14/02/2013

Confezione Italiana

Confezione Italiana

There was a time when Italian fashion was not such a world-known and celebrated industry. On the contrary, it was a young and still local phenomenon. From the beginning, though, it had shown great promise of becoming one of the leading Italian trades.

This all was happening when Fascism ruled Italy and fashion had been posed under the institutional control of an association, the AIIA (Associazione Italiana Industriali dell’Abbigliamento). Its role was to study, execute and promote clothing production, nationally and then abroad. To do that, a committee board was created: the Comitato Moda, which was in charge of trend research and the task of spreading the results to the industry and manufacture. It was necessary to keep up with Paris’ fashion status, and to be able to propose a valid alternative to it with the Italian trademark.

One of the aims of Comitato Moda was the publishing of its official magazine, Confezione Italiana in 1969. The idea was to create a publication addressed to the industry and the designers, as well as consumers, in order to always state one and only trend throughout the nation. From the first issues it featured at least a hundred of the major Italian productors and designers such as Biki, Iole Veneziani and Marucelli.


Fashion photography was central in every issue. Themes and locations were chosen according to the trend they should promote: ‘Weekend in the mountains’ for skiing garments, ‘Autodrome’ for leather jackets, ‘Sunday at the stadium’ for casualwear, and so on. What sounds predictable and without potential of making any change, turns out to be the exact opposite if seen live. The spreads are really hard to believe coming from the Italian 70s, as the suggestions they gave and the atmospheres they created were extremely contemporary, so much that they recall the magazines spreads we see nowadays. It is not easy to tell if they were avant-garde at the time, or simply so strong that they are still inspirational today. What is certain is that the atmospheres – playful, careless and unserious, but elegant and refined too – are the same we can find even now.

This was when and how Italian fashion developed its main features, so antithetical from the French fashion: being fun but desirable, suitable for everyone, anytime.


Sara Golfetto

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14/02/2013

Pour Homme Pour Femme

Pour Homme Pour Femme

A blazer, a trenchcoat, a tuxedo, a pair of jeans and a bowler hat. Are these items you would find in a man’s closet or in a woman’s? The answer is: both. The trend of women wearing menswear has been for decades considered chic for several seasons, and can still be seen on the runways. Balenciaga, Balmain and Marni are just a few examples of fashion houses giving their take on the menswear trend 2013. How has this trend evolved through time?

During World War I many women were forced to step in and do “men’s jobs”. That was something that changed the way women dressed, since the female wardrobe at that time wasn’t as practical as it needed to be. It was only natural to glance inside the male closet for inspiration. Some women openly wore both pants and blazers as well as cut their hair short and even smoke cigarettes, just like men. The novel La Garçonne (The Tomboy) was released in 1923 and became a big hit among women fighting for their freedom to live as they pleased, which came to increase the popularity of dressing androgynously.

In the 1930s the trend was spotted even in Hollywood with names such as Marlene Dietrich and Katherine Hepburn sporting the look. It was through this that the male wardrobe became more accepted to be worn by a woman. Still it was to be adapted into a feminine take.



After World War II the feminine silhouette was brought back, mainly by Christian Dior who introduced “the New Look”. It supposedly reached all the approval it gained due to the fact that using a lot of fabric helped keeping the mind off the troubled years Europe had just left behind; something that menswear couldn’t compete with. However it didn’t take long for androgyny to re-enter the runways and the mindset of the fashionistas all over the world. During the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s it was interpreted in many ways; the hippie, the punk rocker, the popper and the grunger are just a few examples of styles created during these times.

In the 21st Century the ”Tomboy” is even more free to dress how she likes, not forced to stay within one specific genre. You can choose to add a feminine touch whenever you borrow something from a man’s closet, like adding a crystal cuff or mixing a preppy blazer with an oversized shirt. Why this trend works so well, is always an individual perception.


Victoria Edman

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13/02/2013

New York Fashion Week

New York Fashion Week

It’s around again, New York fashion week is under way with next winter 13-14 collections being shown. Despite the heavy snow storms, models, designers and buyers are continuing business as usual, apart form the Marc Jacobs show which is delayed until early next week.

