Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Modern Geisha

It's so interesting to me how a designer can be inspired by a single story or element and expand that image into an entire collection.

Alessandro Dell'Acqua's latest collection is drawing heavily on the image of a modern geisha. Geisha and Asian styling is iconic with the bold use of color, pattern pairing and overwhelming sensuality and femininity.



The obi belt has become very popular and I've seen iterations for the past several years - from belts to dresses to crochet. I love Alessandro's streamlined interpretations and saturated colors.



This is my favorite outfit. It looks eminently wearable with the square neckline and subtle tones. Note the belt tie in both images - it shows up later.



While the geisha shoes were a combination of practicality (keeping long kimonos out of the mud) and somewhat restraining (male imposed, to be sure), they do have a structural graphic beauty.



The runway shoes are just as staggering but with modern materials and colors. Note the thicker pink strap; reminiscent of the strap on traditional shoes and mimicked by the obi tie done on the skirts. Clever, no?



The aqua strap on this sandal ties it back to the rest of the collection but in a much more practical style.



All those straps - very pretty and not at all "gladiator-y" but is it still a restraining throwback?

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