All Seasons

Burberry is pioneering drastic changes in a fashion industry that is traditionally tied to seasonal collections, and yet it still remains true to its roots in its autumn/winter collection. Edith Emeralda writes

normally launch different collections for men and women, ranging from spring/summer, resort, cruise and autumn/winter to the pre-seasons in between. But Burberry’s Christopher Bailey decided early this year to limit the taxing toll: the British heritage brand would only have two shows each year starting from September to give the global audience an all-season, immediate and personal brand. The three “Brit”, “London” and “Prorsum” lines were also merged into one “Burberry” label.

The brand also launched its “See Now, Buy Now” programme in which the autumn/winter collection was immediately available following the February show instead of in September. Although sparking a debate at London Fashion week, the collection was available right after the show to view, pre-order and personalise in Burberry’s London flagship store, the Paris branch and online. The show itself is also available to view via Apple TV and customers can call a customer service consultant to preorder select pieces.

Burberry’s womenswear, the “Patchwork” collection, along with the Patchwork bag, were shown during the show in Kensington Gardens. Each bag is named after a British town, village or street, with different types

of its belt-like handles inspired by the buckle boot—which itself is part of a collection modelled after the classic Wellington boot. No two bags are the same as a result of mixing the season’s fabrics that are inspired by British artists, musicians and history: classic Burberry tartan, glossy snakeskin, English suede, sequined fabric and other patterns. Any Burberry lady, in tune with Jake Bugg’s live runway performance, will not want for outerwear like capes, regimental and field jackets, military and duffle coats, aviators, furtrimmed puffers, trench coats and cape coats. Patchwork-skirted, pleated and panelled T-shirt dresses are the cool choices to wear underneath, or tops with flared, officer and cropped military trousers. The bright colours of parade red, sapphire blue, military green, black, mustard, powder blue, metallic teal, white, gunmetal and regimental navy will bring cheer the summer season fades. Meanwhile as the summer season fades, “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue” is Burberry’s autumn/winter menswear collection, which comes as a plethora of outerwear: capes; military, duffle and trench coats; parkas; bomber, puffer, field, flight and tailored jackets; and topcoats. Underneath, there are tracksuits, wide pants, polo shirts and blue jeans in navy, black, white, deep and military green, military red, claret, purple, camel, mustard, grey, honey and blue. As the models strutted during the fashion week show, Benjamin Clementine performed his Mercury Prizewinning album live. Clementine’s vocal is also the backdrop for the new Mr Burberry fragrance campaign that was shot by Steve Mcqueen featuring Josh Whitehouse. Classic British scents mixed with unexpected ingredients—grapefruit, cardamom, birch leaf, nutmeg, vetiver and cedar wood—capture the essence of London: contrasts and contradictions. The black heritage trench coat’s English-woven black gabardine material—invented by Thomas Burberry and worn by Whitehouse in the video—is tied around the neck and the hornlook button becomes the cap. To see more from the collections—along with Burberry’s signature scarves and other creations, featured artists, a list of ongoing or past events and more—visit www.burberry.com.

Berluti’s 2016 fall/ winter collection is going to take the fashion world on a journey. The muse and biggest inspiration of the collection is the desert of Marfa, Texas, which creative director Alessandro Sartori travelled through. Its sun-bleached sands, scrubby wild grasses, burned asphalt roads and dustcovered detritus all make an appearance in the collection.

The colours are themselves sampled from elements of the desert: scorpion black; pricklypear and stone shades of red; salt-lake white; asphalt grey; rust orange; buffalo brown; cactus-flower violet; gasoline blue; and desert-grass and treebark shades of green.

In order to take the collection to even greater heights, Sartori enlisted the help of another artist: Scott Campbell. Hailing from Brooklyn in the US, Campbell is a tattoo artist known for his strong graphic lines. For the collection, he created designs that are etched and sewn onto the leather surfaces of bags and shoes. Simple, rune-like scratches and stitches radiate into helixes and snakes into swirls as Campbell leaves his lasting mark. His designs can also be found in the embroidery, laser prints and jacquards of the collection.

The latest addition to Berluti’s line of shoes is a new trainer with a running-style profile. The sporty sole is inspired by running shoes and boldly contrasted by broguing in the upper part of the shoes, made with Venezia Unico leather. Shoes from the new collection also feature copper reinforcing elements on the toe and heel, while the classic “Andy” is improved with a thicker sole. The Oslo shoe now comes with three different uppers: Derby, boot and Velcro-strapped.