So whilst there are many key trends which we could point out, we felt that it has been particularly interesting to note how the silhouette and proportions have evolved over the last few seasons. Whilst sportswear and grunge were very key messages during the SS13 runway shows, the continuation of these trends is clear for AW13-14 but with a move on. Fabrics are becoming more sophisticated, silhouettes are moulded from neoprene fabrics creating a wide – either boxy or rounded and sculptured – upper part of the female body, which is then tapered in at the leg with either pencil fit skirts or pleated tapered pants.

We have also seen the crew neck sweatshirt for the last few seasons making a strong comeback, AW sees this basic item transformed into luxury leather, again with the rounded shoulders at Phillip Lim. Embellished and embroidered with gold metallic yarns, all-over sequins and brocade styles are all the new lean on luxury sportswear.

Camouflage, military and utilitarian influences have also moved on from the SS13 lines. Fur camouflage blocking on jackets and bold geometric camouflage patterns freshen up and make modern this military trend. Tangerine and coral are fresh bold colours which compliment the khaki and grey shades which are very dominant.

Biker jackets are still very much here to stay in many shapes, colours and forms. Shrunken proportions with bomber and biker styles worn with high-waisted front pleated tailored trousers give a new masculine edge to womenswear at Rachel Comey.

Tamsin Cook

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13/02/2013

We Bandits

We Bandits

“Broadly speaking, one may say that the use of this subordinate, but by no means unimportant art is to enliven with beauty and incident what would otherwise be a blank space, wheresoever or whatsoever it may be.” 

William Morris, The History of Pattern Designing

We Bandits know how to play with patterns. Beginning as a pop-up clothing store in different spaces in Vienna, any space they curated excited the eye with forms and colours. The products were always high quality clothes, shoes, bags and accessories, imprinted with enlivening patterns, colours and textures. From diamonds, stripes and triangles to goldfish, leopard and sharks, We Bandits was not so much a shop as a form of curation, gathering clothes according to theme, pattern, geometry and silhouette.

Since the shop design was inviting like a children’s playspace, but mature enough to be made of the best, it follows that men and women were encouraged to be playful with their choices, whether they are for patterned stockings or handmade printed bow ties. Perhaps this is why the quote above from William Morris is relevant, a writer and a pattern designer who promoted the arts and crafts movement of the late 19th century which exalted decorative, playful and folk styles. Indeed many items on display in We Bandits store are one of a kind works from local or European designers, such as the bow ties from Denmark, which require more than 15 hours of labour each. More endearing than efficient, but that is what a play of patterns is all about.


We Bandits began life as a pop-up. When they sold out of products they bought more pieces and launched again. And again. Right now, in fact, they are selling out of menswear. When the clothes were sold their organisers gathered a new collection from their sources of local artisans, Scandinavian and Korean designers. Now it is still likely to pop-up in diverse spaces. In a more permanent site at Theobaldgasse 14, We Bandits maintains the same unique curation style, while the location may be permanent, customers and friends are constantly surprised with new themes based on ornament and personal taste rather than trends. 
Handmade one of a kind items are sourced from local designers alongside backpacks from Sweden and printed stockings from Seoul, or else a pleated cashmere silk top by Ingrid, matched with a Sandqvist Hans red backpack, as well a scarf by Henrik Vibskov from Denmark. Other brands include Hansen and Libertine-Libertin from Denmark and Our Legacy and Uniforms for the Dedicated from Sweden.

Visiting a We Bandits shop is like looking inside a kaleidoscope. You never know what amazing patterns will emerge, and that you will be invited to be a part of.

Philippa Nicole Barr
 - Images Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek & Mato Johannik 

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07/02/2013

The Pillars of FW

The Pillars of FW

For many they are an unparalleled economic opportunity, for others just a cliché replaceable with different marketing and communications tools. During those days the drivers whizzing running through the streets in search of the client’s most generous tip. Bars, restaurants and bistros flock to the same rate as the prices for their à la carte menus soar. On the scene, fashion weeks, the most discussed: Paris, Milan, London, New York and the newcomer Berlin.

