LFW: PETER PILOTTO A/W 2011

Fashion weeks can be stressful events full of strong ideas and revolutionary moments, yet they can’t be compared to political revolutions. Indeed, while the recent fashion catwalk shows have been taking place as usual, a part of the world has been (and still is) in turmoil: Egypt is preparing to its post-Mubarak future; anti-government protests erupted in the Libyan city of Tripoli; popular protests in Morocco are gaining momentum and further demos are taking place in Bahrain and Iran. Catwalk shows have been livestreamed on the net, bouncing from screen to screen, yet the echoes of these revolutions never arrived on the runways in New York and London. Well, at least until designers Peter Pilotto and Christopher De online casino Vos showcased their collection that looked at revolutionaries and political unrest through chain degrade prints, layered looks and bright colours, evoking violence through strong shades and slashes around the upper chest area.

Sharp military coats characterised by rigid shapes contrasted with the prints while there was a certain emphasis on liquid and fluid shapes that, twisting on the body, incorporated different fabrics or garments such as tailored blue shirts in the same design, maybe hinting at fast social transformations. While a fashion collection is definitely not enough to explain a political revolution, it was still refreshing to see a young design duo looking at what’s happening off the runway and trying to evoke through their designs the power of youth.

By Anna Battista