Blumarine (Q3916)
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Italian fashion company
- Gianpaolo Tarabini
- Anna Molinari
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Blumarine |
Italian fashion company |
|
Statements
1977
creative director
1995
designer
After some soul-searching in transition limbo, Blumarine has appointed a new creative director. Georgia-born designer David Koma will showcase his first collection for pre-fall; spring was crafted by the in-house team.Inspired by the fluidity of water and by Nick Knight’s dreamlike blurred images of rose blooms, the collection read as a more streamlined take on the brand’s signature girly look. The aquatic theme somehow washed away the saccharine, introducing a slightly boho tone that, while giving off a soupçon of Chloé, felt fresh and au courant. Ethereal fabrics billowed and flowed, rendered into voluminous see-through asymmetrical blouses with trailing scarves or into tiered hand-pleated minidresses; they’ll look their best promenading on the beach on a very windy day.To offset the overall liquid lightness, slim craquelé leather pants, laced all the way up, were introduced as a formfitting antidote to the diaphanous billows of chiffon and georgette. Fringes alluded to the flow of water, often interspersed with crystal drops and tiny metallic roses; swaying from the ultrashort hems of a translucent sequined minidress or pareo skirts, they replaced the fluffy trimmings of feathers and marabou. The color palette had a sun-bleached sheen, as if dried after a swim, while floral bouquets appliquéd on languid slip dresses hinted at shells gathered haphazardly from the shore. Even the signature leopard spots appeared in a tenuous, washed-out form, as if reimagined for a new breed of felines: the Blumarine aquatic leopard.
16 September 2024
Blumarine hasn’t appointed a new creative director yet; resort was designed by the in-house team. The label has been going through some rather turbulent times, so it made sense that the collection played it safe.Blumarine’s codes, established in the early 1980s by founder Anna Molinari, still hold enough pep and energy to serve as a helpful canvas for an easy, no-nonsense rendition. The collection riffed on the girly, frivolous repertoire that put the brand on the map at that time; in its ’90s heyday, advertising campaigns were shot by the gotha of photographers—Helmut Newton, Albert Watson, Ellen von Unwerth.On candy-hued, bell-shaped little satin slip dresses, sashes across the front hinted at the Miss Italia pageant, with the wordBellissimaembroidered in Swarovski crystals and replicating the font of the label’s logo. The same motif was also reprised at the back of satin robes turned into wrap dresses, or was printed as a ribbon floating among roses onto a short draped number. Marabou trimmings and lace lingerie accents, as well as leopard spots, faux-fur mink, and embellished florals, all part of Blumarine’s arsenal of seduction, were used for pretty little coats, long dusters in see-through georgette, or culotte-and-bralette combos. It made for a nicely put together transition collection, with appealing sellable pieces.Design studios are the unsung heroes of fashion; there’s lots of talent in those teams. Here, the team members did a good job, respectful and sensible. However, brands need a strong sense of direction. Merely reviving the archive isn’t enough for longterm fashion longevity.
18 June 2024
Walter Chiapponi presented his first outing as creative director of Blumarine today, replacing Nicola Brognano who, together with über-stylist Lotta Volkova, put the brand on the radar of Gen Z TikTokers, who fell for his unapologetic take on Y2K codes of (un)dressing. Chiapponi comes from a successful stint at Tod’s, whose casual luxury is miles away from the dare-to-bare look Brognano and Volkova duo pushed forward, making Blumarine a social media sensation.Chiapponi knows Blumarine quite well, having worked during the label’s heyday from 2001 to 2005 under founder Anna Molinari. That was a time when advertising campaigns were shot by the likes of Helmut Newton, Juergen Teller and Albert Watson, who gave a patina of glamour to its frivolous, boudoir-ish femininity—a sort of ante litteram coquette look with sexier undertones. Chiapponi said he wanted to go back to a sense of light, spontaneous seduction, infused with a sentiment for romantic decadence and a certain fragility. “It’s an interpretation through the lens of love and emotion; there are not citations, just poetry,” he said.In lieu of show notes, a poem written by an undisclosed author was left on the seats; it spoke of a she/her wandering through the city at dawn, “her garments made by the city itself.” The collection had a delicate real-life pragmatism to it; modeled by a cast of diverse characters, it revisited Blumarine’s repertoire according to the sensitive, toned down Chiapponi’s ways. Animalier printed city coats shown over briefs were plausibly wearable; a teddy hoodie printed with rosebuds looked sweet on a guy; flimsy black lace slip dresses were cautiously see-through; a fitted knitted ensemble trimmed with pom-poms and a mohair minidress with a heart-shaped back will surely appeal to afemme-enfant. As a full-on reset, it felt effective enough. Now Chiapponi can give himself the freedom and joy to turn the volume up a notch, and give voice to a new Blumarine.
23 February 2024
New year, new Blu: Blumarine pre-fall marks the beginning of the post-Nicola Brognano era. In the revolving doors game of creative directors, where tenures are increasingly getting shorter, he’s been replaced by Walter Chiapponi, formerly at Tod’s. Although this is a transitional collection put together by the design studio, it hints at what’s to come for spring, when the new Blumarine will fly out of its winter chrysalis.According to trend reports, interest in Y2K, which Blumarine was a standard bearer for under Brognano, has plateaued, while ’90s minimalism still ranks high. In Gen Z wardrobes, midriff-baring tops and slouchy cargos now sit alongside bandeau tops, which share space with the coquette look. Blumarine’s new lineup draws upon this millefeuille repertoire, with a bit of skin baring Y2K, a dash of Newton-esque ’90s sleek, and bows, roses, and leopard spots galore. This layered concoction actually connects with what made Blumarine a hot brand in its late ’90s-early 2000s heyday.A feel for a more luxe approach was also apparent. While bralettes, low-rise leggings and jeans, culottes and body-skimming slipdresses were still in evidence, sporty bombers came in smooth caramel wool, denim was softened by multiple washes, and cargos were given a less aggressive twist via gentle inserts of lace and satin. It all seemed to point towards a grown-up, upscale version of Blumarine. Let’s see what comes out of the chrysalis next month.
12 January 2024
Blumarine’s show space today was an immaculate white box. Gone were the mounds of sand and blazing pyres of the Joan of Arc collection, or the dark underworld where livid mermaids were circling around heaps of broken shells. Or the red Lamborghini smacked in the middle of a catwalk surrounded by sashaying skimpy pink Barbies that were “resurrected from their dusty boxes,” as Nicola Brognano put it. Had Blumarine mutated its genes and gone minimal? “No,” was his answer. “I just felt it was time for more light, more lightness, more butterflies.”Butterflies, which in a previous collection were emblazoned on a sold-out skimpy top that was a TikTok sensations, came out in force this season, together with a parade of feathered wings à la Victoria’s Secret, making the case for Blumarine’s Lightness of Being new course. Butterflies are synonymous with frivolity. And angels, well, they’re angels. Blumarine’s were languid, lanky, handsome winged Adonises strutting down the catwalk in low-rise gold-leather trousers from which emerged smooth, naked torsos dusted with glitter—you couldn’t take the eyes off them, so lightness of thought wasn’t an option here. As for the butterflies, they seemed to have lost their impalpable, fluttering innocence, rendered as they were into heavily sequined thongs, barely covering the no-fly zone. “They’re pussy butterflies,” joked Brognano. To emphasize the concept, butterfly-shaped tiny rubber bags were part of a collaboration with a label (aptly) called For Bitches. And to make the waters even murkier, models walked to the beat of The Idol’s Lily-Rose Depp’sWorld Class Sinner/I’m A Freak.Brognano’s (rather peculiar) idea of purity and airy luminosity expanded into other literal translations: colors were pale, jerseys were flimsy like hosiery, ribbons and trains trailed breezily on the back of ultra-short sexy numbers; shiny gold leather lit up pedal pushers and corsets. Bustiers and pencil skirts in clear PVC, studded with an abundance of rhinestones and crystals, were the pinnacle of Blumarine’s ode to lightness—or better said, nakedness. They didn’t leave anything to the imagination. There’s nothing lighter than the (almost) absolute absence of clothes.
21 September 2023
Summer is coming, and the Blumarine girl is ready. Emerging from the armored chrysalis of the fall show, out pops a butterfly in shining colors. Turquoise. Hot pink. Golden yellow. Moody as ever, Nicola Brognano’s self-confident Blumarine creature makes u-turns as she pleases.“The look isn’t as dirty as in the last few seasons,”the designer elucidated. Brognano said he wanted something more elevated and sensual, “a different energy, more joie de vivre, a more summer feel.”From the label’s archive he excavated a calmer color palette—nudes, pale pink, light blue, white—that he amplified into brighter vibrations. “There are no concepts, just sensations,” he said matter-of-factly.The look was ultrashort, body skimming and slinky, with viscose jersey providing a smooth, liquid surface malleable enough for wrapping, draping, and sash-knotting. Matching the barely-there minidresses’ colors, stretchy leggings that covered the needle heels of strappy sandals elongated the figure into a lean monochrome silhouette. Brognano unearthed a Blumarine lingerie look from years past, steering its once flirty, seductive attitude towards the overtly provocative. A tight-fitting bustier and leggings combo in stretch jersey with lace inserts was the season’s “new suit proposition.” The same idea was extended to a black tailored blazer and miniskirt with buckled garters dangling at the hem. Not exactly Savile Row material.Roses, another of Blumarine’s emblems, were also given the Brognano treatment. More thorny bush than manicured garden, they were laser-cut and appliquéd on a white minidress, or printed on a hot-pink mesh tube dress.The brand’s ubiquitous cargos came in a simplified evening version. In black canvas with a satin intarsia, they signaled a slight shift in the approach to Y2K that put Brognano’s Blumarine on the map in the first place. Asked how he feels about the in-your-face bare-midriff look that has ignited copycats by every high street brand, he was rather adamant. “Y2K? Honestly, I think it’s a bit passé.”
