A hot young name is strutting Milan’s fashion scene: Stella Jean, the epitome of a delicious and color-injected cultural melting pot. Once again she incorporates her significant signature African prints, kimono jackets and oriental outlines and prints of fish and roosters, referencing far away lands and foreign fantasies. This dreamy scenario of colors and prints is toughened by menswear fabrics and classic Italian tailoring yet softened through the use of patterned knits and voluminous skirts with cinching belts.
Picturesque and eloquent, Stella Jean’s show opened with wonderful hand-knitted alpaca and mohair floor-sweeping kimonos in silenced autumnal scenes. Multilayered floor touching knitted cardigans were paired with printed tights that matched the patterns on crinoline skirts. The beautiful ethnic Fall collection, nestled by exciting colorful tweeds and urbanized by pretty plaids that added a certain contemporarity to her cultural and fashionable mix, leans heavily on the designer’s African prints. With this being the sole and only constant in her vibrant collection, from bouclé wool to silk cotton and shearling, Stella Jean’s silks and wools kept the visual blister realistically warm.
Regardless of whether hourglass, flared or lean, these silhouettes were relentlessly tinted with a diverse palette of lively colors from the richness of vermillion to grass green and cyan blue, all the way through a bright sun yellow and maroon, deepened by the serenity of black. The ultimate touch to each perfect look? Softly patterned ankle boots and clutches in reptile skin complemented the timeless elegance of pearl necklaces and obi belts.
Lavishly vibrant, Stella Jean. An exciting and adventurous multicultural whirlwind where, at some point African prints decorated kimonos.
March 31, 2014
University of Cincinnati
British Higher School of Art and Design
Beckmans College of Design
Harrington College of Design
LOFT 42
Red Dot design award
