LFW – Francesca Marotta AW 2012 collection

Displayed currently in the mind-blowingly beautiful Goldsmiths’ Hall in East London is Francesca Marotta’s Amore della mia Vita collection. Meaning “Love of my Life”, Francesca’s inspiration came from the strong women of Sicily who have loved and lost. The majority of the pieces feature mainly black, as the symbolic colour represents such grieving among the women. Being already famous for her use of high-quality fabrics, Marotta’s pieces hosted a whole range of materials such as wool, cashmere and silk, complemented with additional leather panels and velvet. There was a host of flared trousers and jumpers, puffball skirts and a one-of-a-kind, over-sized diamond clutch.

Adding to the completely unique feel of the collection were red, blue and neon yellow jewellery shapes by Milko Boyarov, playing both an important and completely breath-taking role in symbolising hope to the women of Sicily.

Surrounding settings of crystal chandlers, marble pillars and huge gold mirrors, Francesca’s collection had a sense of religion about it. Back-combed hair pieces created by Nina Butkovich-Budden and RUSH had somewhat of a “crown of nails” feel and the final piece from Francesca represented a powerful collared lace maxi completed with red velvet shoes and streaming red make-up detail.

Kellie Griffiths

Photos: Sara Reverberi