Viva D'Arte, Viva D'Amore, Viva Bottega!

If you read my last posting, you all know that sadly I missed La Moda Fantasica front row and fabulous in that charmed little hamlet that is known by us all as MILAN ( pronounced the same as ANN). So I had to rely on pics and bits from other hacks who did make the Voyage a Moda.

From what I've seen in press and on the internet, I must say that Bottega Veneta is really this cat's MEOW. What an absolutely artful, wearable, collectible, edible, must- haveable collection to hit all the jaded eyes that stare off into space, or at cameras or each other in a good long time...as in , since last season. Thomas Maier is a very gifted and measured designer. As a somewhat typical Teuton, with a practical, no nonsense German work ethic is so grounded in the here and now. That elusive concept of 'be here now 'is his mantra. What is so puzzling about that in a fashion designer is that so few are ever anywhere yesterday,today or tomorrow. One is supposed to be a seer into the next season and conjure the mood that will coincide, but he is solidly in the present. His idea of present is paradoxically the future and past.

His collection was a series of beautiful leather dresses, separates, day and evening pieces in humbling fabrics that evoked antiquity and plain practicality. Nothing felt like a specific season or time of day. I've said before, looking at his menswear and women's collections the last few seasons, including accessories and shoes, that there isn't anything I wouldn't want or wear or treasure.
This collection delivers the same message in a dream like way. You feel as though you're dreaming, but are wide awake, only it's just too good to be real so you figure it must be one of those really great dreams. Well snap out of it . You're wide awake and it's very real. Days that we live in at the present are dark and darkening. Maier proposes a fashion that acknowledges that fact. Ostentation has no place. Excessive detail and extraneous elements are superfluous. Yes, it's expensive especially with the euro kicking our collective behinds...but this is worth the investment, one piece at a time, one day,week or month at a time. You'll have these pieces for a lifetime. They will amortize themselves over the years to come and you'll never feel so right, so cool and so confident.

Thomas Maier is a designer for these times. A responsible, creative force who honestly speaks to us and for us through clothing. That is something I rarely
see coming from most design houses,high,middle or
low end. If the clothes have a reason to be, the reason is
to function,enliven,enhance and inspire. Not just the audience but most importantly the wearer.

I kinda liked this one. I liked it alot.