This season Rifat Ozbek opened the Pollini collection with a lot of black and dark grays. He embraces the short skirt trend and emphasizes the looks with little accents. Everything from appliqués, beading on pockets, leather straps on the hems and sleeve cuffs. One of strongest statements Ozbek made this season is his circumvention of the heavy outerwear trend, instead he choose to give his outerwear pieces a lighter draped silhouette. The opening section is a series of gray and black but the highlight is Ozbek’s long pants. One of the standout looks in the opening section is a matching black jacket and skirt. The skirt and jacket are done in black silk/nylon blend and hemmed with a quilted shiny black nylon. Another great piece from the opening section is an off-white wool a-line dress with a cape style sleeve. The shoulders are detailed with a knit embroidery and the look is finished with a black faux fur arm warmers.

The second section has subtle color with earthy greens mixed with spicy shades of orange. The looks are a combination of pant looks and dress looks. Ozbek also showed a few print pieces, one of the standout prints is a black and silver camouflage print on silk taffeta. One of the great looks incorporating this print is the matching skirt and jacket in the silk taffeta. The jacket is trimmed with fox fur on the collar and shoulders. To finish the look are a pair of Rifat’s faux fur arm warmers. The third section is a move back to black but the fabrics have sheen or a mixture of leather pieces with texture like faux fur or beading. One of the key pieces in the closing section is black faux fur and printed taffeta fabric.

The must have looks this season are two contrast looks for Pollini. First is the spicy orange crepe rosette tops worn with a pair of knit wool shorts and a pair of wool ribbed knit arm warmers? The other must have look is a black a-line cocktail dress layered with layers of different embellishments that Ozbek used through out the collection. From the black silk crepe rosettes draped on the shoulder and the waist of the skirt to the sectioning of the matte black silk taffeta contrasted by the black velvet seaming. Lacking this season is a new look for Ozbek. The silhouette is standard and the little detailing is certainly the high point of the collection. One thing is for certain; it is a strong collection and very wearable collection for the Pollini client. Could Pollini be the next Louis Vuitton or Gucci? Ozbek’s last two collections are very commercial with a few editorial pieces here and there. I would love for him to give us a least one collection full of his imagination and fantasy. Bravo Monsieur Ozbek!

View complete collection at Wireimage

[images viaWireimage.com]