FLORAL ELEGANCE FILLS THE RUNWAY

I’m not sure there would be much disagreement with the thought that, season after season, Joanna Mastroianni brings a level of elegance to the runways at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.  There is a level of intricacy to her designs that is missing from so many others, a true dedication to putting perfect looks on the catwalk.

This season, her inspiration was the garden, and her flowers came in many forms.  There were the brightly colored, printed flowers on dresses, skirts and even a short-sleeved suit.  Then, there were the embellishments, woven into a beautifully tailored white dress.

In some cases, it was just the color of flowers popping up in a garden, or, in this case, in pants, skirts or tops.  In one case, it was just the green, in a lattice-patterned shift.  Perhaps the most intricate of all were the tiny fabric flowers, each perfectly formed and dotted in the center with a crystal, sewn onto a dress fit for almost any garden party.

She didn’t neglect black, which showed in the most intricately-patterned pants suit and an incredibly sexy take on a blingy little black dress.  Lattice-work jackets covered tiny frocks, cocktail dresses were covered with sparkles.  One very special cocktail dress took the flower motif to a new level, black daisies covered a shining white sleeveless.

This collection hit all the marks Mastroianni is famous for, attention to detail, color, perfect tailoring, and amazing creativity.  The theme of Mastroianni’s designs seems to be, it’s not enough to be expensive, you have to look expensive, and this, like all of her collections, achieves that goal.

Photography: Anton Brookes