The invitation
Great style outside the show
The venue: Museo della Permanente
Runway
Nicole Farhi and her menswear designer Massimo Nicosia
Top 10 Picks
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For summer 2012, Nicole Farhi pays tribute to the forthcoming Olympic Games introducing elements of retro sports gear, delivering a versatile and urban collection.
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Drawing inspiration from the historic 1908 London Games and the 1981 iconic film 'Chariots of Fire', the collection focuses on traditionally English sporting disciplines from rowing and fencing to athletics and horse riding.
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Innovation, technology, performance and comfort, are applied to traditional menswear attire. Sporting elements are worked in - ergonomic tailoring flows throughout the collection, garments are seamsealed, not always stitched and traditional fabrics are treated with modern techniques.
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Elements such as straps, tape and binding feature throughout and garments are treated with a 'chalk' finish, giving texture and tone.
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Heightened capabilitiy is given to traditional fabrics and garments - smooth Lycra jersey is bonded with linen and canvas.
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The parka`s construction is revised - heavy canvas outer contrasts with a lightweight double layer inner.
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Knitwear takes new form. The classic 'cricket' jumper is reworked fusing cable knit cotton with technical interlining.
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The colour palette is neutral with cool grey, chalk and optic white fading into ivory, chino and khaki, punctuated with lime. Air force blue runs into navy.
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Launching for S/S 2012, sunglasses compliment the collection.
Picture sources: my own pictures & Nicole Farhi.
How do you like the collection?
French designer Nicole Farhi showed her autumn/winter 11/12 collection at the Royal Opera House in London, the most elegant & beautiful show location I`ve been to so far.
A white runway was set up, contrasting the black seats. The editors of Vogue Japan, India, Turkey, Harper`s Bazaar and the Daily Telegraph were seated in the four front rows.
Anna Wintour (who brought brought her bodyguard) also sat front row wearing a green Prada skirt with banana-print.
The collection is graphic and sharp, contrasting structured masculine shapes with voluminous silouettes.
Innovative techniques in fabrication are explored through laminated boiled wool, bonded herringbone, fused cable knitwear, structured gabardine and pressed melton.
Proportions are extreme and architectural; mannish trousers are cinced with high cummerbunds, structured A-line skirts stand away from the body, and wide kimono sleeves on a strictly tailored coat contrast with pencil-slim trousers.
For the evening, column dresses are crafted from chainmail yarns, layered over crinkle bias-cut lame. Billowing high-waist maxi pleated skirts in crimson and midnight, add drama to the eveningwear.
The colour palette is a study of controlled black, navy and oxblood, punctuated with reflective red, ecru and white as accent colours.
Calfskin sandals and lace-up peep-toe boots with needle-thin metallic heels, and hand-crafted metal jewellery, accessorise the collection.
Nicole Farhi`s collection has a refreshing clarity: transparent tenderness, pure white, strong black and dramatic red speak for themselves without prints. Masculine silhouettes paired with flowing femine shapes are realized in sophisticated materials. I really like this strong, elegant and puristic collection!
Very cool streetstyle outside the show
Nicole Farhi Model in her own clothes after the show
Picture source: My own pictures
How do you like the show and the collection?
My invitation
The Showroom
Minimalist industrial design
Models presenting the collection
German Newcomer-Model Richard Kranzin
The Collection pays tribute to Nicole Farhi`s long-standing heritage, reinterpreting the House’s signature trademarks – soft construction, natural fabrics and iconic outerwear – into a new contemporary luxury for men.
Traditional British textures such as Donegal tweed, Houndstooth and Herringbone are worked unexpectedly with linen into outerwear and tailoring. Detailing takes its inspiration from the sartorial traditions of Saville Row, to create sharp silhouettes with a soft construction and continental styling.
Outerwear combines bonded leather with wool and dense linen, and is moulded into iconic shapes such as the crombie and the trench. The show opens with melton wool coats, over-laid with detachable parkas in soft stone leather and waxed charcoal linen. The technique of fusing fabrics is also used in a leather parka bonded with linen, linen knitwear with needle-punched wool, and cable knitted wool jumper and peacoat with technical interlining. Luxurious texture is created with cashmere, alpaca and leather knitwear in rich ones.
The colour palette, inspired by the figurative painter Egon Schiele, of grey, charcoal and black is punched with indigo and cassis, olive and tobacco.
It`s the first collection of Massimo Nicosia, who became Head of Menswear for the brand’s Nicole Farhi and Farhi by Nicole Farhi collections in december 2010. Previously, Massimo headed the Menswear collections at Pringle of Scotland and Alessandro Dell’Acqua.
Nicole Farhi said of the appointment, ‘I am delighted to have Massimo as part of the team. As an Italian, he will bring a continental element to the Menswear collection, which I am very excited about. He has a sensibility very close to mine and we really understand each other.’
‘I am thrilled to be starting this new venture with Nicole and the team’ said Massimo. ‘I look forward to working with a brand that has a strong heritage and is known for its understated richness, through luxurious fabrics and detailing. The new collection will be taking this forward by applying innovative techniques to natural fabrics and knitwear, and developing a sharp silhouette with a soft construction’.
An amazing collection, so chic, contemporary and wearable!
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Picture sources: My own pictures & Nicole Farhi
How do you like the collection? Are you as impressed with the amazing details as I am?