Every nation is rooting for its own. Because, apart from the fun theater which is celebrated every hour in front of the entrance of the shows, this mechanism called Fashion Industry translates on paper in billions of dollars, thousands of jobs and a good amount of social implications.


This anxiety often ends up devaluing the real pregnant strength of each. It would be more conscious to take note of what every Fashion Week has good in its DNA. In London we celebrate the feast of Underground. The youth subcultures, the fresher, lively and less affected by the global logics, go up on the catwalk. In Milan it comes to expertise, craftsmanship, excellence of the hand-made, that hallmark all people show reverence; Made in Italy. In Paris slips off creativity. Everything you claim to be above, much closer to dreams and desire. In New York you decide the season’s trends, what you sell, what consumers want and what the market will give them. Cultural inspirations coming from North and miscellaneous agitations that include the british, street, punk and gothic style join together in Berlin, the fashion week that we have just learned to follow, that we foresee to be the next big thing. The deutsche city of contradictions has a little more than for a couple of years stood in front of World Fashion System face.

It’s almost impossible for one of the five face the game for all, because the beauty and the interest of press and buyers from all over the world lies in the diversity that characterizes each fashion week.

By the way, being sharp, you could do just a note to London and Milan Fashion Weeks, which often become a shapeless conglomeration of shows and presentations concentrated in a few days, to meet the wishes of foreign operators, who do not like being out of the country for too long. Well done instead for Paris and New York that, through a clever interplay of corporation, always manage to put big names at the beginning and in the end of the event, “compelling” gracefully professionals to stay in town for every day of the shows. This mechanism allows the city to take a breath, operators to see with no hurry everything that is proposed to them, and tourism organizators and servicers to have a large catchment area delayed with several days.

Strengths and weaknesses aside, we like to think that the reason that still drives hundreds and hundreds of people to move from one end of the planet to see “only” clothes, is not the mere and coveted money, but also other factors. Creativity, expression of oneself, research, delight for the eyes? Who knows. Perhaps, in times like these, people have a desperate desire to dream. Or rather, what they want is “the illusion of dream you can dream again”. So that’s okay.


Antonio Moscogiuri Dinoi

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07/02/2013

Nostalgia: A Ghost From A Fashion Past

Nostalgia: A Ghost From A Fashion Past

There is a moment, a grievous one, when we start thinking of our lost youth. But since we can’t regain that fresh skin of our green days, we have to try another way to go back and feel younger. No need to go for plastic surgery and hair transplant, we may just need to open the closet. We all have those certain pieces that we haven’t thrown away during years of spring cleanings, because we had the feeling that sooner or later we would have use of them again. Hidden behind the gym stuff, or in the lowest drawer, they are there, ready to be used once more.

Don’t wait until the trend repeats itself, take them out now. Use your creativity, be visionary, improvise a kickass styling, and here we go! Trends always look back, we know, so you must do the same. Forgotten things from the past could become the it-pieces of your tomorrow’s style, if used wisely.


Grandma’s closet
She has always known how to look elegant and refined, doesn’t matter if she was going to a wedding or working in a factory. If you are lucky, she has kept her favourite pieces. No need to go for the jewelry; hair turbans, long gloves and dancing shoes will be enough to give your style some retro allure.

Mum’s closet
Your mother lived and wore the best and the worst of the 70-80s. This means that in her drawers could be found shoulder pads, colourful fuseaux, XL t-shirts bought during her holidays and at concerts. She could be very ashamed of all that stuff, denying the possession of such. Your task would be to show her that the style has reborn.

Your own closet
This is where the magic will truly happen. You may have forgotten them, but some clothes from your childhood are still there: eyed-sandals, plastic rucksacks, printed allovers and Peruvian hats. And if you really want to dare: fannypacks and Fornarina shoes. If they don’t fit you anymore, you can always re-buy them in your actual size.

