Thom Browne’s Spring/Summer 2008 collection opened the season with color, plaids and his unique tailoring while visiting the shoreline. It’s silly attire for the beach visits and more importantly don’t forget your swedish goggles. the opening section was a parade of male models wearing multicolor one piece swimsuits followed by a series of dressed up day looks. The key feature to look at is the tailoring the amount of flesh Browne exposes this season. One of the standout suit looks in the opening section is a charcoal grey suit. The jacket sleeves have been cropped above the elbow which is the new compliment to Browne’s classic cropped hem of his pant. Another great suit combination in the opening section is Browne’s long suit jacket worn with a pair of pleat front shorts. The jacket and short are tailored at the same length on the leg creating a dress-like look on the model. To top the look Browne showed a khaki cotton sleeveless cape in a trench style collar and opening.

Now I must put my foot down and just say that the silk flower covered suit is wrong! For the second section Browne starts to experiment and go a little silly but splashes with a series of great plaid looks. The only miss in this section was the cape and skirts made up of straps. One of the most shocking looks is Browne pairing of two plaid prints in one look. Like the short shorts paired with dress shirt both in different plaid prints. I loved the short sleeve knit cardigan with navy blue stripes on one arm. For the third section Browne focused on a black and white palette. It was a lot of the same looks but just in the black and white color scheme. I thought the use of seersucker fabric was just a little overboard this season. I did love the white and black short-sleeve collegiate cable knit sweater with the black stripes on one arm, a theme he used through out the collection.

There were two other great looks from the collection, first is Browne’s black tuxedo with his signature cropped pant hem and his new short sleeve jacket. Another great look is Browne’s black and white raincoat. A basic white collared raincoat trimmed in black. Everything from the pockets to the cuffs and collars. The look is completed with a pair of black cotton twill capri length pants.

The must have looks from the collection are one suit look and one outerwear look. First is Browne’s green and cream plaid print trench-coat paired with a cream and red plain pant, a great example of Browne’s use of two plain prints in one look. The second must have look is one of Browne’s seersucker looks. I know I said I though his used of seersucker was overboard but I really loved this look. It’s the Browne’s suit with cropped pant legs and jacket sleeves worn with a gray and white wide stripe dress shirt. The wide stripe shirt compliments the small stripes in the seersucker fabric. Thom Browne is riding high on the new trend of short pant cuffs and now he gives us short sleeve sweaters and flawless matching short sleeve suits. Of coarse this high will come down , even Slimane know that but Browne’s strict love for tailoring and thinking outside of the box. This philosophy is really allowing Browne to open doors and develop a strong brand in the American and European market. If only other designers in NYC could follow this lead. Bravo Monsieur Browne!

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For Spring/Summer Kiminori Morishita’s inspiration is a very clean, organic and very stylized collection. The opening section is a series of jacket and coat looks. The pants have straight leg and color palette is very simple with blacks and grays with a few earthy tone pieces or looks. The jackets are very tailored very simply but Morishita focused on texture in the materials and a soft palette that is very eye catching. One of the standout looks in this section is a very light and soft brown leather coat worn with a cotton/silk blend dress pants and simple white jersey shirt. The second section keeps to the opening color palette but adding more white and few shimmer pieces like the silk blend steel blue pants. One of the standout looks is a metallic gray silk blend dress pant worn with a black leather biker’s jacket. The look is topped off with a black and white stripe dress shirt with a high Edwardian collar.

For the third section Morishita get a little more dressed up with a series of suit looks in organic and textured fabrics with a slight sheen. The color theme of the collection is very contrasted from section to section with soft earthy tones to strict dark tones of black and gray or all white. Besides the shimmer Morishita kept the color very mild like the pale robins egg blue he used on a few piece or the garnet red use on a few turtleneck pieces. For the closing section he mixes it up with a series of day and evening looks meshed together. The emphasis is on a slightly sheer dress shirt and a lot of silk dress shirts. The closing evening looks are similar to the evening looks earlier in the collection. One of the key pieces in this section is a cropped safari jacket done in tan brushed cotton twill fabric that feels like velvet. The jacket is tailored with a box silhouette.