12 June 2023
Unlike most of his peers, Nicola Brognano doesn’t particularly revel in archival deep dives. “I just look at what I’ve done so far at Blumarine, trying to push it forward, making it evolve into something new,” he said backstage. Yet the past is difficult to avoid, especially when it comes through the visual evidence of the label’s advertising campaigns, lensed by major fashion photographers. A ’90s image of a young Milla Jovovich sporting a gamine close-cropped hairstyle resurfaced some time ago, and triggered his curiosity. That led to the dusting off of Luc Besson’s movieThe Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, shot in 1999 and starring Jovovich in the epic role of thepucelle d’Orléans. “I was transfixed,” said Brognano. He had found his fall heroine.Blumarine, Joan of Arc, and the Middle Ages aren’t an immediately compatible combination, but Brognano doesn’t lack confidence. Indulging in theatrics, he had the show’s set replicate a sort of barren, stony land, in which a huge iron-cast B (as in Blumarine) was set ablaze, hinting at the pyre where Joan of Arc was martyred and at her indomitable, heroic passion. It was a dark, rather disquieting setting, miles apart from the flirty, macarons-hued frills populating the catwalks of the label’s beginnings. Brognano traded those bubbly vibes for the liquid, sexy shine of slinky silver armor, steering Blumarine towards eroticism, intensity, and danger.Joan of Arc is rather charged inspiration material, and Brognano hinted at her complexity only tangentially, focusing instead on her visual appeal. Tight-fitting draped minidresses were cut in silver or gold metallic jersey, elongated into leggings covering the curved heels of sharp-pointed shoes. Floor-sweeping shearling greatcoats looked imposing, almost majestic, while slender see-through tunics in metallic net suggested a sort of monastic sexiness. Shearling ultra-miniskirts weren’t bigger than belts, and midriff-baring tops in liquid golden jersey alternated with slinky draped minidresses in gray stretch jersey, the same fabric used for hoodies and sweats. Chunky buckles abounded; knickerbockers were tucked into high-heeled laced shearling boots.Evening options included a rather spectacular bustier gown in flame-red georgette with asymmetrical frayed-hem skirts, and a form-fitting number in stretchy leopard-printed jersey, which Brognano called “a relaxed red carpet option.” Feeling relaxed on a red carpet? Never heard of it.
But the unflappable Brognano, surrounded by his coterie of fearless Blumarine glamazons, could master the situation with aplomb.
23 February 2023
Nicola Brognano trusts his instincts: “For this season I was thinking about punk rock, something strong and sexy, something provocative,” he said at a pre-fall appointment. When asked, is there some kind of inspiration you were following, some kind of muse you were thinking of? Why do you believe punk rock is relevant now? He responded: “I don’t know. It’s just how I feel at the moment. That’s it.”So far, Brognano’s instincts haven’t failed him. He has put Blumarine on the map, creating a certain hype and some commercial blockbusters (cargos, butterfly tops, and extra-large flares, for starters). He wants to keep the momentum going.The new item he’s resurrected from the Y2K-era that he was one of the first to champion are cargos cropped below the knee, the infamous knickerbockers that we all have happily pushed to the back of our wardrobes. But no, they’re back, and Brognano is responsible for saving them from oblivion. Proposed in délavé denim washed “with a dirty effect,” as Brognano pointed out, they were the star of the show, worn with everything, from cropped midriff-baring puffas to skimpy ribbed tops with ruched details.As an alternative to the sure-to-be-a-hit proposition, humongous flares made a reappearance, as did liquid mermaid dresses in viscose, this time worn under ultra-cropped, round-shaped piuminos, or with enveloping knitted coats mimicking a furry effect. Ruching replaced embellishments as a decoration, inserted in seams on denim fitted shirts or on denim trousers worn inside-out, and extended into sort of trailing ribbons dangling from hems or from voluminous knitted draped jumpers.Colors were kept moody, a far cry from the macaron coyness of candy pinks and nursery blues of the label’s beginnings. The Blumarine girl is a chrysalis in constant mutation. “She’s sexier, dirtier, her look is almost wrong,” said Brognano. “A bit grungier, more grown up, more real.” In her knickerbockers, the Blumarine girl/woman is ready to punk-rock.
16 January 2023
The mermaid is the new incarnation of the Blumarine girl, according to creative director Nicola Brognano, who, in his childhood, was obsessed withThe Little Mermaidcartoon. “I watched it on repeat so many times that the VHS (that ancient archaeological find) got destroyed,” he said. But what is it about the Little Mermaid that so enthralled Brognano? “She was a redhead like my mother, and I loved the way she was dressed, all those eye-popping colors. I remember a minidress that was exactly a cartoon version of a Versace metal mesh number.”The glamorous mermaid look evidently stuck, but for spring, Brognano turned it into a darker, gothic representation, “intriguing and sexier, less pop, much dirtier.” The image of the Blumarine girl seems to be submitted to a constant process of mutation into ever-evolving versions of herself. “Less girly, more femme” was themot d’ordrefor spring.While (too) many collections offer a variety of themes so wide that the message gets diluted to the point of evaporation, Brognano has the confidence to stick to his guns, and here he riffed with conviction on the new mermaid look. No more flimsy, allusive Lolita-esque dresses in sheer silk chiffon, but a slinky, tight-fitting, liquid silhouette. A plethora of sexy numbers in luscious jersey contoured every curve, flaring into extra-long trains trailing on the sandy floor of the show’s set, which was scattered with shells and bathed in aquarium-blue light.With similar conviction, the Blumarine mermaid was provided with endless variations of denim trousers and cargos, whose hems opened into flares so wide or into undulating ruffles so humongous they almost seemed to crawl behind the models. Midriff-baring was de rigueur; being the ubiquitous trend’s instigator, Brognano just owned it with nonchalance, offering shell-shaped bras in oxidized metal paired with extremely low-slung denim flares or cargo-skirt hybrids. “I don’t even want to go into talking about the Y2K stuff anymore,” he said matter-of-factly.In the Blumarine seasonal mutation into gothic marine creature, the crystal-studded cross replaced the rose, one of the label’s symbols of voluptuous sensuality, here reduced to a few timid rosettes gathering the draping of figure-hugging minidresses. In Brognano’s ongoing identity shaping, drama takes the place of innocent flirting, and romanticism has darker, erotic undertones. The Blumarine girl is definitely up for more interesting role-plays.
22 September 2022
Nicola Brognano slightly shifted the Blumarine look for resort, “toning down the bling,” as he said at a showroom appointment. What stayed firmly in place, however, was the Y2K inspo that triggered the attention this brand has been getting. Sticking to your guns is always a good move if a designer wants to cut a consistent position in the fashion firmament. That’s what Brognano seems to be pursuing.The designer, who by his own admission has no affinity for talking about inspirations or references, said that he now has a tougher, less pretty image of the Blumarine girl/woman in his mind. Not really a U-turn, rather a pause from glam hangovers. To summarize: Her mood as of now is more street than saucy, more femme than Lolita.No surprise though that Brognano’s take on streetwear is tinged with sass. New additions to the Blumarine wardrobe were sexy ribbed tank tops with a refreshed goth logo; cool ultra-cropped sweats with hoodies (apparently a must-have this resort season) layered liberally over or under those tank tops; oversized poplin shirts turned into outrageously-mini ruffled dresses; and various iterations of the multi-pocketed cargo pants that have become one of Blumarine’s signatures. They were proposed in liquid satin in a bright shade of turquoise, worn with a matching belted duster, and a barely-there bra showing vast expanses of bare midriff, while in their newest version they came printed with a camo motif that was actually a trompe l’oeil rose.Amping up the collection’s more urban, utilitarian vibe, the ubiquitous cargos morphed into motorcycle pants in pale denim-colored distressed leather, or were worn under maxi crocheted cardis and long slouchy chiffon slipdresses. Brognano offered proof of a versatile approach, and that he has enough nerve to play with Blumarine’s range with confidence.
