MILLY by MICHELLE SMITH Fall Winter 2014 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week

“Ballerinas!” Said Michelle Smith backstage about her Fall 2014 collection. That made even more sense with the warm and soft color palette used for the clothes: Shades of beige, ivory, pale-rose, gold, silver, grey, navy, and black. But it wasn’t all about the glaring and charming romanticism that Ballerinas manifest. Something undisguised in the up-beat mood of the collection told us that, behind every sweet girl, there’s a party woman. That was undoubtedly manifested by the modern flair of the looks, or shall we say party-frocks. Smith’s pretty, elegant, and wearable modus operandi is visibly connoted throughout the classic and sultry juxtaposition of pieces.

That being said, the classics came in a variety of tailored and cropped high-waist pleated-trousers; and other times in a few menswear inspired blazer-jackets, that were cinched on the waist with elastic cords. And the flirtatious? That was loudly expounded with sequined skirts, pants and dresses, alongside zig-zag fringed jackets and a strapless-jumpsuit. A fitted-bodice cocktail dress, designed in a net-mesh textile and fully embroidered with lurex threads to recreate a lace effect, owns that kind of provocateur demeanor without being tawdry. In a more trend-y note, however, are the knitted sweaters – sometimes in fuzzy-furry versions – and quilted leather sweatshirts, which turned out to be a total highlight. Elsewhere, the silver foiled-looking-leather, used for a skirt and a jacket, bewitched the girls in the audience.

Smith had been playing with the idea of a sensual-looking sheer skirt since last season – she successfully introduced them for Spring ’14 in different variations of mesh. But here, even though the black stiff petticoat-skirts, or the tulle full-length one, made sense in the full repertory of this story, they lack the desirable feeling that other pieces from the collection evoke. More debonair presents the jacket and knit with Goat hair detailing, or the Mongolian fur coat and jacket – those, particularly, represent the quintessential taste from a Milly by Michelle Smith girl.


By Jhon Jairo Santos
Fashion Director USA

WEB BY:NIVEKSTUDIO
WEB BY:NIVEKSTUDIO