too has succumbed to sugar-sweet colours, but more sophisticated and with a Twenties Jeel : pale pink boa and long dresses in melon, apricot or almond silk – perfect for cocktails besidethe sea. Notethose Jeathers again, which Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Barbara Bui and Oscar de la Renta useto add an angelic touch to their looks.

AQUATIC BEAUTY
Also demure but more affirmedly sensual, the Chanel collection sets thetone for a distinctly aquatic summer. Karl Lagerfeld’s models bathe in a world of pearly sheens, proving sirens and haute couture are a marriagethat works. Whether dynamically urban or loose and floaty, the Chanel musts strut their stuff in powdery huesthat couldn’t Jeel fresher, e.g. a tweed jacket in either sea green or candy pink with

a pearly sheen. Best-sellers in the making. Another trend promoted by this “house of camellias” is the use of hi-tech materials. Like Marc Jacobs’s own line, Maison Martin Margiela and Bottega Veneta, our Kaiser of fashion has chosen to enrich his creations with shiny materials that create a “chic plastic” effect. At Givenchy and Versace we find similar inspirations fished from the sea depths, in muted shades. For the French fashion house, Riccardo Tisci has designed skintight dresses with a scale-like metallic blue sheen. Donatella Versace, ever loyal to her first love, glamour, brings us sheath skirts that she pairs with mimosa yellow tubetops decorated with marine patterns or studs. These powdery shades are obviously out to colonise your wardrobe, be it in all-pastel or contrasted looks !

FASHION FEATURE

Prada

[FOCUS]

55

L’UNIVERS MCQUEEN
Sarah Burton, récemment élue « Designer de l’année » par le British Fashion Council, ne cesse d’épater en signant des collections à la créativité hors du commun, qui prouvent qu’elle est bien la digne héritière d’Alexander McQueen. Elle affiche des robes de soirée venues d’une planète inconnue. Mélange de féerie et d’obscurité, ces pièces sont faites de fronces aériennes aux allures de massifs de corail, de reflets nacrés, de découpes en arêtes et de dentelles de cuir, façon algues mystérieuses. Une explosion de couleurs, de courbes et de matières… Bref, on adore ! -/ Sarah Burton, recently named Designer of the Year by the British Fashion Council, never fails to thrillus with her strikingly creative collections that prove her worth as Alexander McQueen’s heir. Her evening dresses seem to have landed from an unknown planet, a mix of extravagance and obscurity created with light-as-air flouncesthat make you think of coral reefs, pearly sheens, sharp cutouts and leather lace like mysterious seaweed. An explosion of colours, contours and materials – utterly fabulous !

THE WORLD OF MCQUEEN

mars 2012 www.cotemagazine.com