NOW BOARDING: THE RUNWAY WITH ALESSANDRA MARCHI
Once known as a Paris couture salon or a Paris parade, the fashion runway has evolved into something bigger than the collections themselves. A stage for fashion, the catwalk is continually being reinvented physically and conceptually.
From loft (Michael Kors, 1990) to merry-go-round (McQueen 2010) to indoor beach (Frankie Morello 2010) to supermarket (Stolen Girls Club 2011) and the forest (Romance Was Born, 2011), the list is grwoing and this year Alessandra Marchi is a noteworthy addition to fashion’s unconventional prance. Ms. Marchi buckled down one of Italy’s top dance teams to perform her 2011 Fall collection in the Milan metro (ATM). The fashion industry is seeing their own challenges as even the most luxurious of marks are forced to confront financial barriers and increasingly strict borders in terms of the public arena. Permits, liability, copyrights, competition are all a fraction of the hurdles to jump when preparing for a lavish display of designer clothing. Due partly to these challenges and to an overtly sluggish economy, reinvention and rennovation is the way to stay savvy and paid in the 21st century. Some fashion houses are seeing an opportunity to push visibility in a number of outlets from runway to window display. (see “Stores Demand Mannequins With Personality” NYT, June 15, 2011).
For fashion designers being creative can be complicated. Beyond the clothing, the concepts and the construction, there is the presentation. From a McQueen merry-go-round to Bergdorf or Moschino window, the preparation sometimes exceeds the final production. Seven months of construction for a seven-minute catwalk or a month of display? Keeping up when the market and change, and keeping up with one’s own creative race for freshness is a constant cycle of exhillaration and exhaustion. The speed of venture and vogue is unstoppable but worth the creative investment if you’re rooted in resilience. Alessandra Marchi demonstrates her pace of creativity and nack for invention with her jolting overhaul of the runway for the railine. Bring aboard one of Italy’s top dance choreographers along with an acclaimed composer and the city of Milan (Comune di Milano), Marchi puts her clothes in motion on Milan’s Green Line, and throws her audience for wild ride in the fashion seat. With an emphasis on a clothing line that provokes “breathe” and “movement”, this collection is right in line for Fall/Winter inviting women to be fashionably active. Don’t miss her interview on how it all came together.