There is only one rule to follow: use irony. You don’t want to look like you’re going to a masquerade party, just having fun with fashion. The last thing you need is not to let yourself be intimidated by the strange looks that other people may give you. Seeing items they haven’t even thought about in decades will take them by surprise at first, before running to their own forgotten closet spaces. Double aim accomplished: feel younger and more stylish with just the aid of an old forgotten item.

Sara Golfetto

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06/02/2013

Guest Interview n°44: Stine Riis

Guest Interview n°44: Stine Riis

R II S is the brand created by the Danish designer Stine Riis in 2011, the same year as she graduated from London College of Fashion and was chosen as one of The Best Student Worldwide by Vogue Italia. In 2012, she was also the first winner ever of H&M Design Award and did, besides the small collection for the Swedish fast-fashion chain, a collaboration with the Italian luxury store Luisa Via Roma. To say the least, things have been going good for Stine Riis. The Blogazine met with the designer after her A/W13 runway show during Copenhagen Fashion Week to talk about expectations, inspiration and the future.

2012 was a big year for you: the H&M Design Award among other things. Did you feel any pressure or anxiety over expectations while creating this collection?
Well, the collection I did right after the H&M Award was definitely a challenge because I thought I had a lot to live up to and as well, I had a lot of projects going on: I did the collaboration with Luisa Via Roma, I did the collection for H&M and then again, my own collection. Simply, there was a lot going on but with this collection I had more time, and more time to work into details, which I think really shows!

So you felt more relaxed about this collection?
The fall/winter season certainly is my comfort zone and last season was my first spring/summer collection ever, so in that way that was a big challenge. Today, with this collection, everything really came together and I am very pleased. I’m…I’m just speechless!

What was the process up to this A/W13 collection like? What was your main inspiration?
I was looking at geological studies of different materials and that is where the inspiration to do colours came from. I was also looking a lot at still life paintings and the symbols often used in them, such as hourglasses and other symbols that reference to the fast pace of life, which also links into fashion for me.

What is your philosophy looking at fashion from this time perspective?
Fashion changes so fast and that’s my constant dilemma as a designer because I’m trying to design these items that you want to wear more than one season, and that’s also why I really look into the materials I use.

And now, what lies ahead for R II S?
I try to make time to sometimes step away from my everyday life to try to see the big picture and plan for the future, I think that is really important.

Can you give us any hints on what the future holds?
Not yet, but definitely going abroad, that’s a plan.

Lisa Olsson Hjerpe – Image courtesy of Copenhagen Fashion Week®

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05/02/2013

Fashion Don’ts Become Fashion Dos

Fashion Don’ts Become Fashion Dos

Remember when seeing sandals and socks together was a concept that would make you cringe with embarrassment? Remember when white pants after Labor Day was considered a mortal sin, so in the winter time a white pant was as rare as snow in June. Remember how these were unimaginable things if you wanted to be “in the know” of fashion?


Today it seems as if the only rule for fashion is that there are no rules. A struggling need for an own identity and fashion footprint has forced fashionistas all over the world to create new styles, outfits and even silhouettes. Bringing inspiration even from the so-called fashion faux pas. Red and pink was for long a color combination for kindergartners, but now seen walking around on many streets of fashionable metropolises.

Fashion icons of the 21st century such as MIA, Emmanuelle Alt and Iris Apfel have all cleared the path for celebrating the individual. It’s not about what you wear but how you wear it. Expressing your own unique self with chains and colored feathers, or just donning a clean white t-shirt, have become celebrated in fashion cities all around the world. In each of these cities there will naturally be some styles that are still more accepted and in general more easy to adapt when visiting, context is the key! A strong identity can pull off any style in his/her own way – anywhere, anyplace. Bringing back acid-washed jeans which long were considered “out” is an estimate of adapting to change in the fashion climate.

So the trend of rocking a fashion may not have been done by a fashionista who adapted to another fashionable climate in a try to survive. Still, one needs to keep in mind to do such with a certain finesse. Wearing a pink top and a red skirt in a luxurious material such as silk or chiffon, or pairing a high-heeled strappy sandals with a fine knit sock can be examples of how to change a fashion don’t into a fashion do.

