films.

Those familiar with the Armani story may remember that it was the Italian designer’s success with the Richard Gere-led film American Gigolo in 1980 that to this day is considered one of the most innovative and successful brand promotional activities ever undertaken.

For his part, Armani has always viewed the relationship with the cinema as essential - both because it appeals to the marketer in him but also for creative stimulus.

His latest project sees Armani team with The Help actress Jessica Chastain to create the entire wardrobe for Chastain’s character in A Most Violent Year.

The film is set in 1981 in New York and focuses on the struggle against political and industrial corruption by Chastain’s character and her husband. Armani worked alongside costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone to produce a sophisticated wardrobe from the era, including crepe blouses, beaded jackets and wrap trenches and as well as providing access to his archives and even some original pieces from the period.

His admiration for the period and obvious adoration for the big screen is perhaps why Armani chose a theme of renewal for his summer collection.

He played with forms and proportions of jackets, showing shorts that appear to be small skirts and uniform-like jackets made from double-sided fabrics.

An ability to evolve is what sees a man like Armani dominate for four decades where so many of his design colleagues have failed to even survive one.

Natural tan smooth calf skin briefcase - $3,285Bronze and silver woven fabric leather sneaker platform sneaker shoe - $905

Almond toe flat shoe with ankle strap and decoupage patent - $1,085

www.armani.comStockists: 02 8233 5858