March 17, 2008


Athens, Greece - Now that the major fashion capitals have put the Fall/Winter 2008 round of fashion shows behind them and us, the hard work of analyzing the trends has now come. As the best names of the season represent a most diverse pool of styles, forecasting may be reduced to the personal tastes of the buyers rather than of uniform and collective thinking.

In London, Luella was given an enthusiastic return to the runways of London, while Julian MacDonald presented a triumphal collection that has been described as a “luxurious and decadently warm”. And Erdem presented a sumptuous collection of voluminous ball gowns and cocktail dresses.

Over in Athens, the Hellenic Fashion Week continued its growth with the successful showing of its top design talents which include Veloudakis, Ramona Filip and Afroditi Hera. Veloudakis presented his gowns in sumptuous perfect for any high profile event, while Ramona Filip proved to be the queen of chic with her boat neck collars and shoulders and stunning pleated and ripped chiffon. According to Hera, the season will be all about her empowering fetish chic of bands, crystals and feathers.

In Paris, Chanel put out one of the most memorable collections of recent years, capped off with a merry-go-round of Chanel accessorises and beautiful models. Not to be upstaged, John Galliano amazed his capacity audience with exquisite decors, angels, pirates, and Hollywood stars.

José Castro put on an extravagant showing of his beaded and sequined creations in the garage of the Palais Omnisport. Sophie Albou took us to the Alps for some off-the-shoulders, post-skiing high-octane, energetic creations for the Paul & Joe women’s line. Elie Saab’s new collection is glamour yet far friendlier to the occasions in a woman’s life that may lead her away from the red carpet. Ralph Rucci opted to make shapes, lines and quantum physics the source of his ready-to-wear line for the season. And at Emanuel Ungaro, the young Estabar Cortazar signed an ultra feminine collection replete with silhouettes done in light, vaporous fabrics. ...

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