RESORT COLLECTIONS 2012 
1: ALBERTA FERRETTI - ERDEMThrough all last month, the Resort Collections were gradually staged one by one...there is, as yet, no particular order to the growing number of these inter-seasonal collections and their timing, but it is only a matter of time until the various Fashion Councils get it together to impose some sort of order on the chaos...right now, the Resort Collections are being staged as and when the brands are individually ready to go, resulting in the fashion press having to hop all over the place in order to cover everyone...
As these collections are very often much smaller than the main season RTW shows, most of these fashion labels don't go to the expense of a full runway show, preferring instead to maybe hold a Press Soirée with lots of interesting canapés and booze, probably champagne, with models walking amongst them, or posing on pedestals around the room...this is often a good way to actually get the press coverage - there's nothing like a glass or two of bubbly to loosen a few tongues, and get some sterling press exposure !! Other companies simply stage a big photo-shoot and then release the photographs as a Press Release instead - a very cost-effective way of doing things !! You will be able to spot the different methods as you see the different brands shows...
ALBERTA FERRETTIThe Resort Collections started out a long time ago as Winter holiday-wear for the very rich, who used to spend the colder months cruising round the Mediterranean or the Greek Islands, or even further south, round the Caribbean...these Collections used to be called Cruise-wear originally, and this collection from Alberta Ferretti reflects that glamorous heyday with a small collection of romantic silk dresses and wide-legged trousers with striking black and white monochrome designs and colourful sketchy style prints in reds, oranges, pinks and bluey-greens - all very 1920s / 30s...
I have picked out a few of the key designs that may well make it out onto the red carpet this year...
Here are those colourful prints, which remind me of magazine illustrations from the30s and 40s - absolutely delightful...
Below are three red carpet possibilities...
ALEXANDER McQUEENSarah Burton produced some sterling work for the Autumn 2011 Collection, with all those white dresses embroidered with crests and heraldry - which everyone took (correctly, as it happened) to be a sign that she had won the Royal Wedding dress contract...
Well, she carried that majestic royal feel on here, with these evening gowns, heavily encrusted with gold thread embroidery all over the bodice and flowing down into the top of the skirts
Absolutely stunning design-work and very couture in its look and feel - it'll be very interesting to see who wears any of these out on the red carpet - maybe at the Oscars in February..
There's almost a slight S & M feel to the wide triple-strapped corset belts being worn here, and that black leather jacket and skirt with the thigh-high split...I also rather liked this ocelot print in brown and coppery-tan...
...and I'm definitely waiting with baited breath to see who comes out in this ...
BADGLEY MISCHKAThe Resort Collection brought out by Mark Badgley and James Mischka was chock full, as usual, with the most gorgeous red carpet dresses in all different colours and interesting fabrics...frills and layers abound and some interesting pinning, tucking and pleating into waistbands etc...
These two dresses, above right and the shorter one below left, have got to be the waterfall frill to end all waterfall frills !! The fabric actually has thin wire delicately threaded through the edge to give it that wavy look...fabulous stuff !!
The second one below has the giant single bead threaded onto the shoulder strap idea that I love for a summery sun-dress...
Plain white halter-neck designs for a beautiful summery wedding perhaps ...
Acidic lime-green satin for a dramatically bold look - I like the fan of knife pleats into the waist-band of her skirt, on the right,,,
On to the purples and pinks and a couple of purple red-carpet blockbusters...
I love the halter-neck shape that they are using in here - it's very flattering providing you don't have an overly large bust - this is for average sized women only, I'm afraid...it works surprisingly well with an Empire line too !!
The raspberry pinks are certainly shockingly bright, but also interesting at the same time, with lots of glittery beading and that beautiful fan of pleats...
BIBHU MOHAPATRABibhu Mohaptra is a relative newcomer to this blog, even though he has been chosen by several famous stars over the last year or two for their red carpet needs...I like his work a lot and reckon that he is under-rated. He is of Indian origin and concentrates usually on his speciality which is evening wear - in this show, however, he brought out many day-wear designs, 18 out of the 24 looks were day-wear dresses, trench-coats and separates...the whole collection was inspired by picture postcards of the French Riviera in the 50s - everyone dressed in hats and gloves - hence the cream fedoras on many models heads...
These two dresses below, were the two most stunning designs in my view - the cream lace dress on the left will undoubtedly appear on the Oscars red carpet - I do hope so anyway !!
I won't be surprised if this dress, below,appears as if by magic, without that plain magenta wrap overlay - it doesn't seem necessary really and we may well see someone wear the gorgeous print dress beneath on its own - mark my words !!
CARLOS MIELECarlos Miele produced a simply
stunning collection of beautiful evening gowns, interspersed with brilliantly coloured swimwear and beachwear for the first time this time...he apparently took his inspiration from Rio de Janeiro in the 70s, and this showed in the two-tone Palazzo pants and halter tops, denim flared trousers and matching jackets and other 70s looks - all very retro indeed !! His evening and red carpet dresses were done in absolutely gorgeous rich colours and interesting brightly coloured prints...there were also unusual textures too, like this peculiar ruched flower motif, below right...
