Dolls Eye View: Milan S/S 2020 Trends

It has taken me awhile to get back online because.... the girls fell in love in Milan. Unlike NY and London where I had to send them back for a second or even a third trip just to find something to their liking...Italy was love at first sight!

Desert Storm

The classic look of safari wear is always a winner with me and my girls for summer. In this group we loved shorts teamed up with animal print bras and the super fun look of a fringed sued jacket and mini skirt. If your diva doesn't have a safari jacket in her wardrobe already...this is something you must make for her!

My dolls do have one of those safari jackets, so they opted for this "safari meets western" ensemble. This is a simple jacket with yoke bouncing with a lot of fringe, worn over a wrap skirt. I do have that pinstriped shirt but due to the difficulty of getting it on underneath this suede jacket, I decided instead to make Zoe a strapless bustier instead.

These flirty little gathered shorts caught the eye of Kate. We gave her a simple bra top cut from animal print jersey that match her shoes and topped everything off with a long swing coat.

Animal Magnetism

Let's face it, animal prints have become a classic. What is new here is the all-over, top-to-toe, matchy matchy look. We absolutely love the same print in different fabrics--from sheer to matte--sometimes all worn in the same look! For some of your dolls, it is too much, but for those who dare....more is more!!!

Garden Party

Whether you like them or not, my girls were pleased to see a collection that really resembles spring! We like the "garden party prints" on contrasting backgrounds, the all-over florals in shocking, bright colors. But the one my girls really fell for is Blumarine's floral on pink satin worn with a kitten soft sweater top! (Sorry, couldn't make this because I didn't have the fabrics!)

Art Smart

Figurative or abstract, hand painted fabric is a great way to express your inner artist and it makes for interesting fashion!

It's In Her Jeans

Not only is the color blue a trending color, the return to good old fashioned blue jean denim is making a big comeback. The other news here is the return of 1980's big shoulders. Put the two together and well... This is what this looks like. My girls weren't around back when Claude Montana's football sized shoulders were in vogue, so for them this look is really a big deal (no pun intended)!

Radiah loved the jacket but not so much the baggie jeans and cowboy boots. So I high fashioned it up a bit and put her in a pencil skirt made from the pocket of my dad's old jeans. The jacket is an elongation of the classic jean jacket but with exaggerated shoulders. Take a close look and you'll find the denim flower on the yoke which adds to the whole couture concept.

Slick

In a number that was clearly inspired by the movie, "Grease," we see a lot of leather on the catwalk. What the girls liked best was the 1950's interpretation of the leather look...jackets with over-the-knee pencil skirts that evoke both tough chic and feminine sophistication;

From the moment Morgan saw this on the screen, she began begging me to make it for her. The look is really quite simple...a motorcycle jacket over a long pencil skirt with cargo pockets and a furry pouch hung from the waist belt. For this outfit, I used a faux leather fabric with a bit of stretch. The texture is perfect and convincing and, unlike real leather, sewing was an absolute dream! (I will be buying more of this fabric whenever I see it again!) I couldn't keep everything close to the body without bulges or bulk, so I dressed Morgan in a wrap white cotton bare midriff top instead.

Suits Me

It's the return of the pant suit, but with loose fitting trousers cut from soft fabrics. If you are interested in pulling off this look for a 1/6 scale doll, make sure your fabric is soft enough yet still has a bit of body. Generally speaking, rayon fabrics are a good bet.

Suits Me 2

Taking the theme of the suits a step further, consider coat dresses or super sized jackets worn over the briefest of mini skirts. As you can see, lengths don't matter so long as it looks good on the doll!  

This is a classic example of why fabric matters. Liu is modeling my doll sized version of Salvatore Ferragamo's jacket and skirt. The original is made from a soft fabric...perhaps rayon. In my mind, I assumed linen would have the type of body I wanted to make the jacket look crisp and sharp. I thought a softer fabric might be too "frumpy." The end result surprised me. Liu's body is quite tiny but the bulk of the linen (and yes, I did use an interfacing) proved to have a life (and a silhouette) of its own. Liu is still happy, but if I were to make this jacket again, I'd go with a softer fabric to make the look more feminine.

A Star is Born

The monochromatic look of silver grey is another big hit in my house. (My girls love to sparkle and shine!)  

We already have tons of silver lame, lurex and leather outfits so there is really no need to make more. But Waris was intrigued by the texture of this Blumarine mini dress. To make an otherwise boring dress quite special, we decided to create our own texture with the help of medallions of beaded lace cut from the fabric and our own bead embroidery. The dress underneath is a grey sparkle tulle to which we added the lace medallions. Then we filled in the "spaces" with silver beads. We added crystal stars to Waris' hairstyle and gave her dark silver lurex boots. No need for any more jewelry because the dress itself is quite a gem!

Lady Sings the Blues

This is Giorgio Armani's sumptuous take on the whole blue forecast for next spring summer season. Had I had more time and the right fabric, I would have been tempted to make a few of these looks.

 Nadja was not going to let me out of making this look for her even though this version is white. We both loved the almost "whipped cream" topping over the slinky sequined dress. The dress is quite simple...a long sleeved sheath with a V-neck lined in ruffles. The shawl is a triangular piece of sheer polyester organza covered in ruffles.

 To keep from having to hem the fabric, I flamed sealed the edges instead.

All A-Flutter

My girls loved the light, simple look of these dresses that, thanks to ruffles and feathers seemed to take flight. We see a pink version of Armani's ruffled gown, along with two other summer beauties.

Another Tonner girl came upstairs to see what the commotion was about. When everything was said and done, she walked away with this version of Ermanno Scervino's pretty little dress. With Gunilla (a 16" doll), we began with a foundation garment and then added lace medaillons to literally build the dress. I added bits and pieces of frayed fabric for texture, then tacked on a bit of marabou feathers over a row of gathered tulle under the hem.

What attracted Violetta to this dress was the tender, nude quality of the overall look. The body of the dress is a typical couture draped gown, but using a very thin, pale fabric. I used a soft nylon sheer fabric for Violetta's dress. But I didn't have time to cut out feathers. So instead, I cut tiny, irregular squares of the sheer fabric and then tacked them onto a wedge of the dress. I then sliced up these little added squares to give a more "flutter" effect to the over all look.

Oh my oh my...Italy was so fab. I don't know if Paris can top this, but we'll go there and see!!!

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