The fall/winter collection also brings new additions to Berluti’s line of bags. Highlights include a four-zip quatre jours bag; a weekend bag in grain leather; a two-handled, unstructured beach sac in soft grain leather; and a soft, tactile document envelope.

With Berluti’s high quality leather, exceptional craftsmanship and Campbell’s bold art style, the 2016 fall/winter collection is set to rock the fashion scene. For more information, visit Berluti’s website at www.berluti.com/en/collections. n

Hypnotising, mysterious snake eyes are Bulgari’s new focus in the aptly named Serpenti jewellery collection. Across time and space, the snake’s mesmerising gaze has been much compared with those of a woman’s captivating power, from Medusa to Cleopatra to Sophia Loren, many other divas and personalities. The snake itself has been the symbol of vitality, the circle of life and cleverness, among many other meanings in civilisations around the world.

Bulgari began using the serpent design in the 1940s based upon its Greco-roman heritage. The serpents at that time were more stylised, with a focus on the jewels, represented by the precious snake-head watch. The body was made from the ingenious tubogas technique, which combines exquisite gold smithing and suppleness. Intertwined gold sheets are produced without any soldering techniques and the resulting rounded contours remain one of Bulgari trademarks.

Today’s design is based on the 1960s-1970s Bulgari snakes that were worn by Elizabeth Taylor who started this latest hypnotic trend. Coincidentally, 1963 was the year when the movie Cleopatra, starring Taylor and Richard Burton, came out; both Cleopatra and Taylor loved the sinuous snake for its graceful strength. All snakes on the rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces are now shaped closer to the animal itself with modern, leitmotif hexagonal scale pattern that enables flexibility as classic day- or night-time jewellery.

A combination of sharp or round snakeheads, flat or threedimensional, together with minimalistic or sparkling scales from diamonds, white- or yellow- or rose-gold, has created many distinctive heads. An array of precious gemstones with their own personalities to represent the piercing eyes—in which both are the fingerprints of nature, human and animal alike—completes the masterpiece. These are the reasons why the Serpenti jewellery is unique in bridging Bulgari’s glamorous heritage with modern design.

To find a Serpenti of your own with exquisite, detailed craftsmanship, or to admire other precious collections from Bulgari, visit www.bulgari.com. n

To represent the primal beauty of cacti without the spiky thorns, 18ct yellow gold becomes the base for the emeralds, diamonds, chrysoprases and carnelians on the rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces that make up the Cactus de Cartier collection.

For the first creation, “A Flower without Spikes”, aka a red carnelia, dominates the first three pieces as flowers. As a sweet touch on the finger, a green cactus dome fashioned from emeralds is enclosed on a ring, topped with a diamond in the red flower’s centre. This cactus can also dangle from ears, complete with 11 brilliant-cut diamonds as spikes. Meanwhile, bracelet-lovers can have the emeralds and chrysoprase cacti with small red flowers and eight diamonds.

More neutral hues in this motif can be found on the dome bracelet, which is made from bubble-shaped gold tipped with emeralds and prettified with 204 diamond-flowers; a similar construction is also channelled on a four-tiered necklace that will dazzle any lady.

The “Desert Beauty” is captured in voluminous, geometric gold domes starting from the ring with 55 brilliant-cut diamonds that dot the pretty plant as dewdrops would. For some wrist action, wearers can choose the open-end bracelet with two cacti at opposite ends, sparkled with 146 diamonds. Extra shine can be found on the necklace with 61 diamonds, which instead of being placed on a single cactus, also shine on a second, smaller cactus. A lapis lazuli flower blooms perfectly at the apex of each jewelled cactus in this line.

Cartier then reveals the “Rebellious Flower” through a double-cactus ring featuring 12 brilliant-cut diamonds. Exuding audacious beauty, there is a cage-style, cactus-shaped ring with six diamonds. Meanwhile, the solid, cactus-shaped ring, with a stand instead of a loop and decorated by six diamonds, provides a dramatic flair. A two-tiered earring with 12 diamonds each and a simple cactus pendant with six diamonds are other choices from Cartier’s cacti line and will instantaneously enhance any outfit.

More details about the cactus collection and other exquisite creations from Cartier can be found at www.cartier.com. n