Rome Fashion Week July 2022. Couture in the City.

So exciting to see Couture - Alta Moda - back on the calendar and the catwalk of the Rome Fashion Week along with emerging and new brands. It slowly faded away once the Italian Couture household names had either gone somewhere else - Valentino in Paris - or disappeared/relocated with their founders - Sarli, Balestra, Curiel - just to mention a  few.  I vividly still remember the thrill back in the day - 2011/2012 - ti be able to witness those historical Couture names showing in Rome.

To be precise some names have sporadically shown in Rome in the last few season but this time the noticeable fact was that they were all on the calendar together. I also have to say that the brands I'm going to write about are really close to my heart as I do personally know the designers or the people that look after their PR. They are Luigi Borbone, Antonio Martino and Caterina Moro.

Before we go into the details of these names, just a word of advice. Looking at Couture requires us to suspend our beliefs as the looks evoke ideas and dreams. Therefore to appreciate it to the fullest you either embrace the over the top styling and hair and make up or ignore it and focus on the craftmanship of each piece ;-)

LUIGI BORBONE

Charlie Chaplin's 'Modern Times' and 'The Dictator' are the inspiration of Luigi Borbone FW 22/23 Couture collection. He encourage women to be playful with fashion and express themselves. Masculine and femminine looks are interchangeable and the designer  creates a relaxed, informal Couture that is very appropriate for this day and and age.

ANTONIO MARTINO

Antonio Martino takes us up in the sky on an imaginary walk though the clouds with the 'No Gravity' collection. Flashes of gold and silver light up the looks like the ray of lights and sun reflections. The colour palette takes us from the early hours of the morning with the whites and the pinks all the way to sunset with the fuchsia and the midnight blues of the night. 

CATERINA MORO

Even if Caterina Moro's is not technically Couture she truly deserves to be included in the list because the way she works, her techniques and craftmanship are of Couture quality and standards. Let's start with the fabric used; sustainable and eco-friendly - sustainable silk, organic cotton and knitwear, certified denim, Econyl ( recycled nylon) and pleated recycled polyester. The inspiration of the collection links in perfectly with the way the collection is made too. Daphne turns into a laurel plant in order to escape from Apollo.

 

The world of plants and flowers is printed or engraved on the collection with incredible techniques such as micro-scanned, recombined digitally and then printed on silk, imprinted on natural leather or engraved on wood and then printed. The results are simply excellent in Caterina Moro's SS2023 'Metamorphosis' collection.

 

I can't wait to see what the 2023 winter edition of Rome Fashion Week will bring but you can check all the videos and pictures of the July 2022 editions on its digital platform.

Rome Fashion Week July 2022. Fashion and the City.

The summer edition of Rome Fashion Week successfully wrapped up on July 15th and even if I followed online I can tell you it was the best one ever. Finally the event is integrated within the city on a massive scale and not taking place behind closed doors and hidden away from public spaces. Infact the Who is On Next final was held at the Piazza del Campidoglio; the hill that looks upon the Imperial Forum and the location of  Rome administration.

The calendar also was rich, diverse and complete. It included 23 RTW catwalks, 107 brands, at the Showcase event,  Fashion Schools of the region end of the year shows and a few made to measure, haute couture brands too. The main hub was the former military barracks Guido Reni District (north of Rome) just opposite the Zaha Hadid Rome's contemporary art museum, MAXXI, that hosted some event as well. Last but not least every event was streamed online and truly accessible to everybody. I will give space to all of the above in the next few days as I'm going to highlight this year Who is On next winners.