2 posts tagged "Andrea Pompilio"
Gender Bender
From J.W. Anderson‘s tube tops and frilled shorts (above right) to Meadham Kirchhoff‘s tunics and skirts to Sibling‘s fluffy cotton-candy-pink shorts, London’s up-and-coming designers put some extreme feminine twists on their Fall ’13 menswear collections. But while men (who aren’t Marc Jacobs or Andrej Pejic, that is) may be a little hesitant to jump on the gender-bending bandwagon, it would seem that women are, once again, craving an androgynous edge. The proof? Due to popular demand, menswear designers are creating looks tailored just for the ladies. For instance, as deputy editor Matthew Schneier reported from Pitti Uomo yesterday, Andrea Pompilio sent out nine cross-dressing girls (above left) before allowing his male models to walk the Fall runway. “They ask so many times for very petite sizes for women, so why not do it?” he said after the show. Over in London, E. Tautz‘s Patrick Grant was feeling the same pressure. “We just started a very small line of women’s shirts, which kicked off at the request of one of the stores in Japan—who came to our men’s show and asked if they could have small versions of our men’s shirts,” Grant told British Vogue, hinting that a full-on Savile Row-inspired womenswear range might be in his future (the shirt capsule will be available at Matches.com this spring). Of course, shes dressed like hes isn’t a revolutionary trend (Le Smoking, anyone?), but the overlap of his and hers styles in the men’s collections certainly has our attention. So, are designers pushing us to become a bunch of sexless style-ites? Hardly. But if you’re tempted to walk in the other gender’s shoes, Fall ’13′s menswear will more than afford you the opportunity.
The Latest From Pitti: Less Is More
The economic news from Italy, Pitti Immagine’s ambassadors admitted at a diplomatic lunch mission today, is not good. But they contend they have every reason to be sanguine. The biannual Pitti trade fairs—menswear Pitti Uomo, womenswear Pitti W, children’s Pitti Bimbi, and the textile fair Pitti Filati—draw a more international crowd season after season; for the 83rd fair, to be held January 8-11 of next year, a full 40 percent of the vendors are international.
The big news so far has been the invited guests: Kenzo, which will present the Fall ’13 menswear collection, and Maison Kitsuné, which will stage its first ever show for women’s pre-collection. At lunch, Kenzo designer Humberto Leon and Carol Lim (left) professed their gratitude for the Pitti invitation, even if accepting it means their hectic international schedules, overseeing Kenzo and Opening Ceremony, became that much more hectic. (Leon estimated that he is now on a plane once every five days, with key stops in Florence, Tokyo, Paris, and L.A.) But in their way, Leon and Lim are shaking up the Pitti orthodoxies: They are, Pitti CEO Raffaello Napoleone said with a gasp, showing during the afternoon instead of the usual evening spot.
Kenzo and Kitsuné both hit a sweet spot a hair below the usual designer price point, which is likely no coincidence. “Smart casual is doing well,” Pitti Chairman Gaetano Marzotto announced in his opening remarks, calling out a bright spot in the market. (And adding, to a mostly tie-less crowd, “Like you are dressed now—you in particular.”) But the main-stage designers won’t be the only ones showing at Pitti. Among the other debuts will be Adidas SLVR, G-Star (which will show its latest collection created in collaboration with industrial designer Marc Newson), the returning Pitti veteran Andrea Pompilio, and the adored Japanese line White Mountaineering.