17 June 2022
Helmut Newton’s spirit hovered over the Blumarine show. “Always loved his work, how can you not? Always been one of my heroes,” said Nicola Brognano backstage. Newton lensed memorable advertising campaigns for Blumarine; one of the best was shot in 1995, with a young Eva Herzigova clad in a skintight black satin number, slit high to reveal her fabulous legs. Brognano had Herzigova, still breathtakingly gorgeous at 48, close today’s show, nicely coming full circle.You cannot reference Helmut Newton without conjuring dark, sultry atmospheres of intrigue. Brognano is prodding the girly Blumarine ingénue to enter grown-up territory. “She’s more femme and sexual,” he said. His co-conspirator, über-stylist Lotta Volkova, chimed in: “She isn’t so pretty and girly anymore—or at least not only. She has grown into a strong, sexy woman, in command of her body, and powerful. She is a glamorous vamp.”Nocturnal and provocative, the collection was paraded by a cast diverse in age and body type, reflecting the image shift. Lila Grace Moss,Euphoria’s Chloe Cherry, and Mini Anden were among various beautiful curvy figures and willowy, slender silhouettes: all looked equally alluring, clad in a series of skintight, draped micro dresses, each one slinkier, sexier, and skimpier than the other.A bold palette of black, red and purple signaled an erotic detour from the candy pinks and powdery baby blues favored by Blumarine’s teen incarnation. Sweeping long black coats, shapely and nipped at the waist, looked dramatic; in Newton-esque style, faces were sometimes veiled, eyes hidden behind dark glasses. A catsuit in black patent leather with a built-in bustier had an obvious fetish allure; the see-through top with breast-hiding velvet hearts worn by Herzigova in the Newton campaign was remade, as an homage to the Blumarine’s heyday.After five collections which have refreshed the label’s fashion status, Brognano’s trajectory is looking similar to that of his Blumarine girl/woman. He too is growing more confident, in control, and bolder in his choices.
24 February 2022
Having catapulted Blumarine in just three seasons from dusty oblivion to the starry firmament of hot fashion brands, creative director Nicola Brognano seemed to be catching his breath this season. But only just a little. “I hate when designers keep repeating themselves,” he said. “It doesn’t excite me in the least. So, I don’t even think about resting, even if I must say that at Blumarine we’ve been the first to fuel the craze for the 2000s and put them back on the map.” No arguing with that.For the throngs of Blumarine TikTokers out there, not to worry. Brognano won’t be ending his tour of the 2000s anytime soon. “It’s a territory I feel very confident exploring,” said the designer, who was born in 1990 and thus is quite knowledgeable on the matter. So, apart from the Paris-Britney-Lindsay trifecta, who’s the new high-wattage 2000s muse? “Gisele Bündchen,” he answered. “Gisele was stratospheric, gorgeousness incarnate, she still is. That sexinessbrasileira. Who’s the woman who doesn’t want to be her, yesterday, today, or tomorrow?”The thing is, the Blumarine girl isn’t such a naughty teenager anymore: “She doesn’t sit in her bedroom combing her hair in front of the mirror listening to Shakira or Beyoncé,” Brognano said. “Now she wants to get out of the house,basta.” Teenager or not, she’s very much theagent provocateur. Enveloped in a flame-red cashmere fur with a leopard-print lining, worn over a flame-red tightly draped miniskirt not wider than a belt, and a matching ribbed brassiere, she’s ready to stop traffic the minute she bids goodbye to her bedroom.Brognano isn’t giving up on sexy, that’s for sure. For pre-fall, he provided variations on the theme: plenty of exposed midriffs, bare legs, and alluring décolletage options. He also upped the dramatic ante a notch. Tight cargo pants were cut in pink, low-slung bell bottoms were made in brash golden leather; stretchy, drapey, slinky minidresses with asymmetrical, slashed hems were rendered in both black and “mean florals.” Glamorous faux furs in icy white were printed with a lynx spot, giving off a luxurious, sexy vibe.But…where’s the Blumarine butterfly? Why no new version of the sold-out, widely copied embroidered butterfly top that had celebs queuing for preorder last season? Brognano promised, “we’ll see her soon, twirling again somewhere around a Blumarine girl.”
20 January 2022
Mission Accomplished could be a good name for Blumarine’s spring outing. In just a couple of seasons, Nicola Brognano has flipped and twisted the label’s narrative so spectacularly into a sort of standard bearer for a Y2K renaissance that not much is left of its previous incarnation. Supermodel (such an archaic phrase, isn’t it?) Carla Bruni strutting the ’90s catwalks in Blumarine rose-embroidered skintight slip dresses—racy for that time, but rather demure if compared to today’s bare-it-all standards—seems like a distant, hazy memory.Hitting the delete button with calm determination, Brognano marches on, wrapped up in his unrequited love for a sexed-up interpretation of everything Y2K. Yet when asked backstage about his inspiration for spring, he looked at me in disbelief. “No one in particular really,” he said. He knows that what matters is inundating social media accounts with the brassy swagger of all the skimpy, hotter-than-hot pants trotting on stilettos on the catwalk today, as well as the risqué fringed and beaded bikinis barely covered by a cropped cardi trimmed in regenerated mink or crocheted in fluoro recycled poly, or the see-through chiffon cargo pants with midriff-baring matching tops in eye-popping Day Glo colors. They’ll be snatched up in no time by all the TikTokers and the Dua Lipas of this world.Asked how his new Blumarine rendition can fit into the conversation on body positivity which is on every designer’s agenda, Brognano sounded unfazed: “Everyone can look good in Blumarine, you can wear it in so many ways. A woman is free to express who she is; you can be 20 years old and be a conservative bourgeoise, and be 70 and ready to show off your body and be a head-turner. The world is vast and wide and free.”The co-conspirator in Brognano’s implacable turnaround is über-stylist Lotta Volkova, who was busy backstage before the show shepherding models into a not-too-orderly lineup. Dressed in a whisper of a dress in pale pink stretchy gauze and chaperoned by her gallant, elegantly groomed black poodle Dimitri, Volkova fired off a barrage of her own takes on Blumarine’s new fundamentals: “Military Fairies. Sexy Butterfly girls. Frivolous and fun early Y2K mood when social media wasn’t on the horizon. Denim patchwork queens. Trippy, psychedelic, neon girls. Red carpet denim prints, red carpet bandanas. Low-waisted mermaids.” It’s all about having a clear-cut message, is it not?
23 September 2021
Once upon a time, celebrities were arbiters of elegance. Today, they are social media influencers, able to send a brand’s temperature spiking to success. Apparently, the new course taken by Blumarine under the creative helm of the soft-spoken Nicola Brognano has stars queuing for requests. Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, Hailey Bieber, Dua Lipa, and the members of Blackpink can’t seem to get enough of the naughty-but-innocent look of the label’s new incarnation.Brognano is keeping his cool. At an appointment during the look book’s shoot, he was the calm eye of the surrounding storm. “When I came on board, they were all skeptical,” he said. “I’ve been grilled by critics; now they love what I’m doing. The message was strong, different, fun—it was a clean cut with the past but I’ve kept a certain Blumarine spirit. Gen Z followers immediately reacted; girls on TikTok started to replicate Blumarine furry skirts and tops from day one. We have dedicated fan pages.”For resort, Brognano is riffing on the new repertoire he’s established for the brand: a girly, sassy, mischievous take on the early 2000s pop-star glam of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, and Christina Aguilera, which he worshipped as a teenager in Southern Italy. “Inspiration for me doesn’t mean a thing. We have to live in the now,” he said. “I’m inspired by social media, by the girls dressing for real life on Instagram and TikTok. I’m not looking to the past. But I never forget what made me love Blumarine in the first place: its romantic sexiness, itsmalizia.”Brognano’s Blumarine girl is guilt-free sexy and a bit of a badass. She’s playing dress-up, but then “fucking it up with something revealing and wrong,” adding a fake-fur stole over a skimpy crocheted minidress, or wearing slouchy cargos in luscious pink satin together with a slim-fitting hot pink leather blazer and a midriff-baring bandeau top. And she loves butterflies, tattooed as embroideries on pieces like this season’s bright green strapless minidress and signifying frivolity, lightness, and whimsy. “The butterfly is becoming a sort of new Blumarine logo,” said Brognano. “Versace has the Medusa; we have the butterfly.”
17 June 2021
Nicola Brognano, who was appointed Blumarine’s creative director in late 2019, is part of a new generation of young creatives reshaping Italian fashion’s landscape. After graduating from Milan’s Marangoni Fashion School, he decamped to Paris, where he assisted Giambattista Valli on both ready-to-wear and couture collections. In 2016 he scooped upVogueItalia’s Who Is On Next award for his self-named brand Brognano. Now, with that label temporarily on hold, he’s devoting all his efforts to awaken Blumarine from the dormant state in which it has been lingering for quite some time.“I’ve always been fond of Blumarine since I was a kid,VogueItalia issues were treasured in my mother’s bridal atelier,” Brognano said during a visit to the set where the fall video was being filmed. “I still remember vividly the Blumarine advertising campaigns shot by Helmut Newton in the ’90s, they were fabulous!” That was the label’s heyday. Making it pertinent for today’s sought-after young audience, winning not only their social media attention but also their spending power is the challenge the designer has to face. He has work to do, no doubt.In his first full-fledged outing for the label, Brognano looked at his teenage heroines, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton and their early aughts excesses. He was a huge fan. Forget Blumarine’s flirty romanticism of yore. “My Blumarine is more dirty, bitchy, sexier,” he said. It definitely seems to have the punch celebrities respond to. Kendall Jenner, Ariana Grande, Rihanna, and Dua Lipa have all asked for clothes, or for the impossibly high stilettos with crisscrossing full-leg straps that are becoming a hit. The list will surely get longer.If Brognano knows how to put the power of stardom to good use, but he’s also business savvy. The ultra-short draped minidresses in candy colors that appeal to Kendall can be covered up by cozy oversized cable-knitted cardis with fake-fur collars. Elongated crocheted-wool vests had a thrifty feel; they were see-through enough to look sexy without being too revealing.Nostalgic Blumarine fans weren’t neglected either; the everlasting roses motif was abundantly represented, digitally abstracted in liquid watercolor prints or knitted in sprouting 3D rosettes on cropped wool sweaters paired with matching briefs. Denims were totally Britney—low-slung, extra tight, bell-bottomed, and studded with crystals. Bare midriffs also made a comeback.