There was also a definite trend for diagonal one-shouldered designs and halter-necked shapes similar to the ones used by Bibhu Mohapatra - the filled-in front up to a band around the throat...
Saffron yellow combined with orangey-red, cobalt-blue and aqua created a beautiful splashy print which even I could wear...what's not to like ?!! Not so sure about the uncrinkled version of this Aztec-style print on the right, but I do think this may turn up on a red carpet this year...
Oh, the
blues - heavenly rich hues !! Turquoise, aqua and cobalt give us that lovely warm Mediterranean feel...
Carlos Miele is a very popular red carpet designer and so let's see how many of these nine designs I got right, out of his whole Resort Collection, which numbered around twenty in all...
CAROLINA HERRERA
This Resort Collection didn't have so many immediately obvious red carpet-worthy designs, but I've picked out the ones that I can see certain people wearing - not only Renee Zellweger, who is famous for seemingly only
ever wearing Carolina Herrera's designs, but also Sophie Vergara, January Jones, Dianna Agron, Amy Adams and Cameron Diaz, who have all worn her designs over the last year...
Firstly, there was a slight bubbly theme to the collection with these huge spots in white texture on white, and white printed on black with black and white stripes - a very bold look indeed and not one to be worn with a faint heart, that's for sure !! I love the boldness of this look and I would love it if the black and white dress found it's way onto the major awards shows' red carpets next Spring...how lovely !!
The next look that I really liked was this silver lined with red, satin bustle dress - how elegant this is ...Cameron Diaz maybe ? Renee could be seen in all of these as Carolina Herrera is her designer - there's no doubt about that !!
The third look I really liked in this collection was this romantic ruffled look with delicate bubbly print in red and white - very Valentino-ish, I think !!
There were two more dresses which stood out on their own that I picked out - this cream and camel chiffon dress with its printed silver overlay and this huge chiffon dress in peach and chocolate ombré layers...
delicious !! 
CHANELFirst of all, this was Karl Lagerfeld's customary
huge offering that numbered no less than seventy-three different designs being presented here, and that's massive for a Resort Collection, but he is always a bit ahead of everyone else...where he leads, everyone else will be sure to follow...and this collection also included swimwear and menswear too !!
Instead of a conventional runway, he used the esplanade of a resort in the South of France - last Summer, he presented his Resort Collection on the St Tropez waterfront, and his Pre-Fall 2010 show was presented on the Shanghai waterfront - an exceptionally lovely idea for this kind of collection !! This year, he moved the whole shebang to the Hotel du Cap esplanade, in Antibes on the French Riviera.
Of course, there were so many amazing looks that I had to be very strict in
only picking out those dresses which I truly thought that someone would choose for a red carpet appearance - these are, after all, my own red carpet predictions for the coming year...
I loved this falling star print in black and white with the chiffon underskirt, which may well be detachable - I would wager that this is another design which we may see in a slightly customised state - without that extra length of chiffon coming out from underneath - because as a short cocktail dress, this would work astoundingly well !! The plain black and white dress is also a good red carpet design as it stands out against the red and is flattering and unusual too...
Two creamy-white designs that work very well too...
These two below were very unusual and they may well get chosen by someone because of that factor - I liked the repeated but inverted embroidery across the front neckline and the front hemline...
I was somewhat less on board with the frankly weird, hybrid white knee-length boots that morphed into a flip-flop style sandal when they reached the toes - I don't think they will catch on somehow !!
Two beautiful summery dresses in a very graphic denim blue and white print, with a mere smattering of red...
Lastly, I really liked this on the grounds of the unusual neckline and the gorgeous print...very Sienna Miller, I think !!
CHRISTIAN DIORWith the world-wide furore over the departure of disgraced head designer John Galliano from the House of Dior earlier this year, there has been much speculation over who should replace him at the design helm - well, now this appears to be answered at last, at least for now !!
This is the work of Bill Gaytten, who was also the designer responsible for the Couture Show back in the first week of July, which will be covered here soon...John Galliano's assistant for the last twenty-three years, he has an exceptional inside knowledge of the brand image and ideals, and is a master of tailoring, so he would appear to be a fine replacement...and the most obvious choice !!
This was a very small show for Dior, and concentrated on beach-style cover-ups and casual daywear, as is right for a Resort show...so red carpet dresses were in short supply, but I did pick out these three designs as being the best and most likely - aren't they gorgeous ?!! The brilliant cobalt blue is a fabulous colour and the silver embroidery is reminiscent of the sort of kaftan Elizabeth Taylor used to wear in St Tropez...
I also rather liked these two designs - I love the floaty romantic style of the black chiffon drawstring dress, and the graphic black and white print of the jumpsuit is really unusual and interesting - whether this will appear on any red carpet remains to be seen, but it would be fab if it did !! Cannes would be my choice perhaps ...
This also caught my eye - a bright pink and orange crochet dress - how seventies-retro is that ?!! I can see that someone might just fall in love with this enough to wear it at some music event...and the chunky perspex bangles with everything are amazing !!