Victoria Edman – Photos courtesy of Angelica Blick, Atlantic-Pacific, Helena Dewitt & Burberry

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04/02/2013

COPENHAGEN FASHION WEEK AW13

COPENHAGEN FASHION WEEK AW13

Last week’s fashion happenings took place in the north and The Blogazine went from Stockholm to Copenhagen and crowded with the other 60 000 guests dressed to shield from the January cold.

Despite the large differencies in collections and style, there were some trends, from colours to details and techniques, that was shown repeatedly. Just like in the pre-season collections, the emerald felt somewhat like a key colour on the somber palette. Cut-outs, geometric shapes and graphic prints were other apparent elements, defining the simple silhouettes and often very wearable collections.

Last year’s opening act, Freya Dalsjø showed another confident collection for Autumn/Winter 2013 and had collaborated with Kopenhagen Fur, unexpectedly mixing this debated material with neoprene. In knits, we watched Gaia’s simple yet statuesque silhouettes, rich colour palette and mix between large and heavy to the finest loops. Vivienne Westwood, old in the game but new among the shows on the CPHFW schedule, was one of the highlights for the Danes with guests.

Another established designer celebrated her 10 years anniversary by throwing a real play: at the Royal Theatre, among crystal chandeliers and champagne, opera glasses and a personal letter from the designer in our hands, the By Marlene Birger show was one big celebration. Starting out rather expected, she ended with a ‘grand final’ of statement pieces.


Expectations, even though in another sense, was also the subject for the young designer Stine Riis. Having won the H&M Design Award 2012 as well as collaborating with the Italian high-end store Luisa Via Roma, no one expected less one year later. She delivered a put-together collection with a colour palette in harmony with both the inspiration and the season, confirming the standing point of her brand R II S. “The fall season certainly is my comfort zone and with this collection I feel that it all came together”, the designer told The Blogazine after the show. On the menswear side, Han Kjøbenhavn had gattered every cool kid in town in an old school gym hall and presented a complete men’s wardrobe. The collection managed to stay whole, even though showing a range of outfits from lazy Sunday’s to more dressed up occasions.

During CPH fashion week several buyer’s fairs attract the international audience, and as a growing segment of the business, a whole area was dedicated to that fashion that we don’t always pay much attention to: children’s wear. To widen the views, The Blogazine paid a visit to the kid’s area and attended the Noa Noa Miniature show, where we found ourselves in a fairyworld of smiles and joy.

On a 45-show schedule there are a lot that one could bring up to light: the Desingers’ Nest Award (rewarding especially skillful design students) collaborating with Honest by, the new model regulations and another 2 600 brands attending northern Europe’s largest fashion festival, to name but a few. Scandinavia continues to contribute with an interesting point of view, different from what we might see at the upcoming weeks in London, Paris and Milan.

Lisa Olsson Hjerpe – Image courtesy of Copenhagen Fashion Week®

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31/01/2013

MB Fashion Week Stockholm A/W 2013

MB Fashion Week Stockholm A/W 2013

The seasonal Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Stockholm ended yesterday. Household names such as Whyred and The Local Firm played their usual safe cards, which is quite understandable considering the financial situation which is almost as dreary as the Northern climate.

The Swedish fashion scene instead turned its eye towards the young breed of design talents. Malmö-based altewai.saome’s New York-inspired collection was as crowd-pleasing as ever. The question however is if this collection is too contemporary to still be relevant come autumn. The collection’s main element was the cut-out details in the spirit of Alexander Wang S/S 13. The cut-outs were concealed by zippers, much like the sporty pieces from BACK’s A/W 12.

The newest addition to the hectic schedule came in the form of Minna Palmqvist. Palmqvist has during the last seasons been praised for her intellectual avant garde. Garments featuring the intestines and cellulite, embroideries and other undesired human flaws are present in her season-transcending work named “Intimately social.” Her design ideology is heavily inspired by Dame Mary Douglas “Natural symbols”-sociology of the human body in social and intimate contexts. New pieces in her timeless collection were presented through a video installation in renowned auction house “Bukowskis”.

Petter Köhler- Photo Kristian Lövenborg

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