Resort Report - part 1

We already posted about Christopher Kane's debut resort 2010 collection (here), but we thought we'd take a look at the other resort collections too.

1) Celine

Images from Style.com - click to see the entire collection.

Aside from Christopher Kane's resort debut, the other resort '10 collection everyone's been talking about is Celine, because it's the first collection to have been created by Phoebe Philo since she quit fashion to be with her young children in 2006. Philo was formerly designer for Chloé, and her easy-to-wear, feminine vision for the brand was hugely popular and was much missed when she left; indeed, Chloé is yet to recover fully from losing Philo, while the brand now benefiting from her design is Celine.

It won't be until October, when the spring/summer 2010 collection is shown, when we'll see the first full collection by Philo since her return, but if this 'taster' resort collection is anything to go by, we won't be disappointed. For the most part, everything was incredibly chic in a very understated, soft way. The colour pallet (neutral khakis, army greens, and camel browns, with jolts of electric blues, dusty pinks and some very sharp monochrome moments) sounds awkward on paper, but in reality it works really well, contributing to a strong overall aesthetic which we really like. Cut is spot-on, there's great tailoring, the fabrics look good, the aesthetic is strong. In short, we're very impressed, and this feels like it could be the start of something big again...

2) Yves Saint Laurent

Images from Style.com - click to see the entire collection.

A strong collection overall; we weren't sold on the harem pants which reached new lows quite literally, or the extra-voluminous trousers (not pictured), but there were some moments of real elegance which referenced YSL of the past, like the sharply cut white trouser suit and the puff-shouldered green dress. Overall, we felt the collection did a good job of balancing commercial sell-ability and the high fashion look, a balancing act which resort collections must undertake.

3) Prada

Images from Style.com - click to see the entire collection.

We enjoyed Miuccia Prada's upbeat resort collection, with its vibrant yet quite muted (if that makes any sense) colours, mixed prints (some with a sort of 1900s, Art Nouveau vibe) and recurring bow motif. Everything felt very fresh and, well, resort-y, but at the same time it was a strong collection that felt 'very Prada' (it reminded us just a little of spring/summer 2005).

4) Burberry Prorsum

Images from Style.com - click to see the entire collection.

Christopher Bailey showed stunning tailoring in the Burberry Prorsum resort 2010 collection, all played out in a very soft, neutral colour pallet, adding an almost ethereal feel, and contrasting against some of the sharper tailored lines. We loved the overall aesthetic, thought the men's suits were also very sharp, and liked the stand-out women's 'ruffle edged' trenches; the only false note were the shoes which were a little too literal in their reference to foot binding for out liking. Otherwise, it was a very strong (and sellable) resort collection, with plenty of fashion and design interest too.

5) Helmut Lang

Images from Style.com - click to see the entire collection.

We're always fans of sharp minimalism, particularly when there's a slightly subversive edge (here provided by the 'decay' theme), so naturally this collection appealed to us. There's a beautiful simplicity to the silhouettes, with the skinny jeans and the way the cardigan jackets hang, while the "erosion" theme the designers, Nicole and Michael Colovos, subtly explored adds further interest, with leggings treated to look like rusted metal, distressed denim, and burn-treated fabrics. The experimentation with the new ideas would probably be a bit too restrained if this were a full collection, but for a resort collection the balance seems just right.

6) Miu Miu

Images from Style.com - click to see the entire collection.

Despite being merely a resort collection, the rather idiosyncratic and slightly subversive beauty, that has come to characterise Miu Miu over the last few years under Miuccia Prada's masterful guidance, still shone through: witness the expertly cut figure-skater dress with almost invisible nude straps, or the pretty print swimsuit with the surplus black straps, creating a 'bondage' effect, or the airy print dresses worn with boxing boots. There's something quite studied and 'intellectual' about Miu Miu's creative look, but at the same time there's always quite an effortless-looking chic, here brought out by the swinging skirts and strong prints.

7) Marc Jacobs

Images from Style.com - click to see the entire collection.

The overall effect of Marc Jacobs' resort collection was perhaps a touch confusing because there was so much going on throughout the collection, which included plethora of different colours and patterns (by no means all pictured here), but the feeling overall was very happy and bright, and there were some great standout outfits and pieces, like the Chanel style bouclé tweed jackets updated with neon embellishment, and plenty of super dresses. We're still not convinced about the gold toga dress (a re-work of the one Marc Jacobs designed for Kate Moss to wear to the Met Ball this year) though..

8) Calvin Klein

Images from Style.com - click to see the entire collection.

This collection may not have been the most exciting of Calvin Klein moments, but we did find the dresses that were constructed by layering up sheer fabrics interesting, as they had a very light, airy feel that at the same time felt slightly subversive (we just love the s-word..) and quite unusual.

9) Stella McCartney

Images from Style.com - click to see the entire collection.

Stella McCartney showed an extensive, 56 look resort collection, from which our favourite outfits were probably the very sharp monochrome ones from near the start, although everything throughout was very pretty (having Anouck Lepère model it didn't hurt..) and it all felt 'very Stella' with the range of strong tailoring, relaxed 'sporty chic' ensembles, breezy prints, soft knitwear, and more glam evening options. A collection where the more we look, the more we like it.

10) Erdem

Images from Style.com - click to see the entire collection.

Rising London star Erdem Moralioglu showed a small resort collection, which showed off his strength in making floral print clothes that seem very contemporary and relevant.


11) Chanel

Images from Style.com - click to see the entire collection.

Karl Lagerfeld showed the Chanel cruise collection to much fanfare in Venice a few weeks ago. We weren't there (boo!), and even if we had something to say about the setting, we're sure you've already read enough about it, so we'll focus solely on the clothes. Lagerfeld is so adept at updating Chanel a little each season and keeping it feeling fresh, while at the same time staying true to the brand's original core look, there isn't much to say except, he's done it again! (and treated a lot of lucky fashion editors an amazing trip to Venice in the process.. what credit crunch?). Actually, this wasn't one of our favourite Chanel collections: the setting did look spectacular, but something about the collection didn't quite gel for us, and although we could pick out some very elegant outfits, overall it just didn't excite us that much.

Stay tuned for more resort collections, including Lanvin, Givenchy and Balenciaga.