The must have piece from the collection is the thigh length robins egg cotton twill overcoat. The must have look is the white cotton twill driving jacket with a hemp cord weave design around the bottom of the jacket. One of missed themes in the collection are the satin ballet shoes the models were wearing. But of the big missing themes in the collection is color, color, color! The collection was too drab at moments. While I was excited to see Morishita did not fall into the all black palette seen in several collection this season. The dabs of white and off white were not enough. Gray is not white; it really does fall toward a black palette now that I think about it. No matter how pale you make the gray it’s still gray! The strongest statement from Morishita is the sexiness he gives the organic fabrics and how easy it is to give a simple fabric new life in tailoring the pieces.

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Utility is the key concept for Navarra this Spring/Summer. He focuses on a utility function for each piece and look, even incorporating adventurous accessories. The open section is simple construction and design, nothing too technical to the looks but the little add-ons and colors are should focus in this collection. One of the key pieces in the opening section is the bright tangerine and black knit cardigan. The light knit cashmere blend cardigan has a color-blocked design in three colors, tangerine, black and pale sea foam green. The look is finished with a matching pale sea foam green cotton jersey shirt. The second section gets a little more flowey with a lot of light fabrics and a few extra volume pieces. Navarro seems to be a little lost in this section. The baggy dress pant has an odd shape with the hips and upper thigh over draped in a baggy silhouette.

For the third section Navarra switches motif with an emphasis on a little western and then giving each a strong statement color. The colors are contrasted with basic black and brown pieces. One of the standout pieces is a pale canary yellow Lyrex jacket with a black cotton twill used on torso, the colors are contrasted with a indigo Lyrex to contrast the yellow and orange cotton twill to the black. The closing section is a lot of black and white. I loved the sheer net tops worn over long sleeve shirts. One of the standout looks in this section is white long sleeve sheer net top worn over a black long sleeve jersey top.

The must have pieces of the collection are two contrast pieces for the season. First is short piece, a orange cotton twill shorts with a white lace appliqué covering the entire leg of the short. The other must have piece is more of Fall/Winter piece, a pale brown ribbed knit cardigan with a wide draped one piece collar and lapel. The ribbed weave design is horizontal on the front of the of the cardigan and vertical on the torso and sleeve. One of the strong points to this collection is that Navarra really moves away from the clean functionality expected in Milan and focuses on the athletic physique in this collection. A superb collection chipped full of great pieces. Bravo Monsieur Navarra!

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This season Alexander McQueen focused on his more playful side showing a collection drawing inspiration from beach culture and the surfer rebel. Models had frazzles and sculpted hair but the sun kissed makeup and styling you soft but energized by the sun. The opening section was full of playful prints like polka dots. Post show the McQueen even commented on his downtime along the ocean side. One of the standout looks in the opening section is a pale brown/white polka dot print shorts suit. A matching blazer and shorts in the same polka dot fabric is paired with basic white dress shirt finished with a matching polka dot tie. Another highlight of the collection in the opening section are the bowling shoes McQueen showed in several bright color combinations. In the second section he takes the bowling reference another step with several bowling and letterman jackets from 50’s worn with long pants. Of coarse worn with a bowling shoe!

While you can see a lot of 80’s references throughout the collection it’s the little details that really stand out. This season McQueen showed a lot of typical fabrics but his use of synthetics is starting to increase more and more. Another strong statement McQueen made this season is his prints, while they are not bold and shocking, they really blend well with a lot of shock pieces. In the third section McQueen increased his use of prints, prints on everything from shorts, jackets and shirts. He also showed a series of knit pieces that really took on a different look. First is a white wide neck soft cotton knit sweater with stripes of blue around the neck and bottom of the sweater. The look is finished with a blue and white gingham shirt and pale lavender short! I don’t know its just me, I love the pale lavender shorts. The other standout knit pieces was a stretched out 80’s design sweater worn really low and the sleeves covering the hands. It’s a crazy sweater but I love the color combinations and the strong statement of color! I wish we could have seen more of the colors in the collection.

For the fourth section McQueen showed more sheen, with a few leather pieces and lycra tops and silk blend blazers. The closing section was a series of mafia style suit looks with the models drenched with water. This section was the only drab section in the collection. The must have pieces from the collection are two of McQueen’s printed overcoats. First up, is the tan/army green photo print on a twill overcoat worn with a orange and white short. The other overcoat is a 60’s style pop log print of uplifting words on white twill overcoat. The styling of the collection is a little hit or miss. McQueen gave us a few key look that can define the Spring/Summer season, but there are several groupings that are just stale. For example the closing section of drenched male models in black mafia style suits with no shoes on! Color and prints are the key statements in this collection, not to mention McQueen’s lean silhouette. Lee abandons the full silhouette this season in favor for a short more light collection, more skin for McQueen! Bravo Monsieur McQueen!