If ingénue sensuality and languid pre-Raphaelite evanescence are what you’re seeking, better to look elsewhere. Brognano’s Blumarine promises to be gutsy.
25 February 2021
Anna Molinari dedicated Blumarine’s Spring collection to kindness and courtesy, both of which seem to be in short supply these days. Being a romantic designer with an ingénue-femme-fleur penchant, she has always favored a gentle, seductive approach, working around hyper-feminine signifiers. She loves a palette of pastels and the fluff of feathers, and she can’t get enough of the softness of fur (now eco-friendly, of course) and the froufrou of ruches; she has never met a leopard print she didn’t like. Molinari is fashion’s self-appointed Queen of Roses; she even had a bloom named after her. For Spring, she indulged her penchant, lavishing images of her favorite flower on every possible surface, from the catwalk’s carpeting up.Molinari is clearly addressing a very young clientele. Who else, if not a partygoer teenager, could wear with confidence rose-printed bustier minidresses, flimsy lingerie slip dresses encrusted with Chantilly lace, or see-through billowing evening numbers in chiffon or in petal-cut organza, which leave little to the imagination? Or else shapely draped dresses in fuchsia macramé, so short they looked more like elongated tops? At Blumarine, it seems the brand has a clear idea of what its customer base is: a lissome, well-mannered teenager, which, despite her bombshell looks, likes roses, praises kindness, and wears sweaters with an embroidered message that politely says “Thank you.”
20 September 2019
Jane Birkin’s ’70s looks have inspired an incalculable number of collections. Her see-through white crochet wedding dress is way up on fashion Olympus. For Resort, the design team at Blumarine tapped into the mood of innocent yet provocative sensuality her style conveyed. The innocence was just barely apparent, but that’s why we love Jane Birkin so much.Designer Anna Molinari has built the Lolita-esque style of Blumarine around the color of flamingos, candies, Marie Antoinette’s wigs, and, of course, roses. The flowers were strewn abundantly as prints on a floor-sweeping candy-pink tiered chiffon dress, and bloomed on a blush-pink pencil skirt in cotton jacquard that was paired with a dusty-pink cotton ruffled crochet sweater worn off the shoulders ingenue-style.The pink symphony continued on macaron-hued crochet dresses à la Birkin; on long nude-pink tulle numbers delicately embroidered with roses; and on golden-pink sequined jumpsuits with a ’70s flair. To invigorate the languid mood, Molinari reverted to her beloved leopard print, throwing into the saccharine mix a wow-factor wrapcoat in lamé-wool bouclé with a fringed hem, and a pair of sexy shorts paired with a lipstick-print cropped top.Touches of bright-lime green on an organza blouse with a pussy bow, of shiny gold on a leather Perfecto, and of turquoise on a floor-sweeping, halter-necked silk charmeuse evening dress gave the collection a charming, feminine vibrancy, which is just what you expect from Blumarine.
21 June 2019
After a few seasons when Blumarine’s style was drifting in rather awkward directions, attempting to surf trendy waves but landing instead in amateurish territories, the Fall show felt like a palate cleanser. Thankfully, gone were the au courant streetwear and sporty inspirations, which felt forced and at odds with the label’s hyperfeminine, romantic approach, all floor-sweeping flimsy chiffon numbers and ingénue lacy minidresses.Backstage before the show, Signora Anna Molinari, the petite dynamo who founded the company in 1977 with her late husband, Gianpaolo Tarabini, sounded upbeat and optimistic and fully involved in getting her beloved label back on track. “This collection ismyBlumarine: There’s everything I’ve always liked,” she enthused.So out came short, black, taffeta-ruffled pannier skirts topped by fitted, cropped, leopard-print jackets; delightful black velvet minidresses with feathered bustiers or asymmetrical white Chantilly-lace-and-chiffon cocktail frocks with trailing sashes. Black varnished leather added a touch of louche glamour, while the signature Blumarine red roses were printed on tiered taffeta ballerina dresses or embroidered on glittering evening numbers. It certainly wasn’t something that will change the future of fashion, but it felt fresh and well-edited, with a spirited allure appealing to a young audience.The lesson for designers and labels alike here is this: Do not blindly court fleeting trends just hoping to win over zillions of Instagram followers. Adjusting to the times but consistently sticking to what you’re best at is actually the smartest option for long-term success.
22 February 2019
Blumarine had its heyday in the ’90s, when its advertising campaigns were shot by the likes of Helmut Newton and Albert Watson, and all the supermodels of the era, from Linda Evangelista to Carla Bruni, glamorously strutted down its catwalks. One of the label’s most beloved muses of that time was the actress Ornella Muti. For Pre-Fall, Muti was rescued from oblivion to reprise her Blumarine role.Muti’s ingenue sensuality was referenced in ice-blue Chantilly lace shirtdresses with contrasting black trimmings, worn with retro black stockings or thigh-high leather boots. Blumarine’s romantic floral femininity received a kicky update, as in a sumptuous bustier ball gown in silk cady with an asymmetrical wisteria-printed skirt; paired with a matching cardigan featuring a blue mink collar, it made for a bold evening proposition. On a more vintage-bohemian note, a ’70s-inspired, slightly Yves Saint Laurent–ish plissé dress was cut from zebra-printed blue silk lamé. The same animalier motif in a bright shade of cobalt graced a tuxedo-jumpsuit hybrid, which would be a convincing evening outfit for a pretty young thing.Daywear was svelte and colorful, with short wrap coats in Technicolor tweed or robe coats in houndstooth-printed eco-fur in eye-popping hues of bubblegum pink and fuchsia. There were mini versions of those eco-furs in the kids’ line that will delight mommy-and-me types.
15 January 2019
Hey, Hypebeast! Hello, Highsnobiety! Ciao, Complex! Guys, why are you not all over Blumarine? Today, Anna Molinari performed a serious pivot, reining in the floaty, floral floor sweepers that are her house’s enduring go-to’s in favor of streetwear.Almost all the pieces were layered over neon orange or green Blumarine-branded bicycle shorts and sports bras—which later came in a classically Blumarine scattered floral, too. When teamed with the new Blumarine sneakers—pretty okay, actually—the looks sometimes took on an easy, modern casualness that was discombobulating: Just not what you’d expect here. Distressed denim had patches filled with pastel floral silk; a crazy closing bomber jacket hung with strips of PVC, leather, and paillettes; and an opening python-print, metal-and-cotton–blend crop top and trench shorts were all identifiably of the house but tilted at a fresh demographic.But were there any floor sweepers? Of course there were. These, though, were given a revivifying injection of irony when teamed with the athleisure underpinnings. Whether there was indeed a sense of irony lurking somewhere in the design process behind this collection is debatable; however, it was definitely a collection that invited you to wear it on several levels. Blumarine streetwear is such an incongruous notion that it deserves to achieve niche cult status—I’d definitely cherish that sneaker. And when you acknowledge the absolute first-wave fashion status of Molinari as a pioneering woman trailblazer in a way, way, way more patriarchally controlled period than now—not that now is in any way perfect, of course—well, it would be fitting if the generation this collection was tilted at discovered that story for themselves.
21 September 2018
Anna Molinari has infectious energy and enthusiasm to spare. “I’ve always loved to travel, especially in my imagination,” she enthused. “I’m a dreamer and a romantic. Femininity is a shimmering affair, always changing, never the same. One day I’m a gypsy, the next day I’m a bourgeois; my style is full of contrasts.” It was as if a Victorian lady-of-the-manor, tired of night walks in her rose-scented garden, decided to fly to Ibiza for a bit of psychedelic romance, then, liking the experience and craving even more fun, landed in the Caribbean for a frenzied round of salsa.This crazy travelogue pretty much summed up the Blumarine spirit this season. A romantic theme of roses was highlighted in flowy, long dresses of printed chiffon, in tailored blazers worn with plissé palazzo pants, and in masculine printed shirts paired with micro-shorts. A folk inspiration was visible in a series of short caftans worn with mink intarsia-ed waistcoats, in tiered dresses in crisp poplin printed with bandanna motifs and ornamented with crochet lace, and in trapeze dresses in white cotton voile inspired by antique lingerie and paired with suede fringed gilets.The references were handled lightly; the approach was modern and unfussy, while retaining the label’s signature girly flair. As for the tropical vibe, it was displayed in ruched one-shouldered tops worn with slim capri pants, or in tiered salsa skirts in vibrant shades of fuchsia and lipstick red.
25 June 2018
For more than 40 years, Anna Molinari’s leitmotif has been the rose, and today’s show was no exception. Roses—whether yellow, pink, or blue—were trellised in print across pretty silk dresses, on mid-length shearling jackets, on gauzily sheer pants and jumpsuits, and as an embroidery on an excellently cut blue suit.The rose is the most fundamental floral emblem in the romantic dialect: the flower of Valentine’s Day. Sappho, Burns, Blake, Shakespeare, and several anthologies’ worth of other love-minded poets have used the rose as a vehicle for written seduction. Blumarine, you’d think, picks roses with conventional intent.Backstage, however, Molinari was less delicate petal than she was righteous thorn. She said: “Yes, the collection might appear to be ‘feminine’ and sweet, especially with all the roses. But look at this [she gestured at a very vaguely military blue shearling] and these [the scattering of trousers in the collection]. As women, we are oppressed by the world around us and we have to say enough with being victims. I wanted to show an image not just of beauty, but of strength. My message is a social and political one.”To build and maintain her company in Milan’s male-dominated milieu, Molinari must surely know a thing or two about kicking against the pricks. This collection served as her declaration that strength isn’t something you wear, it’s something you are: She never promised you a rose garden.
