Ripping the Collections: Santino, Part One

We're not entirely of one mind on Santino's collection. Picking "old Hollywood" as a theme wasn't the most interesting crayon in the box, but Tom liked the "boudoir photography" aspect of it. In what may have been a fit of self-conscious irony, he gave us a runway show that consisted almost entirely of very literal lingerie-inspired looks. Lorenzo was underwhelmed by the theme and we both thought that the construction issues were a major problem. Fit and construction are important, not just for aesthetic reasons, but because they demonstrate that you understand how to make fabric work on a body.

His styling was a little bland. If you're going for old Hollywood glamour intersecting with soft-core porn, then big and luscious would have been more impactful than the restrained prettiness on display.

Let's start the show.

It's okay. Not what we would consider a "wow" piece, but it's pretty. The waist on that thing is pretty high, but he's going for an undergarment feel, so the line actually makes sense. The color's a little subdued, but again, look at vintage lingerie.

And then we see the fit problems. There's no real sense that there's a set of boobs under there. There's just two cups that aren't, y'know...cupping.

We're back and forth on this one. We have to fight the urge to simply say "We don't like it." But y'know? It is flattering and pretty. It does make a bolder statement.

Plus, there's less of a fit issue on this one. We're not crazy about the almost-jodhpurs but overall, the proportions are flattering and the pleating is beautiful.

Again, colors too subdued, but think of vintage foundation garments in an old trunk.

Ick.

She's like a walking Listerine breath strip.

This one seems to veer off-theme, but that's not really the issue. It's just not very flattering or pretty.

We could be sold on the color, but the garment is just so big and blousey and uninteresting.

This is another one that's just okay and slightly off-theme. The more overtly lingerie-inspired stuff is more interesting than the blandly "glamorous" stuff. That layered hem is irritating. It looks unfinished.

And her girls are so squished in there they look like they're holding their breath and the overall effect makes her look hip-y. And yeah, the color story is already starting to bore us, no matter how much we try to defend it.

Love-hate.

It's definitely one of the more interesting looks in the collection.

The problem is, it's just too literal. It doesn't look like it was inspired by vintage lingerie; it looks exactly like vintage lingerie. Except of course, that vintage lingerie took into account that women have breasts. What is going on with those gigantic scalloped things? They're not accentuating her boobs, they're shielding them. Titwalls.

This was actually quite pretty and feminine and flattering. A little basic, yes. But it fit the theme well, it added color without going off-story, and the mix of fabrics give it more interest.

Although, maybe it was just editing, but it seemed pretty clear that this was an Andrae dress - and it looks it.


[Photos: FirstView]


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