Hermès AW16: a man for all seasons

Hermès AW16: a man for all seasons

ABC Life Style, Feb-08,2016

Veronique Nichanian moved away from the notion of heavy winter attire in a collection for a man with an all-weathers approach to style

You get the sense that the Hermès customer doesn’t have to concern himself too much with what will be keeping him warm in winter. Gstaad might get chilly but there’s always the house in St Barths to retreat to once the jet is fired up. And now that the traditional fashion seasons are merging - aided by that small matter of global warming - and that the Hermès man is as international as they come, the house’s offering for AW16 infused a sense of lightness and vivid colour to winter attire.
Salmon, biscuit, aquamarine, tobacco, periwinkle: the colours shot through the darkness of the backdrop; the floor-to-ceiling windows showing the Seine and Eiffel Tower by night. Exuberant batik-style printed neck scarves and nifty, sporty trainers in solid block colours - high-vis orange and magenta - punctuated the looks but alongside these light touches it’s evident that Hermès is, and always will be, in the business of serious luxury.
The supple suede panelling on a ribbed cashmere cardigan, the glossy sheen of pony-skin patches spliced alongside leathers, feathery textured surfaces on knitwear and intricate jacquard - which depicted ribbon like that used to package those distinctive orange Hermès boxes - wending its way across an evening jacket. That segment came in uniform black, which made up a quarter of the collection, a counterbalance to the merry tones that dominated.
Alongside a reiteration that we’ve seen across various collections this month, that informality is the new considered uniform, Veronique Nichanian’s collection was a comment on the fluidity and interchangeability of our wardrobes today.

 

Italian PM Matteo Renzi to open Milan fashion week

Italian premier to open biggest event in Italy’s fashion calendar despite reputation for lack of sartorial sense

ABC Life Style, Feb-2,2016 

Matteo Renzi has been mocked for his personal fashion foibles in the past, but the Italian prime minister will nevertheless brave the tough crowd of Milan fashion week later this month, becoming the first premier to open the event.
While Renzi is not expected to take a spin down the runway, the move is seen as an important show of support for the beleaguered industry, which has been hit by a slowdown in the Middle East and Russia and a drop-off in the Chinese market.
Renzi’s decision also reflects the image he consistently seeks to portray of himself: that he is a dynamic leader and the face of a modernising Italy. Indeed, he has often used fashion to try to make a statement – from the leather jacket he donned for Chi magazine while he was mayor of Florence (some said he was channelling the Fonz) to the “jeans and no-tie” look that became a symbol of his desire to shake-up the political establishment.

 

Last year Renzi was criticised by the Corriere della Sera newspaper for wearing trousers that were far too short, exposing nearly two inches of his blue socks, at a meeting with the president of the Philippines. In 2014 he was given some fashion advice by fellow Italian Giorgio Armani, who reportedly said Renzi – whom he described as “adorable” – ought to wear ties and control his hand gestures, given his status.
Italy’s economic development minister Carlo Calenda criticised Italian politicians last year for their snobbish attitude toward the fashion industry, which he said was often ignored by the political class despite its cultural importance.
Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffè, a business professor at the Bocconi school of management in Milan, said on Wednesday: “Matteo Renzi needs a bit of refurbishment as far as his personal style. But his personal presence at the event helps a lot in terms of bringing visibility to a national industry. The fault is on those who never did it before.”
He added: “He is also borrowing something aesthetically. Being associated with fashion gives a sense of youth, modernity, of a certain sensibility, which other prime ministers – think of [Romano] Prodi or Mario Monti with his coat from the 70s – [did not have]. They were the anti-fashion figures. It wouldn’t fit their personality.”