25 February 2018
Despite her still youthful looks, Blumarine’s Anna Molinari has a granddaughter. “She’s blonde and beautiful as a model!” Molinari chirped. “And she dresses divine! I often look at how she puts things together for inspiration; these young girls, they really do have amazing style.” Indeed. Generation Z will soon take the reins, forget millennials. The future is around the corner, and Molinari is right to keep an eye on her granddaughter’s opinionated views on fashion.The designer’s penchant forjeunes filles en fleurshas always been at the heart of Blumarine, her love of girly frills never diminished with age. Quite the contrary; in the Pre-Fall collection, it was displayed full-on, with a whirlwind of romantic dresses, floral prints, and billowy chiffons, with a zest of London’s Biba, the magic word that makes bohemian style instantly cool.Layered styling is required today, when boundaries between daywear and eveningwear are blurred, and collections are more and more seasonless. Here, oversize parkas, trimmed in burgundy fox to highlight the feminine factor inherent to the label, topped long, frothy lace slip dresses worn over floral pussy-bow blouses. The best of the other outerwear pieces was a dark red shearling biker printed in muted rose motifs, which also graced the chiffon dress worn underneath.Elsewhere, Blumarine’s staples were given a dust off. Animalier motifs, a Molinari favorite, were printed on a fitted leather blazer trimmed in white mink; paired with white bell-bottoms, the jacket had a ’70s vibe that felt right. The vintage flavor, another Molinari standby, was gracefully translated into a ’20s-inspired evening dress in black chiffon embroidered in sequins. It’d probably look delightful on Molinari’s granddaughter and her posse of fashionable teenage friends—and on their mothers, too.
29 January 2018
Blumarine was mega in the ’90s and remains big in Italy—it still does pretty fine business here—but internationally, its sun has long hovered lowish on the horizon. The redoubtable Anna Molinari and her team often stick to a good-old-days formula of super-sheer, supposed-to-be ethereal floor-sweepers in garish tones that employ dense, floral embroideries to cover the areas you can’t show on Instagram.Despite the disappointing knowledge of the fact that reviewing this show made attendance at Lorenzo Serafini’s fabulous Philosophy a logistical impossibility, this was still an appointment to approach with cheerful anticipation. Because, when a Blumarine show is all it can be—immodest but totally in denial about it, dense in queasy color, and sickly rich in floral—viewing it can be like seeing a hygienist for your eyeballs: a bit uncomfortable at the time, but ultimately therapeutic.Yet the first two-thirds-ish of this show lacked the usual Blumarine impact. A looong monochrome section belted out a series of often lovely dresses, blouses, and pants that mixed polka-dot, lace, and ruffle with balance, aplomb, and even restraint. There were a few tantalising signs of the Blumarine of yore lurking beneath—green foliage and pink-embroidered blooms snaking in diagonal lines across a mid-length white dress and in panels on a white fur jacket—but meanwhile, the pretty handkerchief dresses, a bodice-and-shorts look, and some fine kimono dresses peppered with a far gentler floral kept genteelly on coming.A gentle slap in the chops finally arrived via a pink organza dress wreathed in eucalypt-shaped leaves and blooms at the hem and bust, worn over a similarly garlanded cardigan. Then, a series of long, lace shantung dresses; a couple of almost desultory sheer-over-bodice looks; and, at the last, a single trademark floor-sweeper of the ilk described at the top finished things up. This wasn’t Blumarine in full, guttural voice—there is a new stylist apparently—and while that made for a pretty strong collection which, in part, you could easily see selling well outside of Italy, it was still a disappointment for those who relish the OTT-ness of this marque’s DNA.
23 September 2017
The Blumarine girl this season would fit right in wandering about a romantic garden, like Claude Monet’s at Giverny, with its water lilies, swans, hollyhocks and wisteria. “I love Impressionist paintings,” chirped Anna Molinari, when asked what inspired her Resort collection. “Roses and violets, embroidered on the finest lace so delicately they look as if they’re actually dewy.” Talk about the power of suggestion.The design team tried to find a modern spin to translate the floral motifs so dear to Molinari. Which is where the British contemporary artist Rebecca Louise Law came in, providing a starting point with her fantastical installations made of massive quantities of every possible variety of cut blooms, a concept only deceitfully idyllic, since it inevitably leads to decay. It goes without saying that fading beauty is a concept totally anathema at Blumarine.The Resort collection was an ode to the impalpable lightness of being, with filmy laces in the most ethereal hues, swirling flounces, and chiffon feathers. The Blumarine girl doesn’t seem to actually walk; she glides about, gently propelled by a breeze. Blush pink, peony, mimosa yellow, and lilac were the colors of this bouquet; organza roses blossomed on long tulle dresses, and chiffon feathers sprung from the décolletage of others. Chantilly lace frocks were so diaphanous, they looked as if barely there. As a nice counterpoint, navy blue chambray was paired with paillettes, as in an asymmetrical skirt worn with a snug sweater. It exuded a modern, more substantial feel.
27 June 2017
Anna Molinari was one of the first female designers to emerge (even as the Italian fashion scene was itself emerging) back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Today, Molinari is still at it, presenting a collection that marked the 40th anniversary of Blumarine.Over those decades, the consensus of broader taste has ebbed and flowed this way and that, but Blumarine remains fixed in its dedication to an unapologetically unironic vision of pretty—a place where women are heaped with roses, scattered with sequins, draped with furs, and not disinclined to considered displays of skin. Here, two-toned fur edged the neckline or hems of pretty chiffon and silk dresses and knits in yellow, pink, magenta, and green. Roses were embroidered on lace dresses and set as panels with furs. One dress featured black fur shoulder straps and a pair of round sunglasses whose lenses were fur-flanked. Sequins traced out a green leaf on a pink background, yellow wildflowers, and more roses.The finale saw a group of models walk in ripped skinny jeans patched with multi-colored crystals and fine-gauge knits with the Blumarine logo etched in sequins across their chests. Congratulations to Molinari for hitting such a significant milestone.
25 February 2017
Anna Molinari is fond of the Scottish Highlands’s wintry athmospheres. “My late husband inherited a grand house there,” she said. The cozy feel of its interiors clearly stayed with her. Luscious velvets, wooly tartans, a fire burning in an ornate fireplace, antlers galore, a brooding Heathcliff walking in windy fields of heather—you get the picture.For Pre-Fall, Molinari wanted to convey the feminine spirit that she always favors, which can be described as a very personal kind of impetuous romanticism, molded on her own character. She’s a petite force of nature, all furs and lace and blond curls, yet with an iron will. Here, tartan patterns were printed on light fabrics for long chiffon tiered dresses or flimsy skirts in silk georgette paired with bright, chunky sweaters, while velvets were given a whimsical flair with floral patterns of wintry flowers in a delicate pale blue shade. A pajama with a wrap jacket worn with fluid pants would’ve looked perfectly at home in the lavish drawing room of a decadent manor.Hung near the mantlepiece of Molinari’s Capri home in the Italian countryside is a stunning painting by Giovanni Boldini, who was one of the most fashionable portraitists of the European beau monde in the late 19th century. It depicts a beautiful aristocratic lady wearing a brown velvet gown: “I love that painting so much, I wanted to translate its enchanting spirit in a modern way into my collection,” she explained. The contemporary attitude and the youthful feel was evidenced in short checkered city capes, patchworked and voluminous furs, bathrobe-inspired long coats with animalier trimmings, and black chiffon midi dresses with poet sleeves and pussy bows at the collar. The signature Blumarine roses bloomed on printed voile pleated dresses or on masculine silk pants. “There were the same roses hand-embroidered on my mother’s velvet pillows,” said Molinari, sounding as sentimental as ever.
18 January 2017
“There is something here for every part of a woman’s life,” Anna Molinari said of her Spring lineup forBlumarinebackstage today. “I don’t see the point of designing a collection that's only for the red carpet.” And so the show unfurled much like a fantasy day in the life, beginning with optic white eyelet and flouncy skirts (for a stroll through the garden, one imagines, and subsequent tropical floral prints did nudge you in that direction), and ending in romantic eveningwear, with the final look a puff-shouldered, rosy gingham-print organza number.The show notes cited the early 20th-century Italian activist and photographer Tina Modotti as inspiration, and there was charmingly understated daywear in varying earth tones like clay green, earthy brown, blacks, and bright white "like the sun," said Molinari. Day dresses were "simple looking, but very structured," she added, and some had figure-flattering seams which betrayed that fact. Things came off the rails a bit when it came to the latter section of organza separates, and Alessandro Michele's influence was felt keenly in a sheer gown with floral appliqués. While an organza and mink tartan coat felt a little unnecessary to the narrative, pure romance—and sunny days—shone through.
