My Inspiration of the Moment: Summer 2017

Welcome back to my blog, mes chéries! As I mentioned in my introduction video during the relaunch of Bouge & Rouge on July 13th, I have a small video section at the bottom of the sidebar of all Style posts titled “My Inspiration of the Moment.” For the past week and a half, the video that has been up is one of Fendi’s Spring/Summer 2017 Collection featuring beautiful florals, bright studs, feminine purses, and striped shoes. If you’ve missed it, check out the runway show below!

Let 👏 me 👏 tell 👏 you 👏. I’m quite literally OBSESSED. I’m not kidding around. Like Gigi-Hadid-in-one-of-their-collection-photoshoots-as-my-phone-background level of obsession (see picture below). I’ve never be so in love with a collection before.

IS. THAT. NOT. STUNNING? It’s stunning. Absolutely stunning.

I’ll start off by saying I don’t fully immerse myself into the high fashion world as much as I’d like to, but I do know a two things: 1) I hate is the Gucci loafers and Chanel slides (because I believe slides should remain on the soccer field benches, which I will get into at the end of the year review in December), 2) Karl Lagerfeld’s designs and creative vision are my everything. The designs he puts on his runways are always breathtaking. While his work with Chanel is more traditional and conservative than I would go for, his recent work with Fendi completely epitomizes everything I want in a seasonal collection.

I won’t lie; I used to dislike Fendi. I’m not sure what it was, but I just didn’t feel like any particular collection spoke to me. I have to say, this collection revolutionized my entire opinion of the brand.

Let’s get into the breakdown of the three main reasons I cannot stop talking about this collection.

1. The mix of textures and styles
2. The color combinations
3. The purse straps and pom-pom key rings

The Mix of Textures, Styles, & Color Combinations

I truly believe on Karl Lagerfeld is able to mix intricate artistry with simplistic modern edge so exquisitely. The clothes in the Spring/Summer 2017 Fendi collection are inspired with late baroque (or “rococo”) florals, sporty contemporary stripes, shimmery ethereal fabrics, royal jacquard prints, and edgy studs. When this line was first debuted months ago in Rome, I was completely mesmerized by how Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini were able to collage so many styles of different time periods together. Despite the fact that Karl Lagerfeld is definitely known for doing this spectacularly well in his other collections, I’m still surprised and amazed every time.

In this collection, you see lingerie and sheer fabrics, feminine flowy dresses, apron-styled skirts, and classic collared chiffon and silk shirts open the runway show. Then some utilitarian stripes start peeking through. The outfits in middle and towards the end of the runway show were full of rococo styled dresses and jacquard skirts of beautiful gold and champagne colors. A lot, right? But no matter what the outfit was, all the shoes were sock booties and striped which tied the entire collection together. At first, you might find that strange. If you look closely, you’ll see that Lagerfeld and Venturini played with colors and textures on the shoes so that even the brightest of hot pinks matched a rococo ethereal halter dress perfectly.

You can see in the collages below the details Lagerfeld and Venturini put into the designs. For example, some pieces have scallop edges, a Lagerfeld classic, incorporated into the sleeves. When you have a collection full of this many patterns and prints, it can look outdated the second the season is over. However, the designers paired everything with loud and bold modern striped booties to balance out all the trendy prints. This makes the outfit seem a little less extravagant and easily “out of style.”

I think one of the most impressive pieces was a flowy dress with a red and blue striped top underneath it. When you evaluate each piece separately, you would never think to put them together. In fact, the idea of putting something nautical with something fairylike seems almost insane because utilitarian designs usually don’t match a pretty and feminine dress. Yet, they somehow meshed together so well. The key to this match is the play in colors. The blush pink serves as almost a neutral balance, allowing the more traditional and conservative red and blue stripes to pop but not feel out of place, even with a bold cut in the dress.

Another similar pairing (leftmost photo in the photo collage below) featured a blue and white striped top contrasted under jacquard jacket and bottoms. Like the previous pairing, the colors and contrast of the two styles juxtaposed help create a uniform look, even though both pieces give off completely different auras. Furthermore, it matches the shoe which definitely helped tie the look together.

 

Below is one of my favorite looks from this line. First, can we talk about how the fur vest matches the sweater strips perfectly? Sometimes, designers will offset the strips to give it a certain feel, but these two pieces albeit different shades of yellow and red give the outfit dimension and character. Since horizontal stripes are often disliked for how they stretch your attention across your body (aka can tend to make you look larger and wider than you actually are), the pairing of the top half of the outfit with vertical pinstripe pants helps slim the model down more and give her a beloved slim waist and hourglass figure.

The Purse, Straps, & Accessories

If there is anything I am going to purchase (even if it’s post-season because I’m so in love that I don’t give a flying duck about it being “not in season”), it’ll be a purse with a strap and the renown Fendi pom-pom accessory. The purses in both this collection and Fendi;s Fall/Winter 2017 collection are such statement pieces that can be altered into a classic piece as well. For example, some of the bags are very plain in style with little to no embellishments. But to spice it up, you can purchase a fun and trendy strap for the bag as well as a bold key chain.

The last two collages above are slightly more intricate. They’re suitable for women who may be looking for a designer piece that is simple but still has that particular brand’s flare to it. Now if you’re a person who LOVES statement purses and accessories as much as I do, there are tons in this collection that will satisfy the ~extra~ soul in you. Each of the more decorated purses have such exquisite detailing that showcase personalities of different women. Personally, I love the rightmost purse in the first collage and the last single shot photo in this following thread. I think both are perfect depictions of my style because the shape and colors are classic but they have a feminine and extravagant flare that make it very “me.”

Now let’s say you’re not big on purses and prefer little mini bags that are easier to carry out. The collection features multiple minis! These are great for the girl who only needs a few cards, a few bills, lipstick, and a phone when she goes out. They’re very stylish, simple but still stand as a statement piece, and get the job done. Plus, I just can’t get over just how cute the pom-pom bag charms look on the minis!

When investing in a designer purse, sometimes it’s more economical to purchase a classic bag that will never go out of trend over a purse off the runway that may be “out of style” within a few months. That is when these cute straps and bag charms come into play! If the bag charms are not your thing, especially because they are made from fur, there are always straps to help jazz up your classic Fendi bag. My favorite straps include the floral ones and the studded ones. I think that those bring such a great pop of color or flare to a plain purse. You can easily swap between the original bag strap and the trendier or switch bag charms through the seasons. This allows you to save some money by invest in a quality designer purse that will last for ages and just making much smaller purchases (straps, charms) if you really love a current trend that you’re afraid to fully commit $3000+ to.

Congrats on making it through my fangirling of this collection! I hope you can see why this has been my summer inspiration and that you enjoy it as much as I do. This collection is a little bit of everything, a little like myself. In a world where everyone is obsessed with modern looks, minimalism, and being afraid of mixing the old and new, Fendi came out fearlessly and showed the fashion world that there is nothing wrong with mixing patterns and letting the old influence the new.

If you love Fendi’s latest collections as much as I did, be sure to check out their fall/winter 2017 collection! I’m equally obsessed with their bags and red pieces. This collection is much more conservative and classic than their spring/summer 2017 collection. However, it still includes very bold statement pieces that fulfill my love for more daring looks. Who knows, maybe Fendi will inspire me in back to back seasons. But until fall actually arrives and I update the video on the sidebar, this collection will have my heart.

See you on Sunday, mes chéries! Bisou, bisou…