Once again, during Milan Fashion Week, designer Daniela Gregis does not disappoint. This was my second time attending on behalf of #MaltaTV and my fashion and lifestyle blog graziellecamilleri.com. What a wonderful show of workmanship and styling during Milan Fashion Week!
Photos by BERNARD POLIDANO
Volumes, fabrics and plentiful bold colours are harmoniously and coherently mixed, they are always graceful, never boring. Wool, linen, silk or cachmire are worked using artisan methods, from the loom to the crochet and knitting needles; the dyeing is made using natural colours with shades that seem to be taken from the most evocative natural landscapes. Skirts and dresses often offer various solutions and interpretations and their length and measure can be changed, according to the taste of the person who is wearing them.
Daniela Gregis proposes a style that asserts itself as vaguely country style if I may say so, and at the same time it is deep-rooted in modern and cutting edge fashion. Cuts and overlapping, asymmetry and a balance of large and more angular shapes: all these elements indicate that she is familiar with experimentation and stylistic research.
Despite the risk of being entwined in the plot of a well-defined set up, Daniela Gregis clothes are able to reinvent themselves with every new season, seducing and convincing an increasingly larger and more demanding audience. The presentation of the show is also very well rehearsed with chill music which allows the viewers to be transported to another dimension! Love the make up and hair styling too. Amazing job!
Who is Daniela Gregis?
Daniela Gregis was born in 1959 in Bergamo, Italy. She was a doctor’s daughter, who later trained as a herbalist. She started working in Fashion when she launched her first label Ok’am in 1987. She collaborated with NajOleari on various Projects, and since the 1990s has been working on textile research. She currently lives and works in Bergamo, Northern Italy.
She is a dreamer and a very hard worker according to the people who know her well. In interviews, she has said that she had an aunt who crocheted, and taught her. She recalls that her first shawl was out of orange synthetic yarn. Her use of knits and crochet in her collections underline the connection with the artisanal, slow means of production.
What is cute also is that at the end of her catwalk presentations, all her workers and tailors come out and take a bow with her. She honours and celebrates not just craftsmanship, and the handcrafts (she includes embroidery, handwoven baskets, knitting and crochet in her work), but also of materials (wool, linen, silks). At the same time, she doesn’t shun modern Technology, so she will show handpainted- beside laser printed silks. She is also so thoughtful that she gives us handmade biscuits at the end of the afternoon show, which went down a super treat after a whole day of shows in Milan’s Fashion Capital.
Thanks Daniela for having me at your show. See you next time!
Xxx
Grazielle
