Saturday, October 14, 2017

Doll's Eye View: Milan Spring/Summer 18 Trends

For the most part, the dolls in the house LOVE Italian fashion. While there were a few disastrous shows (like Gucci) that made them cry, there were numerous others that tickled their fancy. For this a spring summer collection, we would have liked more color,  but still, the girls found enough sexy styles that had me sewing frantically over the past six days.

Short Stop
While're not in a hemline dictatorship. That said, look to the Italians to make best use of all lengths when it comes to mid-summer styles. Summer starts with the cool, sexy look of super mini dresses, boxy shorts and bra tops. Colorful digital printed fabric is particularly hot!
For Gail, we did a three-piece ensemble in a "designer" printed fabric: over-shirt, bras and belted skirt. If you're wondering about the origins of the 1/6 scale Versace classic print for this look, see "Dolly Versace" for instructions on how I printed this myself.

Casual Encounters
This is about no-stress, easy to wear pants and dresses. Important here are jumpsuits that glide over the body, knit dresses (dolly sockwear), or spacious tops and dresses belted at the waist. It's the small details, like a sleeve slit at the shoulders and held together with laces that make this look really specially special.
Sexy and comfortable in her 2-piece dress, Iman chose matching arm-warmers and sneakers in a similar color palette to accessorize this look.

Scarf Tricks
This season saw Donatella Versace pay tribute to her late brother, Gianni with a collection of iconic looks using the house's classic logo prints. It all looks as if she cut up scarves to create these styles...which by the way, gave the girls lots of big ideas. (They're already in my scarf drawer imagining all sorts of creations! Thank goodness they can't use scissors!!!) Here again, silhouettes are pretty simple: bra tops, short bolero jackets and straight legged trousers--all cut from scarf prints!
Michelle's eye, however, was focused on this Giorgio Armani dress. It's a batsic sheath dress with a scarf sewn into one shoulder whic is then threaded through a slit just under the bust. It's a way of giving a basic black (or any other color) dress a great pop of color, print and flare!
Jerry, on the other hand, is not into such fancy clothes. She's perfectly happy with a top made from a scaled down scarf worn over a simple pair of white jeans. I actually cut a small square of silk from an existing scarf. My super simple version is suspended from a simple wire necklace.

Day to Night
Black and white...a trend which we've seen since New York...prevails. At this point, let's just call it a classic summer trend. The most striking looks we've seen is when the dress or top is literally sliced in half (vertically or diagonally). Great drama even when the garment is as simple as a top worn over a contrasting pant or skirt.

Dinner at the Duomo di Milano
When in doubt...wear black! That seems to be the motto these days. (My girls are not complaining. Except for the younger Barbies, the rest of them LOVE black!) This group is comprised of easy to wear garments in a variety of summer fabrics (from lace to organdy)..but all drenched in black. The girls loved Max Mara's organdy sarong skirt worn over a matching leotard. And we all very much like the flirty little dinner suits created by Dolce Gabbana and Versace.
Though this looks more winter than spring or summer, Liu loved the classy look of a bolero jacket over a knife pleated skirt. What makes this one a wee bit more special is the addition of her black opaque tights.

Misty
Silhouette wise, there's not a lot that we haven't seen before. The real story here is the soft, nude color palette. There is that amazing organdy sarong skirt of Max Mara, but we also loved the blush lace used for No. 21's slip dress as well. And, take another look at those Max Mara pants in lined organdy.

Celestial Angels
Soft flowing gowns and one that twinkles....these are soft formal wear dresses that could have floated down from the heavens.  What the girls love about them is the billowing sheer fabric that drops from the shoulders or swirls around the legs. These are dresses that make my dolls feel like the vinyl princesses they are.

Fit to Be Tied


And now for the devilish duds.....black corsets, tutus and bra tops that wrap around the torso, bondage style.... all of this made for some very edge looks that are a lot of fun to make. The Alberta Ferretti bra and short was a black version of something we saw coming out of New York last summer. But it was still fun to see it in black. The corset worn as outer wear is a big trend coming in. I could not resist making the heavily laced version for one of my dolls.
Here's Samantha showing off this sultry Dolce & Gabbana look. Instead of using my normal corset pattern, This one is essentially six squares of leather skinny rectangles loosely held together with embroidery yarn. The look begins with a bra and old fashion pantie, over which I made a handkerchief skirt from black chiffon. After completing the corset, it goes over the doll's body and the strings are adjusted to conform to the body's curves. I used velcro to fasten the two panels in the back.

