Spring 218 Ready-To-Wear: La Perla
No destination is remote or exotic enough to not be turned sooner or later into a stage for a Fashion Week. In the quest for the most spectacular, mind-blowing location, La Perla set the bar quite high, presenting its Spring collection in Macao as part of Sands Macao Fashion Week, with a lavish fashion show-cum-dinner at the Venetian Macao hotel, which is the Venetian Las Vegas’s twin. Definitely not places for minimalists.
Beyond being a replica of a clichéd Venice so exact as to feel almost eerie (including a massive shopping mall with canals, real-size gondolas, and Chinese gondoliers; a painted sky with moving clouds; a central ceiling so huge as to make the Vatican’s St. Peter’s dome pale in comparison; and a majestic copy of a 16th-century painting by Paolo Veronese, “The Apotheosis of Venice,” whose original can be visited in Venice’s Palazzo Ducale), the Venetian Macao is the largest casino in the world. Crowded nonstop like the busiest airport hub, it is obvious proof of the Chinese obsession with gambling.
Julia Haart, La Perla’s creative director, isn’t afraid to take risks; she’s clearly determined to win her hand at cards. “Women can be hard and immutable as rocks,” she stated at the collection’s preview, dressed in a jumpsuit with a plunging neckline and stratospheric platform heels. “Yet in every stone there are veins that reveal a fluidity, sensuality, a sense of movement,” she explained. “I wanted to bring about the contrast between toughness and tenderness, which for me is the essence of femininity.”
The fashion show was held in the hotel’s Grand Colonnade salon while a gala dinner was served, attended by such Chinese movie stars as Fan Bingbing and Hu Bing. Natasha Poly opened the défilé in a flamboyant turquoise number that was abundantly see-through; it set the tone for a collection that referenced not so much La Perla’s boudoirtinged, sophisticated heritage as the hyper-sexy, body-con attitude that Haart favors.
Yet the designer was at her best when she let her sensuous glamour do the talking, as in a series of red carpet-worthy, long, liquid dresses in silk crepe with beautifully handcrafted lace inlays. A black version was tightly draped with a sinuous lace detail; elsewhere, a one-shoulder black column with a thigh-high slit looked spectacular yet refined. A powder blue long dress exquisitely embroidered with Chantilly lace had a fluid, graceful movement, and a lingerie-inspired blush tunic was delicate in its feminine flair.
Haart tried her hand at tailoring with a series of tuxedos, in which her fitted yet supple blazers with a built-in bra were paired with slim cigarette pants. “I’m obsessed with comfort,” she declared. Who would’ve thought?