24 September 2016
Notions of utility and practicality have never seemed to agree withBlumarine, a label that has always exuded ajeune fille en fleur, slightly Lolita-esque flair as a maker of clothes for bubbly types with a penchant for roses, pastel minks, and sparkling palettes. But evolution affects us all; fashion as a species has to adapt, the quicker the better. The new Blumarine girl, though still a dreamer, actually has to work, go to the supermarket, and deal with the boring, mundane tasks we all must face.“She’s still a languid, romantic girl,” said designer Anna Molinari. “But now she’s more free and pragmatic. She favors an urban, more pared-down look. Flowers? Basta!” Sure enough, the collection felt as if the refresh button had been hit. Shapes were still feminine, yet had a modern feel, with just a touch of a ’50s sportswear-inspired spirit. Even the typical lingerie accents were less frou-frou. Volumes were gently comfortable, and floral embroideries were more graphic than usual, as in a bamboo motif appliquéd on the lace of a column dress. It all looked lighter, crisper, and with a natural allure. Yet the label’s hyper-feminine vibe couldn’t help but creep in; a powder-blue boxy mink jacket was trimmed with tulle and embroidered with colorful blooming flowers.
21 June 2016
Blumarineis an irony-free zone, which is a shame for Blumarine. Because ironic reflexivity—a self-aware detachment between author and product—is the go-to digestive enzyme in fashion right now for any designer looking to present the brash as brainy.Here and there today were some pieces that combined enough wearability and dash to compel, whatever the label stitched into them: a high-waisted pleated Lurex silver skirt, a finely fitted ruche-fronted cocktail dress in brown and deep-sea blue leopard, a lurex tiered plisse mid-length dress in green with a ruffle-hemmed bib front, and a slim-bodied, cinch-waisted grey coat with a satisfyingly swoosh-y skirt. A second tranche of clothes fitted into a category where—if you squinted—you could imagine them existing in the collections of other labels currently bathing in acclaim for their clunkily explained, ironic reappropriation of past codes. These included floral overload brocade dresses sometimes fringed with fur, a leopard capelet over a floral pantsuit, and dresses that blended wool and paillette in horizontal lines of muted colors.Finally, there were the pieces that seemed beyond rehabilitation but were absolutely true to the spirit of Anna Molinari’s house. The included black cocktail dresses with a garland of tablecloth florals at the bottom and crotch, cashmere pantyhose worn with matching T-shirts and fur hoods, a hot pantsuit in white whose (really well-cut) jacket featured house ‘B’ in Swarovski on one patch pocket, and several dresses which needed no malfunction to be more revealing thatGigi Hadid’s second look atVersace.
27 February 2016
Blumarinedoes masculine! How this can possibly be? No worries: There was no mutation at work in the brand’s chromosomes. Its DNA remains firmly in place—we’re not going to see a Blumarine breed of minimalist, cutting-edge dark creatures anytime soon. It’s just that forPre-Fall, this hyper-feminine species was hybridized with a gentle touch of mannish flair. There was no genderless parlance here: Girls are girls, and Anna Molinari, the label’s cofounder, owner, and creative director, still loves them at their most frilly, ultra-girly, and sweeter-than-sweetest.Molinari has a thing for roses, lace, embellishments, mink, the color pink—definitely nothing testosterone driven. A flirty, bubbly, petite dynamo, she’s the miniature embodiment of all things Blumarine. “I’m a romantic and always will be,” she declared, swathed in a blond sable coat that matched her curls. “But this season I wanted to give a more modern, urban attitude to the collection, focusing on daywear.” She pointed out tailored chevron tweed car coats, generously cut parkas in thick herringbone wool or flannel, and robe de chambre–inspired dusters in wool jacquard. Those pieces conveyed a masculine vibe, although they were embroidered with romantic floral motifs of irises and dahlias. Molinari couldn’t help infusing the lineup with her sense of sensual optimism. Case in point was a long black masculine coat in sumptuous double cashmere, streamlined and precisely tailored; worn with ripped cropped jeans with high studded cuffs and a simple sweater, it had a very chic, modern allure and looked assertive enough. Yet it was trimmed in voluptuous mink and paired with kitten heels: Blumarine’s genes are certainly powerful.
20 January 2016
A house fondness for bloom-bordered sheerness makes Blumarine a show that’s relished by the bawdy band of runway photographers—it’s their Friday morning double espresso. Outside the pit, however, that emphasis on garlanded nudity can feel unsettlingly anachronistic.Yet to be understood, Blumarine needs first to be examined in terms of its anthropology. Anna Molinari’s line reflects an Italian sensibility, aChimagazine (Italy's answer toUs Weekly) reader's raunch-touched interpretation of ethereal romance that Blumarine, fueled by its original success in knitwear manufacturing, gave rise to. And the audience at today’s show was ample evidence that this constituency is still in fine fettle. Thus the screen-print stemmed-rose-silhouette tulle skirts, shirts, and gowns, sometimes monochrome, sometimes in a reduced-rainbow palette accented with stripes. A jacket of pastel-sequined camouflage—designed to help you blendoutof the background—was worn over a flower-appliquéd silk smock in violet beach stripe and some superwide, cut-at-the-side, pink Bengal-stripe pants.Those pants pointed to the unexpected element in this lineup. Just as Rodolfo Paglialunga did for his debutJil Sandercollection—Spring 2015—12 months ago, team Blumarine turned to the completely fabulous, androgynous-dressing, progenitor Swiss photographer Annemarie Schwarzenbach for its thematic inspiration. Schwarzenbach very much is a now-appropriate cipher, and the interpretation of her here was expressed in high-cut, loosely pocketed, hardware-shorn field jacket–biker hybrids—and those pants. This was Blumarine’s nod to gender fluidity, and along with the masculine accent of that Bengal stripe, it reflected a sincere effort to flavor the house cocktail with a fresh dose. In chambray especially, and black satin up to a point, it kind of convinced. Although the photographers were disappointed.
25 September 2015
If you're looking for a sugar rush, Blumarine is here to help. The label's Resort collection had a high saccharine quotient. The hyper-stimulation of the senses was the idea behind a concoction of dresses and separates that were as light as soufflés in every possible shade of candy colors, like macarons piled up in a French pastry shop. To add to the already intense sugary flavor, flowers were scattered with abandon on every possible surface: They blossomed in macramé and in appliqués on tulle bodices; were embroidered on silk skirts; sprouted on lasered suede for asymmetric tulip miniskirts or supersoft dusters. Even denim, a fabric not usually associated with graceful lightness, was given an unexpected floral twist with roses, Anna Molinari's signature, woven in a jacquard pattern in a belted pajama jacket worn with cropped pants.PartAlice in Wonderlandand part Courtney Love, the Blumarine girl is dreamy but sensuous and a bit mischievous. The sensuous feel came from the use of transparencies and see-through effects, as in a long black tulle evening gown with lace intarsias that added a sense of drama to an otherwise hyper-romantic lineup. Yet the hyper-decorated surfaces were counterbalanced by clean shapes and abbreviated lengths; a T-shirt dress in pale pink organza with 3-D floral appliqués had a much-needed modern feel. It highlighted a subtle, almost twisted aspect that tinged the collection with a hint of playfulness.
20 June 2015
The Blumarine world has been in transition of late. Once, it was all about frills, girliness, and a sensual yet traditional take on romanticism. Now, it's sharp and sexy. Yet it still manages to maintain a soft touch, a sprinkle of twisted innocence, which is quite an accomplishment. Even in a slinky chain-mail dress and high-heel patent ankle boots, the Blumarine woman still looks somehow delicate, albeit fierce. After all, Anna Molinari is known as the queen of roses, a title she still deserves. There were plenty of roses in the collection she presented today—turned into silver brocade, morphed into wildly tactile fil coupe motifs. They felt fresh: In a season of fashionable debates around the real and the fake, the natural and the man-made, they looked positively synthetic, in a disco and escapist kind of way. Hemlines were decidedly short, cuts were graphic, and glitz was quite a preoccupation. The long coats and cozy oversize mink cardigans balanced the abundance of dresses that made the collection a bit monotonous. Backstage, the contagiously ebullient Mrs. Molinari talked about "a sophisticated traveler," which explained the protective coats and outsize duffel bags. She also name-dropped Warhol superstar Baby Jane Holzer: Think sass and class. All in all, it was a convincing outing for Blumarine. Next time more variety would be welcome.
27 February 2015
"I'm the queen of the roses: This was how Franco Moschino was always calling me," said Anna Molinari, the petite dynamo behind Blumarine, on the day of her show. The collection she showed today certainly had a lot of roses, as well as frills everywhere, yards ofvolants, embroidery galore, and a sugar pink mink. Blumarine's girls are a posse of cute little divas (many as blond as the label's founder) tiptoeing seductively on kitten heels; it's no surprise that burlesque performer Dita Von Teese is a fan. The label's hyper-feminine, ultra-sweet look has sometimes verged on the saccharine, and there have been occasions when you might leave a presentation feeling as if you'd eaten too many macaroons. But in recent seasons the collections have registered the need for change and a more modern, cleaner look. That feeling was present in this Pre-Fall presentation, which felt more concise and fresh, feminine but not too girly, playful but with a more streamlined feel.The infamous roses were given a geometric spin and a touch of drama, as in a long chiffon dress printed in black and dark red. They were reduced to a gold pattern embroidered on silk mesh for a body-hugging sheath, and were transformed via abstract Technicolor appliqués scattered on a body-con minidress with lavender mink trimmings. New techniques like decoupage and hand-cut assemblages with a 3-D effect added a touch of dynamism and a sense of movement. Macramé lace, a perennial Molinari favorite, was more substantial and less dainty than usual, as in a pair of black evening pants that ended just above the ankle, worn with a simple black cashmere turtleneck. It made for a feminine yet contemporary look.
