While running through the morning papers, I found in The International Herald Tribune, an article wrote by Susy Menkes entitled ‘From Milan: Sobering up after dress to excess’ and this amazing paragraph within:
Recession is in the air - and on the runways, where it seems that men can dress for the winter 2009/10 season in any colors, as long as they are shades of gray, black and white.
Then, only a few hours later, in the University Library, after reading a compilation called ‘the decadent reader: fiction, fantasy and perversion’ that had a few notes on Barbey d’Aurevilly that will came helpful on my work about dandyism, I, accidentally threw out the novel ‘Lladri di biciclette’. The images of the 1948 adaptation by Vittorio de Sica, ran through my head, the whole movie actually.
Then I understand Milan and why Miuccia Prada was saying that her show was about “surviving” and that in order “to survive, you have to be strong". Her collection was beautiful and makes sense.
Dolce and Gabbana, where, talking about Sicily,
-the last Sicilian collection was in 1991- Said Stefano Gabbana to explain Dolce & Gabbana's focus on a southern Italian homeland. It was less austere than Prada’s for sure but they were also talking about rough times. They have created –especially with Steven Meisel- a language where Sicily immediately evokes Italian neorealism, this one was no exception. It was pure transition between neorealism and symbolism, just like ‘La Dolce Vita’, even though, the guys where portraying more Anouk Aimée’s character than Marcello's one.
Jil Sander by Raf Simons also stood out, it’s the best I’ve seen so far, but he went Nordic,Scandinavian functionalism,and that’s another story.
image and quotes www.iht.com