Not every doll is as daring as Sybille. We were all intrigued by this dress made entirely of tulle. It's not perfect, but...this all begins with a corset top made of tulle and a pair of old fashion panties. (I did make another bra for her, but it seemed to dense. The rest of the dress is a tube of tulle. I made a running stitch on both sides of the tube using embroidery thread which allows me to adjust the length. If I make this again, the tulle tube needs to be shaped and fitted closer to the body so that it fits a little better. And again, though I personally wouldn't wear this dress...there are dolls in my house that are already fighting over who gets to wear it for New Year's Eve!!!


There is one more stop on this fashion month train! Up next...PARIS!!! Stay tuned!!!


Follow us on Twitter: @FashDollStylist
Like us on Facebook: @FashDollStylist
We're also on Pinterest: @FashDollStylist
Come join us on Instagram and show off your stuff: www.instagram.com/fashiondollstylist

20 comments:

  1. I love, love, love that three piece ensemble. That bolero jacket and pleated skirt are wonderful and a close second for my favorite. You do such a great job of recreating these runway fashions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jaye. I've been following fashion since the age of 16. But now that I'm much older and my lifestyle has changed, this is such a fun way to keep connected. It's as if I get to go shopping with unlimited funds and then have a style show to show off my treasures with friends.

      Delete
  2. Beautiful creations.
    I especially like the colorful top and white jeans.
    I love watching Your stylizations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Dlubaniny. With this collection, I found a lot of really good and simple ideas which will probably inspire me to make more clothes. The top with white jeans is incredibly easy and a fast way to get all my dolls in style. I plan to make more doll sized scarves and repeat this look.

      Delete
  3. I agree with Jaye, the three piece ensemble is gorgeous and the bolero/skirt outfit too! They are my favorites too. But I love all the outfits! The Sportmax set looks great with the added arm warmers. Again all wonderful work from you :-).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, M&F for your kind words. I found a lot to like in Italy this time around. You always know when I really like what I see from a fashion capital by the number of outfits I make for each report. I usually have to stop myself so that I have time to post!

      Delete
  4. Your posts are always very inspiring! Love it how you deal with designer pieces!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I've been following fashion since I was 16. And like any other passions, it's hard to turn away. Thank goodness for fashion dolls (another passion)...and the internet!

      Delete
  5. New ideas and again great job! Really well done! I love it so much. Especially the last black one...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Aya. I really had fun with that last black dress!!!

      Delete
  6. So beautiful love your work glokitty04

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, GloKitty. Glad you enjoyed this post.

      Delete
  7. I love the white jeans. They're great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kamelia. I like those jeans too. Here's a tip to making them fit extra well....find a cotton fabric with stretch fiber!!

      Delete
  8. Nie wiem jak Ty to robisz, ale potrafisz zawsze mnie zachwycić! Niesamowite, piękne kreacje wymagają niezwykłej kreatywności i doświadczenia w krawiectwie! Ty to robisz doskonale a strojami dla lalek cieszysz nasze oczy!
    Pozdrawiam serdecznie!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Olla wrote: I do not know how you do it, but you can always delight me! Amazing, beautiful creations require extraordinary creativity and experience in tailoring! You are doing it perfectly and the costumes for puppets enjoy our eyes!
      Best wishes!

      Thank you, Olla. Sometimes I amaze myself at how I am able to reinterpret some of these styles. This is a labor of love I do for both myself as well as the eyes of all my friends who are as kind as yourself. Big hugs. April

      Delete
  9. Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your kind words, Urszula. Big hugs.

      Delete
  10. Tem certeza que vc existe? Vc é espetacular.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Edna Ventura wrote: Are you sure that you exist? You are spectacular.

      Ha ha ha!!! According to my dolls...yes I do indeed exist!!! Thank you for your kind words and thank you for your visit.

      Delete

We love hearing from you. Your comment will be published shortly. Please note: SPAM IS NOT TOLERATED. It will be deleted immediately!!