London Fashion Week – Francesca Marotta AW12

Francesca Marotta entitled her Autumn Winter 2012 collection ‘Amore della mia Vita’ and we can say for sure that the collection lives up to its delightfully Italian melodramatic name.

Pale widows, Mater Dolorosa figures evolving in the most dramatic way on the catwalk, in a succession of very long and dark silhouettes with Christic accessories in fluorescent plastic, such as translucent red graphic thorn crowns or bright yellow thorn-shaped earrings (jewellery by Milko Boyarov). A further Christic touch was brought in by the hair, with backcombed locks tied around the head in the way of a thorn crown.

The collection is an ode to Sicilian women mourning their lost loves. The black and red lace dresses with dramatically long trains were literally breath-taking, like of a slow procession in the narrow, winding streets of a small Sicilian town.

Francesca Marotta offers once again, for her second season at London Fashion Week, a very grown-up yet playful collection with high quality fabrics such as wool, lace, cashmere, brocade, silk, hand knits and leather.

Laurie Guillem