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To open there Spring/Summer collection designers Dominico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana move back to black and the basics. The collection started with a series of basic black suits, with a classic fit pant leg. The duo steered clear of the baggy pant leg, their pants were tailored with a clean straight drape with no tapering to the ankle. For the second section they moved the color palette to more earth shades of gray and browns but keeping with a tailored silhouette even in the looks for day. One of the highlights of this section is leather pieces. One of the standout leather pieces is a black leather bomber jacket, which they reconstructed to look like a football pad gear. They layered pieces of leather to mimic the construction of the gear. A unique and big piece for the duo. For the third section they focus on softer natural shades and even natural fabrics. One of the standout pieces is a natural cotton linen blazer in a soft brown. The look is finished with a lightweight organic cotton shirt and a matching scarf around the neck.

Another great leather pieces is in the third section. A very pale brown subdue bomber jacket, which is detailed with wide strips of black leather. The shoulder, zip opening and the front pockets are trimmed with wide band of black leather. The look is finished with a pair of heavy pale brown cotton pant brushed to velvet texture. The fourth section is basic Dolce & Gabbana utility look of satin pants and more heavy leather pieces. Then moving into the must have is tan models in nothing but underwear. For the fifth section the duo showed more prints, from floral designs to 60’s geometric style prints. One of the standout looks was a combination of two prints. The shirt is a black and tan wave design print on silk crepe with a black silk collar and cuffs. The shorts are a silk and cotton blend with a 60’s geometric design print in earthy tones of olive green to mocha brown. For the final section they move back to a more casual look and color palette with a lot of white and off-whites shades used for more suits and shorts combination then moving into a series of black tuxedos.

Dolce & Gabbana has embraced one of the new trends of the season, the skinny tie; everyone is showing the skinny tie. One of the must have looks is silk gunmetal gray suit. The matching blazer and pant are trimmed in black on pockets, and lapel. The look is completed with a black silk shirt and black skinny tie. The other must have piece from the collection is one of wild leather jackets, an alligator leather jacket-dyed olive green. The collection is still pulling from past season, like the mad max or western theme in several pieces. The duo are still molding the on their classic Dolce & Gabbana man but what’s missing from the collection was a sense of adventure they exhibited last season. Especially in the womens collection! They seem to be on holiday this season while their design team barrowed from the archives. I would love to have seen the print section really expand this season.

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Bailey is alive with color for Spring/Summer! Bailey opens the collection with a series of models wearing neoprene shoes and matching neoprene jackets and trench coats. The colors shocking and breathtaking, from bright orange, aqua or yellow. Bailey also played with a lot of texture in the opening tops. While I did not like the silver lame pieces I fell in love with the colorful palette pieces. Like the bright yellow palette covered top. One of the big misses this season is the tailoring in his pants. Something is not sitting too well in those Burberry pants! The crotch really rides low on the model; Bailey had this problem last season. Another trend that Bailey embraced this season is the short cropped hem of the pants, a trend designers are embracing thank in part Monsieur Duckie Browne. I like the short length of the pants because they actually showed off one of the powerful pieces of the collection. The new Burberry Sandal!

The second section is more covered up with a focus on color combination. One of the only misses in this section was Bailey venture back techno blue. One of the strong color pieces from this section is the mustard yellow silk blend top. The top is a little military in style but the color decadent. Another great outerwear pieces in the second section is the clear black plastic overcoat. The front of the coat is lined black satin creating a black strip in the front of the coat while the rest of the coat is see-through. Bailey used a lot of synthetics this season, is a strong statement for tomorrow. Nor consumption of organics, but then again are these synthetics biodegradable.

