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Made In Calabria – Cangiari

My Italian is pretty bad still, but from what I was able to understand, this was a cross between a fashion show and a protest against mafia corruption in Southern Italy.

Made In Calabria – Cangiari, photos and story by Charles Beckwith

One of the most interesting presentations of Milan Fashion Week wasn’t even on the agenda. I was supposed to be at another show this night, but my local Milanese driver couldn’t find the address. I asked him to let me out and I started walking the area around where the event was supposed to be held, and instead of finding where I was supposed to be, I wandered into a courtyard filled with candles and models in garments inspired by ancient modes of dress. My Italian is pretty bad still, but from what I was able to understand, this was a cross between a fashion show and a protest against mafia corruption in Southern Italy. Continue reading “Made In Calabria – Cangiari”

Chado Ralph Rucci – Fall 2010 Collection – New York

So many designers try to merge tradition and modernity in their work, and so often they end up looking odd and out of context. Not Ralph Rucci’s creations. He blends what was with what can be, and you can only know it as beautiful.

story by Charles Beckwith
photos by Tal Shpantzer
video by Stephen Dirkes

There were 68 looks in the Chado Ralph Rucci Fall 2010 collection, all of them their own work of art. The detail up close, particularly for ready to wear garments, is astonishing.

Continue reading “Chado Ralph Rucci – Fall 2010 Collection – New York”

Lala Berlin – Fall 2010 Collection – Berlin

Solidarity and equality in Berlin is mostly found in the darkness of the clubs. I would have loved to see this very interesting collection deep down in Berlin’s underground in the dirty but more vivacious clubs, which attract creatives from all over the world as well as young rich people who want to associate with all that charisma.

story and photos by Boris Marberg
photo editing by Katie Piper

Lala Berlin, opened the Michalsky StyleNite event in Berlin’s Theatre Fridrichstadtpalast as one of three homegrown Berlin avant garde brands showing there that night during Berlin Fashion Week, together perhaps the first viable spin-off from Mercedes-Benz Fashionweek in the tents at Bebelplatz. The popular historic facility literally offered a huge stage, one of the largest in the world still today, to present an amazing evening of energy and talent. Continue reading “Lala Berlin – Fall 2010 Collection – Berlin”

A Détacher – Designer Dossier

What would happen if we attempted to not define art? What if we simply were with it, reacted to it, and discussed it? To describe and to resist the compulsion to define is a rather challenging concept for many. I suspect that the prospect scares the hell out of the fashion industry. Mona Kowalska of the label A Détacher is a great example of what happens when you embrace that concept in all facets of your business.

story by Seth Friedermann
atelier photos by Adrianna Favero
atelier hair and makeup by Chris Lanston
atelier model Holly from Fenton Moon
runway photos by Sandy Ramirez

“The highest form is no form, the highest art is no art.” — Bruce Lee

What would happen if we attempted to not define art? What if we simply were with it, reacted to it, and discussed it? To describe and to resist the compulsion to define is a rather challenging concept for many. I suspect that the prospect scares the hell out of the fashion industry. Mona Kowalska of the label A Détacher is a great example of what happens when you embrace that concept in all facets of your business. From her designs to her boutique Mona has fashioned a label that is focused on each design as an entity on to itself. This has made her a hit with her clientele but not as much with most press or buyers, until very recently. There in lies a very good lesson, Mona has run a successful boutique and label through good times and bad for 12 years without much press or industry support. Continue reading “A Détacher – Designer Dossier”

Jasper Conran – Fall 2010 Collection – London

Conran’s work is architectural, stylish, and defies trends. This season is no different, with many bold colors, many of his signature cutout silhouettes, and a feeling of unification despite each garment being its own work of thought.

story by Charles Beckwith
reportage and photo editing by Freda Henry
photos by Wolfgang Wöhrle and Boris Marberg

Englishman Jasper Conran is an all-around sort of designer. He started out at age 19 designing a womenswear line for Bendel’s department store in New York, got a degree at FIT, and headed back to London. In the mid-80s he started a menswear line, which typically shows in Milan. Since then he has kept the plates spinning and designed a few, literally, with housewares, fragrances, luggage, and other projects seemingly sprouting up all the time. Continue reading “Jasper Conran – Fall 2010 Collection – London”

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Marcel Ostertag – Fall 2010 Collection – Berlin

This is the kind of renaissance designer Germany needs to keep showing the world if it hopes to contend with the likes of Paris and Milan.

story by Peter Becher
photos by Wolfgang Wöhrle and Peter Becher
photo editing by Katie Piper

Berlin Fashion Week’s edgy intellectual London-trained rising star designer Marcel Ostertag, based in Munich, follows a simple principle: nothing given out of hand, nothing left to chance. The rather large collection is all created in his small studio in the center of Munich, with mass production also carried out locally. Continue reading “Marcel Ostertag – Fall 2010 Collection – Berlin”