20 January 2015
You mention Blumarine, and flowers immediately come to mind. And with flowers, a certain romanticism, which in the past has been flung in every direction, from the overtly emotional to the carnally sensual. This season, Anna Molinari, the force of nature behind the label, decided to convey pictorial atmospheres, opting, surprisingly, for a restrained tone. Restraint à la Molinari, that is. She titled the collection In Bloom, and there were flowers aplenty in the form of embellishment, appliqué, and thread embroidery. They were all colorful and tactile, but they didn't come with a sense of déjà vu. Molinari got rid of the flaps, the frills, and vintage-y feel of the past to concentrate on neat, fast shapes, and a pervasive weightlessness. You could almost detect a sporty inspiration in the T-shirt dresses and tank tops, or the pleated miniskirts that hung on the hips; legs were prominently on display.Backstage, Molinari—wearing her iconic mink-trimmed cardigan, covered in printed roses—said she wanted to create a "sense of magic realism." She also claimed inspiration from artist Martial Raysse, but it was more a matter of method—looking at reality from a different angle—than a pillaging of iconography. The show involved a somewhat homogeneous series of variations on a theme: a play of polychrome embroideries and sequin applications, as well as intarsia and jacquards that almost seemed to bloom from the fabric, highlighted by the pale and delicate colors of the bases. As usual with Blumarine, there were some odd detours—the graphic black and white bourgeois pieces looked a bit out of place—but overall the collection looked consistent.
19 September 2014
The first impression created by the winter-white alpaca on the Blumarine catwalk was snow, so it seemed logical to expect clothes to suit. But no. Out stepped black kimono looks dripping in gold, followed by jewel-toned satin japonaiserie cut so high on the thigh that winter was clearly a world away. Eventually there were items that spoke to the season, like a huge bubble of blue alpaca, a winter-white greatcoat, and a red fox chubby, but the only place Anna Molinari's woman would be going in them was a coat check. Otherwise, what was emphatically on show (and you can underlineshow!) was Molinari's party-like-it's-1989 sensibility: pelmet skirts, plunging necklines, second-skin leathers, the gleam of lamé (lavishly trimmed with red fox) and gold. Stock markets may crash, economies may crumble, but the Molinari index has now stayed high on good times for longer than seems feasible, never mind logical. But we've already established that word has no meaning in the world of Blumarine.
20 February 2014
A hidden garden on a summer night—that's what Anna Molinari said her starting point was for her new Blumarine collection. The butterfly lace, the white point d'esprit, and the fil coupé weave with splashes of coral and gold that started things off seem destined for a June wedding. But this show quickly shifted from friend of the bride to club girl out all night. On the one hand, you had a white baby-doll dress, embroidered flowers picked out on its long sleeves, and on the other you had a T-shirt entirely constructed from a spiderweb of crystals tucked into a red leather hobble skirt. Is the Blumarine woman an innocent or a provocateur? Although the strappy ankle boots suggested she may be more of the latter, Molinari seemed reluctant to make up her mind. That's her prerogative, of course, and in the end it may not hurt her bottom line. The world is a big place, and Italian tastes are different from American, which are different from Russian and those of China and the Far East. But it made for an unresolved collection.
19 September 2013
The best thing you could say about this Blumarine show might be that it was more grounded than usual. From the opener of baby-pink biker shearling and flesh-toned leather trousers, the collection did its earnest best to evoke a real world, albeit an insistently candy-colored one. But it was a real world that was firmly lodged in the eighties. The huge rollneck with the color-coordinated cardigan, for instance, was an exaggeratedly ritzy take on the twinset. The big pink bathrobe? Well, that might be a concession to Hollywood wives. But it also suggested an ultimate comfort factor that stretched into flowing outerwear that was as cozy as a candlewick bedspread.But the eighties also embodied another kind of exaggeration, and Molinari was right there with it. Her appetite for thigh-high pannier-draped skirts, splattered with flowers, spoke to an original Ungaro moment. So did the extreme pagoda-shouldered suits, boldly blouse-less. Quite where this sits in the contemporary fashion spectrum would be more of an enigma if Molinari hadn't been cheered to the rafters by her fiercely partisan Italian aficionados.
21 February 2013
Some fashion shows are like a trip without the acid. Or, at least, a ticket to a wingy elsewhere. Free your mind, and Anna Molinari's show today could be viewed as a country-house costume-box production ofA Midsummer Night's Dream. Think Art Deco fairies. Handkerchief-hemmed chiffons, Delphic knife pleats, moonlit trims of silver lace, and a shimmering haltered smock went a long way toward evoking an ethereal Other. The past echoed effortlessly in other areas of the collection. Coppery draped lamé, slinky black silks, the quintessentially Deco shades of mauve andeau de nil, and the vaguely Japanese floral beading had an odor of period decadence. But it was definitely more downtown thanDownton.
20 September 2012
Blumarine began with five fluorescent Mongolian lamb coats, each one more electric than the last. But Anna Molinari and her fearless stylist Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele were just warming up. The designer's Fall collection was all about metallics, iridescents, and holograms. It was "positively shining," just as the show's title promised—except for a brief sidetrack through the label's perennial head-to-toe animal prints, sometimes as many as six separate pieces in one outfit.Molinari, it's well known by now, doesn't do anything by halves. Still, some of today's looks—like the one consisting of a turquoise puffer vest, silver hoodie, and sequined pants spelling out "jolie," "wow," and other superlatives—certainly reconfirmed her enthusiasms. And if the show didn't get more gonzo than that, it came close several times. The cocktail and evening dresses pavéd in iridescent studs at the finale? Minimal by comparison.
23 February 2012
Whoa there! Anna Molinari's show today began with sweet full-skirted sundresses, trimmed with raffia, strewn with drifts of summery mimosa. Versions in pure white followed, but then you could practically hear the designer saying, "Well, that's enough of that, then," because the next outfit down the catwalk was a tiny neoprene biker jacket matched to an even smaller pair of neoprene shorts in fluoro orange. After which the show surrendered any sense of restraint to a manic overload of flower power a-go-go. Restraint? Pah! That's old man talk. Molinari's woman was fresh out of the school of Modesty Blaise, the slinky minx who righted global wrongs in the sixties comic strip (she was played by Monica Vitti in the cult film version). Definitely shameless, possibly dangerous, the Blumariner flaunted her body not only in barely-there bandeaux and neoprene nothingnesses but in sheaths of patent and sequin, with forests of raffia and prickly overlays of 3-D flowers. The finale featured a black sequined two-piece wrapped in a fur coat. Ah yes, she was that kind of girl. Molinari took her bow in a fluoro orange smock with matching Uggs, clearly at one with her creations.
22 September 2011
The show opened with sporty coats and aerodynamic knitwear—ribbed turtlenecks and wrap minis, A-line dresses, and tunics over flared pants, all in shades of camel, black, and navy. Had we come to the right place? Was this really Anna Molinari's Blumarine? The rocker-chick studs, hyped-up colors, and saucy prints of recent seasons had been replaced by something altogether sensible. In fact, despite the leggy silhouettes, it was almost staid. Right up until look 20 or so, that is, when a slew of models emerged en masse in the same simple, streamlined shapes, but this time in Crayola brights. Twenty exits in monochrome yellow, orange, green, purple, or blue later, and designer Molinari changed gears again. This time she repeated things in see-through black lace. And guess what happened next? Yes, you guessed it, primary-colored lace.One editor quipped, "Bring back the leopard prints," referring to Spring's wild collection. To be fair, there were some smart pieces here, especially the spongy rubberized nubuck coats. But the show felt too long for the straight-up sportswear Blumarine was pushing this season.
24 February 2011
Think leopard spots are over? Anna Molinari would beg to differ, and judging by the retail bigwigs in her Blumarine front row, the department store chains are paying close attention to what's on the designer's mind and runway these days.For Spring, it's animal motifs and lots of them: not just big cats, whipped up in either pastel brights or neutral browns with gold-leaf dots, but also big butterflies. These creatures prowled or flitted on everything from fitted minidresses and tunics belted over flaring pants to chemises and super-voluminous caftans—and don't forget the fringed and grommeted long-strap bags. In case that weren't wild enough, the models wore piles of colorful enamel bracelets, rings, and pendant necklaces featuring zodiac symbols and other beasts.By comparison, off-the-shoulder ombré dresses ruched to hug every curve and leather jackets in coral or lilac elasticized at the torso for extra cling looked almost tame. And the white leather skirtsuit and coat accented with glam gold zippers, positively understated.Over-the-top fun or overkill? In bit-size pieces, as it will probably appear on retail racks, the former. As it was shown on the runway, the latter—unless, that is, you're one insatiable man-eater.
24 September 2010
Restrained, quiet, minimal sportswear? The idea of that ever happening at Blumarine is as about as easy to imagine as Silvio Berlusconi taking holy orders. This runway is one of Milan's last holdouts for women who demand full-on good-time dressing with a cheerful disregard for polite moderation—and from the commercial point of view, it's all the better for it. For Fall, the house devices are animal prints, tons of flirty fringing, lots of leather, suede, and crystal studding—a collection that blithely follows the Balmain principle of flouting obscure intellectual fashion pieties for the sake of accessible excess.In the stylist Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, Anna Molinari, the house proprietor, has found a kindred spirit with a sense of humor and a clear idea of the point of it all. Just before the show went on, Cerf de Dudzeele declared, "J'adoreit all! It's for the kind of girl a man wants to follow in the street." Well, job done, for those who are after that kind of result—and as Blumarine's ever climbing, recession-busting sales figures are proving, there are plenty of women all over the world who do want exactly that.
