the dark side

Black can mean a lot of things to a lot of people; it is dark, ambiguous, rebellious, sinister, spiritual, classy, sexy, and on and on. In Japan it symbolizes nobility, age and experience. For the Fall 2010 collection, Frankie Morello chose to play with black as the medium, exploring the possibilities and connotations that it holds.


The risk of working with only one color is that it's easy to create a look that is bland and indistinguishable. Black is no exception, a lot of people run to it because it is versatile, stylish, and flattering. Morello proves, however, that it can also be very interesting and fresh.


By working with texture (I love the quilted fabric and leather), drapery, and translucence, Morello creates shapes and textures to play with the eye and produce structured variation. Since black absorbs light, reflective objects and glittering fabric were included to provide the contrast of luminescence.


There are also plenty of references to black classics - the leather biker jacket, the little black dress, punk rock t-shirts - even a black funereal veil was included in one of the pieces. This collection really was an ode to black, bringing a new life to the color that will always have a huge presence in the fashion world, whether we like it or not.

See the rest of the collection here.
xo