Marni

MEN’S F/W 2015-2016

 

 

Regeneration. The new Marni collection lands a ponderous gaze on the past, whilst bringing it firmly to the present. The Museo Marino Marini, where the show takes place, is a seamless juxtaposition of existing elements and new architectural interventions, so is the collection. Neat shapes charge up in the choice of tactile materials, in the bold play of colors and textures, suggesting an idea of easy elegance.

 

Fur, knit and sturdy tailoring toy with sophisticated quirks of personality. Zip-up tunic tops layered on printed shirts and skinny sky trousers suggest dynamism. Collarless coats have the ease of a cardigan and the intimacy of a robe, while double-breasted styles have a welcoming roominess.

 

Formality is approached from a slightly off-kilter angle: mismatched checks, broken suits, plain dress shirts paired with knitted ties. Jackets are compact, with a high buttoning, while trousers flare at the hem, or fall straight. The inside of the garments and their details are as studied and surprising as the outside: colorful pocket linings, contrast taping, hidden buttoning.

 

Fur is a strong feature in many ways throughout the collection. Alpaca on outerwear, long sheepskin gilets closed by snaps worn on top of suits, bonded goat cardigan coats, astrakhan and bleached alpaca scarves.

 

Knits are boxy and tactile, with a home-spun quality.

 

The color palette is earthy and deep: tones of brown, blue, grey, black are accented with flashes of red, yellow, flesh. Prints are painterly blossoms. Fabrics are precious and firm, with a stress on textures: twisted flannel, herringbone tweed, linen-wool, double faced angora cashmere, wool gabardine, bonded suede.

 

The progressive tone of the collection carries on in the accessories. Sturdy zip-up boots and derbies have contrast "mended" heels, sliced rubber toe caps give sneakers an old-school feel. Goat fur backpacks and wool apron bags match the looks.
 

 

Prada

Prada Menswear Spring/Summer 2015 Campaign

There are forces in feelings, and feelings in things. Attesting to this tangible truth are a series of graphic action portraits for Prada’s Spring/Summer 2015 Menswear campaign.

Four of today’s leading men lend their screen presence to an act of photographic forensics: Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars; Men, Women and Children; Divergent; and the upcoming Insurgent), Ethan Hawke (The ‘Before’ Trilogy; Boyhood; Predestination; Regression), Jack O’Connell (Unbroken; Starred Up; ‘71) and Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now; Whiplash; The Fantastic Four).

Photographer Craig McDean shoots the cinematic cast between London and New York. But the sense of place in is more psychological than geographical. Close-ups of hands, faces and agitated outlines conjure a sense of the unknown.

Objectsknife, orange, dice, prism, compass, pen, lens, pendulumare picked up, moved, balanced. Pensively scrutinized. Familiar things become less than familiar the more they’re looked at. As if the magical forces that make the world seem so normal have, for an indeterminately short time, revealed their strangeness.

Stitching is the leitmotiv of the collection. A graphic effect — large, small, in contrasting colours — revolutionizing and mixing classic codes while creating new ones. Modern proportions and silhouettes invoke the 1970s. Not as pastiche but pure peculiarity.

The images’ muted colour switches to bold black and white, then back again, mirroring the four actors’ fragmented mental focus. Silence, a space for secrets. In these photographs each of their personalities effortlessly perform new secrets.

For further information:

www.prada.com

Campagna pubblicitaria Prada Uomo Primavera/Estate 2015

Ci sono forze nei sentimenti, e sentimenti nelle cose: una evidente verità attestata da una serie di ritratti grafici eseguiti per la campagna pubblicitaria Prada Uomo Primavera/Estate 2015.

Quattro personaggi di spicco nel panorama cinematografico attuale inscenano una sorta di dibattito fotografico: Ansel Elgort (Colpa delle stelle; Men, Women & Children; Divergent e l’imminente Insurgent); Ethan Hawke (la trilogia Before; Boyhood; Predestination; Regression); Jack O’Connell (Unbroken; Starred Up; ‘71) e Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now; Whiplash; I Fantastici Quattro).

Il fotografo Craig McDean ritrae gli attori tra Londra e New York, ma il senso dei luoghi è più psicologico che geografico. Primi piani di mani, volti e profili irrequieti evocano un senso di ignoto.

Gli oggetti – coltello, arancia, dado, prisma, compasso, penna, lente, pendolo – vengono raccolti, spostati, messi in equilibrio. Esaminati pensosamente. Le cose note divengono tanto meno familiari quanto più vengono osservate. Come se le forze magiche che fanno sembrare il mondo così normale avessero, per un tempo vagamente breve, rivelato la loro bizzarria.

Il leitmotiv della collezione sono le impunture. Un effetto grafico – grandi, piccole, in colori contrastanti – che rivoluziona e mescola i codici classici mentre ne crea di nuovi. Le proporzioni moderne e le forme evocano gli anni settanta, non come parodia ma come genuina particolarità.

Il colore sobrio delle immagini vira a un risoluto bianco e nero, e poi viceversa, rispecchiando la concentrazione mentale frammentaria dei quattro attori. Il silenzio è uno spazio che custodisce segreti. In queste fotografie ciascuna delle loro personalità rappresenta senza sforzo un mistero nuovo.

Per ulteriori informazioni:

www.prada.com