25 February 2010
Blumarine's eye-popping psychedelic leopard-spot collection of last Fall—pure over-the-top, ridiculous fun—sold so well in America, the company was almost shocked. What would the follow-up be—the same sort of exuberant, sexy, borderline funny nailing of a current trend? To get to it, you need to flick to the middle of today's show, past the colorful tie-dye, glitzy hippie dresses and body-con knits, to the moment the camouflage hit. Military drab this wasn't. Out came the fluoro-splashed olive and green prints, camo-print platform sandals, Rasta-stripe bags, and finally a delightfully hilarious full-length army bustier dress. It was followed by a small laugh, rippling along the front row.The exuberance of Blumarine is full-frontal devil-may-care Italian. In its knowing, put-together, highly commercial way, it captures the Southern European attitude to holidaying in the sun (obviously, this season, in St. Bart's, Jamaica, and thereabouts). The range might be a little limited—there's only so much tie-dye the eye can take—but the energy of this well-priced line looks as though it's beginning to steal a march on the likes of Cavalli, Pucci, and even Versace.
24 September 2009
Leopard spots, Stephen Sprouse, and Andy Warhol gone Latin: Those were the unmissables at Anna Molinari's relentlessy cheerful Blumarine. Unless Azzedine Alaïa is seriously put out by the referencing of his seminal eighties leopard signatures—from top to toe, not forgetting the matching clutch—it was hard to imagine anyone feeling curmudgeonly about the sheer brazen up-ness of it all. Ifragazzijust wanna have fun next fall, this is a company that will deliver it—in neons with crystal, and featuring lots of sexy "biker" and Balmain-esque jacket-and-flashy-jeans combos as further options.Shamelessly kitsch the show may have been—Ms. Molinari projected a pseudo-Warhol portrait of herself on the backdrop—but, funnily enough the content was not 100 percent cheese. The designer's Italian-quality knitwear holds up to scrutiny, and when her sweater dresses were paired with well-tailored coats, it qualified as a reasonably chic grown-up look. All that was forgotten, of course, once she started up with the sub-Warhol flower-print leggings, sugar-pastel satin mini-suits, and an orgy of neon leopard chiffon disco gowns. Then again, the single-minded mission to keep good-time girls happy in a bad time also has a certain honor in it.
27 February 2009
The first dress, a nude draped halter with subtle accents of yellow at the ruffled neckline, suggested we might be in for a new Blumarine—if not minimal (come on, who are we kidding?) then at least more restrained. But Anna Molinari is a designer who never met a sequin she didn't like, and after that sexy, almost spare warmup, it was back to the embellishments that she knows best. A lush floral watercolor print alternately brightened up a belted dress; high-waisted, tapering pants; and a floor-length gown with a hip-high slit. Beads and, yes, sequins made multiple appearances—on her familiar cardigans, at the necklines of tanks and the waistbands of pants, and in a dégradé effect on a va-va-voom cocktail number. They also showed up in more girlish, floral patterns on a group of blush-colored dresses.The draped tulle goddess minidresses and gowns were a welcome reprieve from all that glitter—they'll play with the Hollywood starlet set. Molinari is clearly quite comfortable with her formula, but it'd be nice to see her push a little further into new territory.
22 September 2008
Anna Molinari's new Blumarine shop on the Avenue Montaigne was the ostensible inspiration for her Fall line—a photograph of the storefront was projected on a screen behind the runway, and an aerial view of the famous Parisian thoroughfare was emblazoned on the outside of her tent. But the feel of the clothes themselves was less French than homegrown; it looked as if Molinari had stolen a page from her countryman Roberto Cavalli's vampy playbook. The show opened with lace-edged silk slipdresses topped by fluffy angora cardigans in matching candy shades. No matter the hour of the day or night, it's apparently never too early for a bit of sparkle: A puffer vest worn with a white blouse and bell-bottom jeans was just as likely to be embellished with sequins as a draped jersey gown. And there was even a racy overscale leopard print. She used it for a trench, a plunge-front dress, and a strapless frock with a flirty ruffled bodice.This collection was Molinari playing against type—it happened to work on that leopard-print strapless dress, but more often it came off as, well, a little tarty. Those who miss her signature sweetness will have to settle for a blush-pink bejeweled cardigan worn with a frilly skirt in a matching shade of chiffon—or wait for next season.
18 February 2008
Anna Molinari designed her collection for a holiday in Saint-Tropez. But it's not the Brigitte Bardot-era Riviera we're taking about; it's the flashy twenty-first-century Med, complete with silk-and-lace nighties made almost plausible for the boardwalk with hip-slung belts and cropped leather jackets, the sleeves pushed up past the elbows…and midriff-baring waffle-knit polos…and micro shorts in neon brights…and cashmere or chenille track pants with sequined athletic stripes down the sides to go with matching embroidered tank tops. Track pants, of course—it takes hard work to get the body you need to wear revealing clothes like these.Evening—often an opportunity for romance and ruffles at Blumarine—was racier still. Jersey goddess gowns with hip-high slits made those short shorts underneath a must. (The show's countless caftans and cover-ups in hothouse prints were a welcome note of modesty.) Were there any clothes for girls not on permanent vacation? Animal-spotted pony-hair jackets and A-line skirts, along with a few flower-print sweater dresses, ought to appeal to the city-bound Blumarine customer. But should she require something more than that, she might have to turn her eyes elsewhere next season.
24 September 2007
For a designer who loves her frills, the movement toward masculine tailoring could've been a headache. But Anna Molinari took it in her stride, adding satin power suits to her (as usual) dress-heavy lineup; to keep it Blumarine, she simply outlined the lapels, pockets, and skirt slits with glistening bugle beads.As ever, there was no shortage of embellishments. They ran the gamut from subtle jet beading and passementerie details on black cashmere coats to the rather-too-loud trompe l'oeil crystal necklaces decorating satin dresses.Molinari keyed into both the season¿s must-have neutral, gray—a short-sleeved chinchilla jacket, cropped, belted, and worn with skinny pants, was a highlight—and the color trend. A pair of fitted day sheaths came in one of Milan¿s loveliest brocades, a lush, painterly floral in shades of red and pink on a dark base. An emerald-green duchesse-satin bomber with matching pencil skirt was strong, too. As for the evening bolero made from densely embroidered roses of amethyst silk that closed the show, it was a final flip of the nose at all the talk of seriousness. Molinari prefers to have fun with fashion, thank you very much.
22 February 2007
As much as Milan fashion week could use a few pantsuits, you don't go to the Blumarine show for those—or for any other surprises. Over the course of nearly three decades, designer Anna Molinari has perfected the art and commerce of the party dress and the little bejeweled cardigans that her clients like to wear with them. For spring, she didn't venture far from the familiar. The first look—a black shirtdress with pearls for buttons and a crystal-encrusted collar—set the mood. Elsewhere, there were petals of chiffon, embroidered violets, and wisteria prints. Yes, Molinari touched on the season's trends—brocade is one example —but her dresses nodded less to the sixties than to Lolita, with nipped waists that flared out to the knee. Echoing that silhouette, taffeta jackets with short, puffed sleeves and mini peplums were belted and worn with A-line pleated skirts.Pink is a color of the season, but it's been a Blumarine favorite for years, and this crowd-pleasing show ended with a parade of old-Hollywood glamour gowns in shades of blush, cotton candy, and dusty rose.
28 September 2006
Anna Molinari's Blumarine is a perfect embodiment of a certain Italian woman's attitude toward fashion: Let the rest of the world worry about sobriety, not her. What's the point in clothes if they don't make her feel decorative? Dresses and elaborate knitwear are ever the core of Molinari's commercial success, so she took the coat-and-minidress combo that is one of the looks of the season, but tweaked it to show off all the pieces that make her customers happy. A sliver of gold dévoré velvet with a fox-trimmed coat thrown over it started a show of slinky jersey and body-hugging mini sweater dresses. She thought up things to do with her line of embellished cardigans, too, trimming a turquoise one in fur and embroidery, and making another in multiple cream crochet ruffles.Midway, Molinari turned on the power suits, though a couple of evening coats, one in tailored brocade and the other a black velvet swing with a white fur collar, proved to be the stronger pieces. The long evening dresses made of randomly attached assemblages of tattered lace and chiffon looked more like borrowings from her daughter's younger Anna Molinari line, but otherwise, this collection was just as it always is: reassuringly pretty things to keep the ladies loyal.
21 February 2006
"Two-thousand-and-one nights: global chic" was the inspiration for Anna Molinari's raucously festive Blumarine collection. Wandering from east to west on a magic fur-trimmed, bejeweled carpet, the designer toyed with bikinis in cashmere and sequins as evening wear; urbantailleurswere alternated with her signature feminine knits. Ethnic motifs appeared everywhere in the form of beaded dragon appliques, Indian-style embroidery and African zebra prints. Pushing the decoration envelope to the max, Molinari turned the rose, Blumarine's symbol, into the leitmotif for a rich series of evening dresses that dripped with waterfalls of the flower's shiny petals.
26 September 1999