La Donna Patriottica
Fall Winter 2011-12
March 1, 2011
By Gianmarco Gentile
Milan, Italy – Laura Biagiotti decided for a tribute to Italian Reunification and dedicated the collection to all the strong, independent women that contribute everyday to Italy’s grandeur (the designer is herself a pioneer for Italian women, being the first Italian fashion designer to show her collections in Beijing in 1988).
The colors of Italy’s flag were all given large parts of the show. Red is declined in all the berry nuances from strawberry, to crimson, scarlet and raspberry. A cherry color total look was shown: strawberry cashmere fringed poncho, red fedora hat and strawberry wool cloth pants; as for dresses, a short sleeved raspberry bouclé woolen dress with Plexiglas squares applied onto the front.
Green, symbolizing Hope in the Italian flag, was shown through the shades of emerald, wood, even acid apple green, as in the case of a long acid green longuette dress blending into apricot orange.
Blends and shaded tones were constant in the whole show: a hand-knitted dress with big knots in the color of coffee fading into mud, a top-shawl made of different panels of fabric in the tones of apricot, mud and Bordeaux. Rust and brick shades found their space on the Biagiotti color palette as we saw them expressing their warmth on a long knitted poncho and on a cashmere lozenge sweater.
Finally, white is must for the house and a key color. As red is Valentino’s, white is Biagiotti’s. So let’s have white everywhere. White Jackie Kennedy style suits with high-waist, knee-long skirts; white long cashmere cloth overcoats; a pair of interesting white leather biker pants (an unusual choice as we tend to associate them with black); a white flounced chiffon skirt that helped giving a polished and romantic feeling to the whole collection.
Gold, as we saw extensively in different collection, was also in the Biagiotti show, and alongside fedoras it implied the 80s revival we witnessed during this fashion week: gold satin ankle-long skirt, a beaded golden top, gold-painted skinny pants and a gold sleeveless top with a jewel decoration completed the range of outfits recalling the most precious of metals.