COLLETTE DINNIGANAustralian designer Collette Dinnigan just loves the romantic bias-cut elegance of the 30s combined with all kinds of embellishment - embroidery, beading, sequins, giant paillettes etc...
For her Resort Collection, she designed numerous dresses that would be perfect for a red carpet, keeping her star clients happy - the theme of the collection was '
Seaside Escapes' which was a bit of a bizarre title seeing as there weren't really any beach-style clothes to be seen anywhere...however, there were plenty of delicious little dresses for day-wear events, beautiful bias-cut satin evening gowns in white, champagne and cobalt blue, and also quite a few different prints which were were interesting and attractive !!
Here we have essentially the same dress done in a rich cobalt blue and red on white print - and very lovely it is in both fabrics !!
This was a very interesting design - done in both short and long versions, it was almost Oriental looking, with the bright colours on white, and the very formal motifs - I liked these very much and would be happy to see someone wearing these on a red carpet...
Here's another print - this time an orange background with brown and cream flowers all over - very seventies again !!
This little cocktail dress jumped out at me too - for the red carpet at a music event like the MTV Awards, this would be fun and perfect for any up and coming young star - giant paillettes are always good !!
DONNA KARANDonna Karan's Resort collection was mostly very sporty body-con designs, with lots of stretchy designs than usual, but she included an astonishing array of really gorgeous red carpet gowns in the latter half of her show...I chose nearly all of them because they were all so nice - all in a palette of black, white and red, it was striking collection with much to remember...
Silvery-white satin teamed with a chunky perspex necklace gives a nice ethereal look - tall pencil-slim column dresses with her trademark draping across the body gives these dresses a really elegant and glamorous look, and I will be willing to bet that any of these could emerge for the Oscars and the other big awards events next Spring...
There were plenty of gorgeous short dresses too - this black and white number really took my fancy !!
I also loved the white dress with the graphic motif in black and red down one side - it was beautiful - both striking and interesting !!
ELIE SAABThis is the first Resort Collection for Elie Saab, amazingly - and he took the opportunity to expand on his day-wear range, with beautifully cut day-dresses, trousers and matching jackets, and casual tops and skirts - I don't blame him for needing to branch out as he is so well known for his amazing evening and red carpet wear that no-one thinks of him for anything else...and it doesn't do to have all your eggs in one basket these days !!
Having said that, there was a fair share of red carpet-ready gowns in various colours, all ready to go ...
Many of these dresses look just like the same design in another colour, but there are very subtle differences between all of them...
I love this backless red beaded dress, below right, and I could see a number of stars in it - Cate Blanchett would look amazing in it, but she is usually a bit more daring than this...and the red dress with the lace inserts is surely a dead cert !!
EMANUEL UNGAROAfter a few changes at the House of Ungaro over the last few years, most notably the disaster of appointing Lindsay Lohan, of all people, a few seasons back, presumably for her design sensibility and renowned creative input perhaps !!
Now there's a new but well known name at the helm of this house these days - Giles Deacon himself, with the brilliant prints he is justly well known for showing his latest offerings for the second season along - he started with the Spring 2011 collection presented in Autumn 2010, and has been putting this house back on track ever since...
I loved this resort collection, with all the amazing brilliantly coloured digital prints that looked like they came straight from the
'Finding Nemo' drawing board...there was plenty of day-wear of course, and so the evening-wear was limited, but these were the best of the red carpet-style dresses on show here...
See what I mean about the '
Finding Nemo' prints - Day-glo colours and jazzy motifs zig-zag across the floaty silks and sequinned cocktail dresses give the impression of underwater waves and currents...marvellous stuff !!
EMILIO PUCCIOnly a few dresses from Peter Dundas, designing for the House of Emilio Pucci, as the Resort Collection was mainly about day-wear here too...these four dresses however are almost guaranteed to show up I reckon...especially the short pink print cocktail dress, which appears to have music awards show written all over it !!
I also rather liked this black lace shorts play-suit with a black jacket - d'you think this look could possibly translate into red carpet wear ?...
ERDEMErdem Moralioglu produced the most fantastically beautiful show for his Resort collection this season - his use of coloured stretch lace overlaid onto plain fabric is beautiful, and lower down, his multi-coloured floral prints are simply sublime...rich, deep and gorgeous, they surely would look amazing at any event...
As
wool_lover has kindly reminded me, the Duchess of Cambridge wore this dress when she touched down in Canada for the Royal visit with Prince William - and very nice she looked too...Erdem is one of her favourite labels I believe, and so we may well see more from this collection in the near future - I do hope so !!
As for the rest of this collection, I love, love,
love these floral print dresses, below, especially the first two seated models and the wrap dress below them on the left...all of them are such rich in their depth and layers of colour...they simply take my breath away !!
The use of back cut-outs, draping and fly-away panels are lovely too...please let's see some of these being worn on the red carpet over the coming year !!
There are so many designers doing Resort Collections now, that I have had to divide the three hundred or so photos I've picked into three posts, however, the next post will be a Couture Report, as the Couture Shows happened around the first week of July...I will be alternating the Resort Collections with the Couture Collections so that we can all catch up a bit !!
Stay tuned...