The must have pieces for the collection are two of Burberry’s outerwear pieces, isn’t it always! You can never have enough jackets! First is one of the bold trench coats from the opening of the collection. A bright, bright aqua wool trench coat. The body of the jacket is tailored close on the torso, what is great about this jacket is the broad tailoring in the shoulders. The other must have piece is one of the neoprene overcoats. The coat is pale brown neoprene overcoat detailed with black leather trimming the opening of coat and sleeve cuff and a single stripe down side of the sleeve. Bailey opened the show with such happiness of color and then slowly he cowered away from color. He continues his love for experimenting with fabrics and reworking construction. He even takes classic Burberry pieces and morphs them into futuristic pieces. Fashion forward but it’s just those darn pants that are holding Bailey back, the junk in the front needs to go! Overall Bailey had a lot of strong pieces for Spring/Summer. Bravo Monsieur Bailey!

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Designer Ennio Capasa takes on a spa vacation for Spring/Summer, the looks at Costume National more relaxed this season and very monochromatic. The pants this season are tight on the leg and even the sleeves on the jackets and blazers are tailored tight on the arm. The highlight is classic long sleeve pieces that have been worked with a short-capped sleeve for spring. One of the standout pieces in the opening section was a pale gray synthetic fabric-driving jacket. The jacket has a short sleeve and no collar. Another highlight of the opening section is low v-necklines on the sheer and light tops. One of the standout pieces is a light knit sweater with long sleeves. The knit top is pieces together with a sheer weave stripe contrasted with a slightly heavier knit.

The second section moves towards a brown color palette with an emphasis on lighter shades of brown mixed with soft shades of gray. One of the standout looks in this section is a two-piece favorite of mine that really takes on a new comfortable and less strict look for Costume National. Capasa showed light off-white jersey top with plunging v-neck line with a linen drawstring pant. The pant has a baggy loose fit, which matches the draped silhouette of the top. The closing section of the collection is a series of soft and white looks moving into classic all black National style looks. One of the standout pieces in the closing section is not the classic Costume National tuxedo. Instead it’s the white silk blend overcoat. The coat is double breasted with a slight trench coat silhouette.

The must have looks are from the closing section of the collection. Of coarse I have to pick one the classic black and white looks for Costume National. A basic white dress shirt but with a short sleeve that rolled up higher. The shirt paired with the trend of the season a black and gray skinny tie and to key to the look a black linen loose leg pant with a drawstring waist. The other must have look is the pale ecru linen blend suit worn with a black skinny tie. I was delighted to see Ennio Capasa really jump out of the constraints of the Costume National “look”. His new vision of a more relaxed and younger look is a great direction for the brand. While he still focuses on great tailoring the overall statement is more powerful. Bravo Monsieur Capasa!

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Luca Missoni’s Spring/Summer inspiration is an adventure into exploring more bold graphics to build on the complex vision of the Missoni family. This season Missoni opens the Pandora box of graphics and the result a seas of strong colors and marine shapes and tricking the eye. The opening section is a vast body of blue pant looks. From solid color pants to complex print pants. Missoni takes stripes, bubble shapes, complex line designs and arched shapes and mixes these graphics in similar color families like all blues, yellow or pinks. One of the key pieces in the opening section of the collection is a lightweight silk knit cardigan. The sleeves are done in a blue and white knit with the body of the cardigan covered in lava lamp bubble design. The second section has a few more shorts looks with the color palette shifting into a summer palette of yellows, light brown and orange. One of the standout pieces in this section is a simple light blue and white strip crewneck t-shirt with a silkscreen prints of a whale and octopus. The look is complete with a pair of lightweight pale yellow cotton cargo pants.

The third section shifts back to a blue color palette and even some black. One of the highlight combinations of this section is the bold Parisian stripe crepe shirt. Missoni mixes the colors in the stripe print and then contrasts the shirt with squared off twill tie with a wider strip design. One of these key looks was a blue/aqua/black Parisian stripe shirt worn with a matching silk knit cardigan with the same stripe design. I love how Missoni twisted the sleeves of the sweater into a long winding knot and draped it over the shoulders.

The must have look from the collection is one of trick print pieces of the collection. From a far this print appears as a simple gingham design. Up-close it’s a complex chevron design. The look is a short sleeve shirt and long slack done in a aqua version of the chevron/gingham print. The shirt lapels and shoulder are finished in a dark version of the print and the look is complete with a matching silk knit cardigan knotted around the shoulders and dark blue print tie. Every season Luca Missoni gives us more and more, he seems to be opening a new door each season. This season is no different, the reference to the marine world are literal and silent at time. His eye for color combinations is the strongest statement for the season. I want more Aqua and Yellow in my life. Bravo Monsieur Missoni!

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