I am beyond certain that Raffaele Ascoine is going to make a serious impact on the fashion industry. Having recently featured the designer as one of my, ’future fashion icons’ in the September issue of Who’s Jack magazine I was excited to see what he had in store for us this season.
Ascoine’s designs are a mix of understated shapes, complex detailing and immaculate craftmenship. Every zip, lace collar and hemline is finished to perfection, which is a skill not always seen at this point in a designer’s career.
The current collection kept mainly to his signature styles – cropped tops and high waisted skirts or flared culots with a ’60s – ’70s vibe. There were also updated versions of last season’s kaftan style dresses with gorgeous lace neck cuffs and wide sleeves. Finally, he introduced new styles including big parachute coats and padded tops.
Past collections have had a dark, romantic feel to them – rich, muted hues with a nod to functionality. But the current collection took a massive leap in the opposite direction. The looks have been finished with sequins – a strip on a hemline or across the back or even just on a shoulder pocket. There are salmon crop tops and pencil skirts, a stunning white jacket, rubber style hoop earrings and gigantic shoes – all dipped in flashes of neon or with gorgeous gold zips down the front or back.
The collection also includes dresses layered with bright lace and sequins over netting under skirts. On paper this all sounds like it could end up being a messy assortment of materials but Raffaele is all about the functionality and understated – his collections are not a bling affair. As if to highlight this the looks were complimented with functional accessories – ‘the pencil case, document carrier and laptop bag’ – all decorated with lace and sequins of course.
I naturally was excited about this season and rightly so. Daring to bring in colour and new styles and pushing further what was already quite fantastic is the exact reason Ascoine is a designer worth paying close attention to. I am with you Raffaele – this season supports the future icon tag even more.
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