I haven't written anything in ages, LOL jk, I'm spamming the life out of you. I'm evil.
It's finally time to write about the collections showcased at Runway Malta, and since I'm moving in chronological order, I'm starting from the first show on the day. Collections by 'New Generation' designers Celeste, Ewa Nowacka and Curpina were up for the very first show on Sunday. Needless to say, I was thrilled to see this particular show because I'm very fond of 'newer' or 'less established' designers. We all like fresh faces: they hail new ideas and innovative concepts. The three designers presented a good variety of designs and each had her - they're all females! Where are the new male designers? - distinct style.
Celeste
I remember seeing Celeste's work sometime last year at another fashion show. Celeste's style is very young, fresh and heavily based on clean, sharp lines. What I really enjoyed about this collection is that it featured different concepts. There were androgynous pieces and more feminine items as well. With regard to colours, I noticed that earth tones - such as rust, beige, browns, deep reds - were mostly used for this collection.
My favourite aspect from this collection is that it's so easy to adapt. Let's take the above look, for instance. It really reminds me of a naughty schoolboy or orphan because of the shorts and shirt combination. All you need to recreate this look a shirt - if it has a statement collar then better! - and a pair of brown shorts. Oh, hot pants don't count. This is meant to look a bit androgynous, so you have to opt for a longer style. Something like this belted shorts from New Look would do.
Is it me, or is this look channelling some 70s vibe? I still can't get over the fact that I can't pull of this style of pants, *sigh*, but anyone wanting to get inspired from Celeste can try these pair of trousers from Boohoo.
See what I mean when I say that Celeste played with masculine-inspired and feminine-inspired pieces? The above look is very simple yet very feminine. The white t-shirt + patterned skirt is a good go-to outfit especially during Summer. I think you can also transition the look for Autumn by throwing a blazer on. Everything looks better with a blazer on.
The above is definitely my favourite piece by Celeste to date. I'm in love with the minimalism of the jacket. It's so minimal it doesn't even have buttons! I have a thing for button-less jackets, and I admit, all the jackets I designed up to now don't have a single button on them. The cut itself reminds me of those 'Parisian' jackets that should be all over the place next Autumn.
A few weeks ago I was reading an article on Vogue Paris about waistcoats and different ways to wear this piece. Whoever wrote that article seemed really excited about wearing waistcoats without anything else underneath. That article immediately came to my mind as I saw this design coming down the catwalk. It's an innovative way to sport a waistcoat, and in all honesty, you could wear it on a blouse and it would look as good :)
Overall, I liked the collection. As I said, it's very wearable and it can inspire plenty of laid-back outfits. I look forward to see more collections from Celeste in the near future!
Ewa Nowacka
I start by declaring that Ewa Nowacka was my absolute favourite from the 'New Generation' Designers show. However, I do have to admit that I never heard about her before this show! Where has she been hiding? Ewa Nowacka's collection was my fave because she's damn inspiring. I can't get over how she managed to merge minimalism with bolder elements.
The minimal side to Ewa Nowacka's collection mostly concerns cuts. As you can immediately notice from the pictures of the collection, the cuts are very tailored, clean and sharp. The collection's dominant colours fit in nicely with the sharp, minimal designs: Ewa Nowacka opted for muted, saturated hues like grey, taupe, blue, and dusty rose amongst others. Both skirts and trousers were featured, and to personal joy, there was also a midi-skirt! Refer to the picture above!
So, as I mentioned earlier, Ewa Nowacka's collection was a mixture of minimalism and slightly bolder elements. After speaking about the former, I now move on to the latter. Where is Ewa Nowacka's use of bold elements? Those heavenly prints, obviously! I'm a sucker for animal print, and I struggled not to squeal when I saw such as an extensive use of snake prints. I believe the bravest aspect of the collection was Ewa Nowacka's pattern blocking, or as it is commonly referred to, pattern mixing. When I wrote about the trend a while ago, I emphasised that it's very, very difficult to get it right. I'm glad Ewa Nowacka managed to 'tame the dragon' or should I say 'snake'! Take the photo below as an example. Her striped waistcoat and snake-skin top work because (a) they're both from the same colour palette, (b) a block of colour (grey in this case) was used to break the look and (c) one of the patterns (the stripes on the waistcoat) is more subtle than the other.
Argh, this collection really got me excited about the whole snake-skin trend going on at the moment. So I looked up a couple of snake-skin pieces on the internet and I found these gorgeous babies on ASOS: a snake-skin cardigan (omg, so similar to Ewa Nowacka's top. Must get that, now!), snake-skin skinny jeans, and snake-skin harem pants.
This collection reminded me of J.Lo's "I'm Into You" video, for some peculiar reason. My favourite piece from the entire collection must be this amazing blue-grey snake-skin dress which is absolutely jaw-dropping. I also wonder whether designer Ewa Nowacka designed the dress she's wearing here, because I really, really like it!
Curpina
Oh my God, Curpina is so, so fun! I know this is going to sound oh so very strange and weird, but my mind associates Curpina with a packet of Skittles. If you want to taste the fashion rainbow, then you have to get inspired by Curpina. She loves colours and we love her for that.
After two collections featuring mostly muted, earth tone colours, Curpina's colourful, playful collection was a breath of fresh air. Curpina was like the dessert at the end of a very good three-course meal. As you can tell, I'm hungry and poetic this afternoon.
The collection's playfulness can not only be discerned from the colours used, it's also evident from the type of items which graced the catwalk: rompers, one-shouldered dresses, off-shoulder tops and eclectic maxi-dresses!
Though I liked the cuts, and the colours, I confess that the thing which mostly warmed my cold, cold heart was Curpina's use of hosiery. How exciting is that? I've been trying to tell people that it's ok to wear knee-high socks with heels for ages and now I have the photos to prove it as well. Now, when someone snobs the heels + socks combination, I'm going to say, 'Oh really, even Curpina did it! Take that!'
Naturally, as I came back home on Sunday, I logged into my favourite fashion stores to look up some lively hosiery which I'd love to share with you readers. I'm currently in love with ASOS's hosiery, such as their Dogtooth socks and these blue tights which remind me of the ones used by Curpina. New Look also have really pretty Bow Suspender tights: I think they would look really good with any Curpina-inspired look! Oh, and I have to link these plain over the knee socks from Boohoo, which I consider a must have!
Last but not least, I have to mention Curpina's gorgeous mustard skirt and the feather dress which closed the show. I have a deep love for mustard and I almost end up buying anything mustard in sight. Yes, I'm dangerously obsessed with mustard. To my heart's content, mustard is one of the it-colours next Autumn. I hope it starts raining very soon so I can wear my mustard blazer.
With regard to the feather dress, I really congratulate Curpina on this one. I love feathers, but I usually stick to black feathers for some reason. My current theory is that I was a raven in a previous life and this explains why I tend to be inclined towards black feathers. Having said that, I really admire Curpina for incorporating coloured feathers in her collection. It turned out perfectly well. Yay for you!
I'm sure all three designers have a bright future ahead of them. Let me know what you think about these three collections. I'd love to hear what my foreign readers have to say as well!
-B
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