Sylvie	Adieu Loris Azzaro... Le créateur italien né en Tunisie Loris Azzaro s'est éteint à Paris le 20 novembre... Né en 1933, il a commencé dans la mode en créant des accessoires scintillants de perles de cristal, et il a fondé la maison qui porte son nom en 1968 suite au succès d'une robe ajourée de cercles, qui fut photographiée par tous les magazines de la mode. Sa prédilection pour les fourreaux colorés et fluides, ainsi que les bustiers drapés, les plissés et drapés lui a gagné une clientèle à commencer par Marisa Berenson, suivies de Raquel Welch, Claudia Cardinale, Joan Collins, Sophia Loren, Isabelle Adjani et Vanessa Paradis... Pour les collections automne hiver 1998-1999 une série de pantalons en vinyl faisait renaître un certain gout de la "futuristic fashion" ou "Space Age Fashion"

Silver streak

I’ve seen the future…and the future is silver.

Whereas the past few seasons may have been all about gold (remember Prada’s popular and highly sought after gold washed spring/summer 2002 collection?), it seems we are headed for a very silvery future.  

Even Karl Lagerfeld, the multi-talented fashion designer and well- known furniture collector, recently admitted (in an article in the "Style" section of The New York Times) that he was in "a silver mood." And he has the expensive ‘trophy’ to prove it: a shiny silver special edition $47,000 "Zenith" chair.

It may not be comfortable but it sure looks great. Don’t get me wrong, I still adore gold and always will.

Don’t get me wrong, I still adore gold and always will.

It's a mod, mod world

I am not one of those fickle fashion people who love and promote something one season, only to cast it away the next and be onto something new just for the sake of it.

But with so much of fashion’s recent focus on the Mod '60s and futuristic fashion (think Cardin, Courreges, Rabanne), silver is another viable option.

For fall/winter 2003, designers like Cynthia Steffe in New York mixed modernistic silver leather with classic salt and pepper tweeds for a clean linear look.

At Celine in Paris, Michael Kors used the shiny material in the form of crocodile embossed leather not only for great looking shoes and bags, but for ready-to-wear as well (as in his small and fitted jacket).

A perfect accent

And it must be pointed out that like gold, silver instantly perks up whatever you are wearing, can go easily from day to night, and is a perfect neutral.

You can wear it with everything and anything: gray flannel, camel hair, cotton chino, ot your well- worn jeans.

And it is an undisputed fact that nothing looks as good with white (summer white or winter white).

Get the look for less

The good news is that you don’t have to wait until the fall merchandise starts hitting the stores; you can add hits of silver right now and you don’t even have to break the bank.

Expensive silver shoes and bags from both Gucci and Prada’s spring/summer 2003 collections may have been on the must have lists of many of the world’s best dressed ladies. But if you search, you can always find good looking and less costly pieces that will fit your budget.

Some examples for less than $100 from a recent Sunday ad in The New York Times where Lord & Taylor took out a full page to hawk their "Quick Silver" goodies:

• Nine West’s sexy open-toed, high-heeled pumps and sandals.
• DKNY’s silver-toned bracelet watches.
• Kenneth Cole’s or Tommy Hilfiger’s silver sunglasses.
• Via Spiga’s skinny silver belt.
• Paradox’s silver toned clutch bag in snakeskin embossed vinyl.

Shine on!

Marilyn Kirschner

courtesy of fashion.about.com