Milan Fashion Week SS08 Wrapup II

Sorry this post is late! I spent the last many hours getting to Chicago (first time here!) and am now jet-lagged (slept too much on the planes.) Thank goodness for the new runway photos -this season's Milan shows are definitely more exciting than last season's shows!

Prada

Wow. After last season's collection of heavy artificial materials, this season's sheer, flowy clothes is a great change. The first thing I loved was the dark, moody makeup. The makeup theme -dark eyes and light lips -is made moody and not sexed-up. Miuccia shot for 'fantasy'. And it IS fantasy. Even if it's not dramatic fantasy like Dior haute couture or Alexander McQueen shows, the clothes here are Prada's signature, understated and not-for-everyone sort of fantasy.

See the silk dress on the right -it's amazing how Miuccia managed to combine those peacock-ish colours and still make the dress look pretty and not tacky.

I LOVE that dress on the right with the fairy print. It's so elegant and feminine with a cute, pretty edge.

It's so refreshing to see Prada's intellectual, artisitc clothes not looking like it's usual, boxy self. However, I'm not sure how good they'll look on the consumers or who would actually buy crazy coloured pants (like the one on the left.)

Alessandro Dell'Acqua

While Dell'Acqua's collections have never been as fashion-foward as Prada's, the clothes are always great to see how he mixes his new inspirations with last runway collections' trends.

OK, so the first few outfits of underwear are pretty bad, but I do really like his cocktail dresses. (I have a thing for these fake strapless dresses. They're just so much more practical, modest and comfortable than the usual strapless dress, don't you think?)

I'm not sure how commercial these Japanese-inspired skirts/ dresses will be, but do note the wasit-clinching trend. Ooh, and look at the dress on Du Juan (left,) doesn't it look like flowers are growing on her (and tastefully covering up her private parts?)

Marni

Marni is a brand that I see people wear around a lot. It's so distinctive you really can't miss it. Whenever I see Marni clothes in real life, I've always been so bombarded with the prints and crafty accessories that it didn't occur to me that Marni's clothes are now less nature-like than a few years ago until I read the reviews on the SS08 collections. And even though the crafty necklaces are still there, the clothes now really do seem more modern and wearable.

The dress on the left is one of my favourites from this Marni collection. It's artistic without being too over-the-top. And that dress on Lily Donaldson (right) -it actually looks somewhat classic and sleek, something that is not very Marni-like.

The patent leather bags and skirts are still there, but this time paired with brighter colours.

Perhaps it's an attempt to try out new silhouettes, but some of the clothes like the dress on the right was so different from Marni's usual clothes that I can't quite appreciate it on the Marni runway yet.

Image credit: www.style.com