brand has never made clothes

vibrant cotton prints worn across West Africa. Their original roots lie in Java, however, in the batik the Dutch transported, first back home, then to the Netherland Antilles in the Caribbean and thence to Africa with Helmond, Holland-based textile giant Vlisco, the dominant wax trader from 1846 to this day. “We think wax comes from West Africa. The discount Louis Vuitton bagslaves sent to the Caribbean islands came from West Africa. Yet wax is European, like me. No one ever believes I am Italian, but I am,” says Stella Jean. Having witnessed her sophisticated global mash-up in a group show in Rome, last July, Suzy Menkes became an ardent champion of Stella Jean. And rumour has it that it was she who whispered in Armani’s right ear as Vogue Italia’s

 Franca Sozzani was whispering the same name in his left. Whatever the facts, the designer herself had no clue. “I was on the expressway when a friend called and told me to pull over. Then I was screaming, ‘Is it for real?’”his collection would be “hearted” and retweeted like wildfire. Features like shine, color, and vaguely odd, but undoubtedly cool accessories (the tube socks, the bejeweled Teva-esque sandals, and the face-painted structured granny bags) were all the winning attributes that feed a 21st century appetite for surface-driven fashion. Not that there wasn’t subtext to  Gucci suitcaseMiuccia Prada’s Pop Art girl gang treatise. There always is with Prada. But that won’t be the takeaway come February when we start seeing these clothes across Instagram and beyond. Of course, Versace has always catered to the “look at me” types.

 The brand has never made clothes for wallflowers. For spring, Donatella Versace took her label on an imaginary world tour. From last season’s punk to stadium rock, she looked back to her head-banging days at Gun N’ Roses concerts. There’s little subtext here but there’s a lot to look at with that same Insta-desire, particularly the chain-mail sleeved rock tees, the Medusa-ridden harnesses, and the raffia woven denim pieces. Calmer now, she describes Armani’s offer as “a giant giving a hand to a new Hermes kelly 32name. It’s not just for me. It is a symbolic act that gives hope to my generation.” Mr Armani says he did it because “the new generation of Italian designers needs support. Stella-Jean will be the next designer to organise a fashion show at the Teatro Armani and I hope this experience brings her luck.” No word yet on whether he will be there to wish her that personally.