Monday, September 19, 2011

London Fashion Week Coverage

Antonio Berardi Spring 2012

Antonio Berardi has turned out some intimidating collections in the past, which is to be expected from a designer who prefers to prove that women are powerful by playing up the menswear aspects of fashion. This collection, though lighter in color and breezier in fabric, is still a heavy-handed parade of warrior women looks.

There is a clear contrast between tightly tailored, silhouette skimming pieces and loose, flowing shapes. The first look is a mix of both: a cropped, smooth leather top portion is seamed together with a floating, sequin-covered dress bodice. Elsewhere, embellishments outline the bust and waist, fashioning a sort of decorative armor appearance. All white pantsuits and jacket/dress combinations come down the catwalk loose, and then the tailoring gots tightened up on later looks. Berardi’s red prints are chill-inducing, similar to the feeling one gets when walking into the Cy Twombly room of the Tate Modern and gazing at the blood red arcs of paint on the Bachus triptych. In fact, that daunting garnet red plays a big part in his SS12 collection. We’d also be remiss if we didn’t point out the cosmic, futuristic feel of a lot of these pieces. If these are warrior women, they’re of an alien race, visiting us from a faraway planet with a blood red moon.

written by GRACE GORDON|photos: courtesy of GoRunway

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