Francesco Scognamilgio S/S 11 Milan

[Crying Diamonds]

MILAN, September 22, 2010

By Nicole Phelps

Francesco Scognamiglio celebrated his tenth anniversary in a big way, choosing Milan's historic Loggia dei Mercanti as a venue and hiring a prominent international PR company to run the show. There were plenty of first-timers there tonight for this still somewhat under-the-radar designer, and it would have been news to them that the pearl-studded, creamy rubber dress was a reprise from his Fall 2008 show, the gold swan fetish mask a call back to Spring 2010.

Backstage, Scognamiglio called the collection, "a celebration of my traditions." In addition to those aforementioned hits, there were a pair of rigorously cut tailleurs; an electric purple update of his favored leopard print on a floor-sweeping silk shirtdress; and several micro-minidresses in metallic lace. Statement blouses, a house specialty, came with ruffles circling the throat, coursing down the torso, or tracing the seams of sleeves.

Scognamiglio calls his label "rock-à-porter." To prove the point, the last look, a grand gown in black and blush gazar, was a replica of a dress he made for Lady Gaga at the icon's request. Rihanna is another fan of his. If he wants to turn that celebrity cred once and for all into a legit business, he'll have to keep the more perverse elements of his repertoire—i.e., the sheer-at-the-bust blouses, the rubber stuff—in the VIP section of his atelier. What we'd like to see on his runway: more of those little black dresses with a twist (one here came with a clever heart cutout in back), and another one—or ten—of those expertly tailored suits.

style.com

 

[Crying Diamonds]

style.com

 

[Crying Diamonds]

style.com

 

[Crying Diamonds]

style.com

 

[Crying Diamonds]

Francesco Scognamiglio

style.com

 

[Crying Diamonds]

A perfect way to celebrate his 10th Anniversary!
This season, for the first time in a while, I see something completely different from Scognamiglio, even though on the brand's 10th anniversary you'd expect a full retrospective.
The opening shirt-dress encasing the hands within a lace sleeve. The strange armpit-armholes. The exhuberance mixed with the pared-down simplicity with embellishments: these are all reasons why I first started loving Francesco Scognamiglio.
And you know why I still love him now?
Because he never compromised - even in the past few seasons when doubts started creeping in, he still kept to his true self - his own style.
No matter how often critics shrug at his collections because they're too kinky, impracticle or unwearable, he kept pushing his ideas - as he has declared with a decade of collections, he is not going to change, so everyone should just get used to him.

In a way, I am grieved that he is getting noticed - I like his little seat at the right hand side of the Major Brands; not everyone knows him, and it makes me feel like I'm part of an exclusive club (though it may be somewhat dark and sauded).
But my real concern is that he is getting noticed for all the wrong reasons - Lady Gaga and Rihanna are fans? I don't want my favourite living designer to be announced to the world as being the designer of a dress Lady Gaga chose as seconds to a dress made of raw meat. He deserves a more chic, prestigious clientele than that - a sort of Borgia Italian underground.
Glamour, decadence, luxury, debauchery.

 

[Salvatore]

I am a huge Scognamiglio fan, but this did nothing for me. Since it is a 10 year anniversary, looks from the past are understandable. However, I feel he's not pushing himself design wise. For me, his best collection was SS 2009. It was so beautiful and sex and raw with frou. But this is too much frou and in the wrong places at times. I only saw about 2 or 3 pieces/looks I liked.

And to say Rihanna and Lady GaGa have their fake avant garde fashion claws into this really is nothing good. For them, I think is a quest to find the new, "unheard" of designers that are making outrageous things.

 

[FashionPower]

It's a rather good collection.
I loved his classic ultra ruffled pieces,especially those blouses!It was very feminine and romantic even if you feel like you've already seen some pieces from his previous shows
Those animalier prints were very funny and interesting without being nowhere as tacky or pretentious
I cannot wait to see Lady Gaga wearing the last dress on Bianca

 

[TaylorBinque]

^ I was thinking the same thing about Gaga wearing that dress.

I really like this collection. And I feel those ruffled and lace pieces are that the two Valentino duo are trying to do but they haven't succeeded yet. Here is another story, every piece is screaming romantic, confident and beautiful.

 

[fincher]

wow, these clothes look really good, even animal-print pieces are not so hideous as the used to be usually. and first transparent dresses look like some extraordinary fabric, very interesting

 

[masquerade]

There is some fit and construction issues first and foremost IMO. That leopard jumpsuit on Tati gives her a weird looking FUPA. Also, the white latex dresses remind me a little too much of the Rachel Barrett dresses that Lady Gaga has worn to death.

 

[TianSoFine]

This collection is so beautiful. It looks perfect to me.

 

[LoraV]

I think it's really gorgeous! The see-though and the ruffles, beautiful!
I'm not really crazy about exposed breasts, but the whole collection is just stunning!
I agree about Gaga ^.^

 

[Wolkfolk]

A perfect way to celebrate his 10th Anniversary!
This season, for the first time in a while, I see something completely different from Scognamiglio, even though on the brand's 10th anniversary you'd expect a full retrospective.
The opening shirt-dress encasing the hands within a lace sleeve. The strange armpit-armholes. The exhuberance mixed with the pared-down simplicity with embellishments: these are all reasons why I first started loving Francesco Scognamiglio.
And you know why I still love him now?
Because he never compromised - even in the past few seasons when doubts started creeping in, he still kept to his true self - his own style.
No matter how often critics shrug at his collections because they're too kinky, impracticle or unwearable, he kept pushing his ideas - as he has declared with a decade of collections, he is not going to change, so everyone should just get used to him.

In a way, I am grieved that he is getting noticed - I like his little seat at the right hand side of the Major Brands; not everyone knows him, and it makes me feel like I'm part of an exclusive club (though it may be somewhat dark and sauded).
But my real concern is that he is getting noticed for all the wrong reasons - Lady Gaga and Rihanna are fans? I don't want my favourite living designer to be announced to the world as being the designer of a dress Lady Gaga chose as seconds to a dress made of raw meat. He deserves a more chic, prestigious clientele than that - a sort of Borgia Italian underground.
Glamour, decadence, luxury, debauchery.

Fantastic Review, I couldn't agree more, eveyrthing is said.

 

[mikeijames]

the king of kink passed a major milestone with this collection. is it too much to say that part of his aesthetic has really slipped into the mainstream so much so that some of this stuff looks non-controversial by today's standards?