So Karl Largerfeld has got yet another admirer - two to be exact - in the form of Italian fashion duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. Well… not exactly. In fact, the two are admirers of the operation of the infamous Chanel fashion house which has motivated them to discontinue their D&G diffusion line in order to focus on creating a more comprehensive brand under Dolce & Gabbana.

All in all it makes a lot of sense: firstly, the more serious ‘Dolce & Gabbana’ namesake boosts the integrity of the brand and highlights the legitimacy of the House’s well-deserved place within the global fashion stakes. Secondly, the use of full names smacks of sophistication in which, it could be argued, D&G was lacking (associated with lower value goods such as perfumes and sunglasses). 

In spite of all of this, D&G went out with a bang in Milan this week with bold Hermes scarf/Faberge egg-esque motifs all over primary coloured silk gowns. It was lovely, perfect for S/S12 and a perfect goodbye to the fun, younger sibling of Dolce and Gabbana. Well done boys.

Gucci’s gone all Gatsby and boy is it Great!

Giannini’s collection is all about female liberation which first came into fruition in the 1920s. The gold, black, sparkly colour palette and dark, sexy, smoky eyes provide feminine elegance which contrasts sharply with the hint of A/W11 androgyny in boyish-shaped flapper-style dresses, short, slicked-back hair. It’s clever and it works.

You would think that September should be all about Milan Fashion Week for Italian brand Missoni would you not? With all the organisation required, the hype-building and so on, Missoni big-wigs should be simply over-whelmed!

Wrong.

September in fact saw the launch of Missoni’s range for US superstore TARGET. The classic Missoni zig-zag can be seen brandished by blouses, jumpers, dresses and swimwear. It’s cool, crazy, classically Missoni chic- on the cheap.

However it seems the range has become a victim of its own success. Due to its overwhelming popularity, TARGET’s website crashed within hours of launch on September 13th fueling widespread anger that has since been vented all over Facebook and Twitter. Oops.

I’ll be waiting a long time until anything comes back in stock anyway. Boo. Hoo.

I have been looking forward to this show ever since reading a feature on Ed Meadham and Ben Kirchhoff in The Sunday Times Style magazine a few weeks ago. Not only do they produce quirky yet easily wearable clothes (check out this Navajo –style blouse from their A/W11 collection) but beyond the apparel, the two are actually brilliant individuals!

Meadham’s somewhat brutal honesty is a breath of fresh air in the fashion world where the truth can be often obscured by unjust praise and false compliments. For example, he describes Cheryl Cole as ‘the devil’ who serves to perpetuate an unrealistic view of women which lowers self-esteem. Too right.

Their new collection is equally refreshing. Bold, brash and exciting, the circus/pantomime-esque S/S12 collection will be great fun to “dress up” in next year. Hoorah for Meadham Kirchhoff!

It’s all neoprene, panels of textured, metallic fabrics and wild, eclectic prints at Mary Kantrantzou this morning. Managed chaos. Brilliant.