I had the unique opportunity of visiting luxury Italian Designer Paola Quadretti’s townhouse to preview her fabulous new Spring/Summer 2013 collection. It was quite an exciting experience stopping by her townhouse which is located right on Park Avenue in the Upper East Side section of New York.
The moment I walked inside her room in the townhouse I felt as though I was transported into a palazzo in Italy. There was a beautiful golden mirror perched on top of a fireplace right in the middle of the room. This luxuriously cozy setting serves as a by-appointment-only salon for her NYC clients.
Paola's Spring 2013 collection had a gorgeous selection of delicately made dresses, jumpers, jackets and separates. Exotic jungle prints were a big part of this collection but it also included a selection of classic solid colors.
While previewing the collection I even had a chance to play dress up and try on some of Paola's winter coats from a previous collection. One of my favorites was the above black coat with ornate buttons. Buttons are Paola's signature motif which you'll see a lot in her Spring 2013 collection as well.
I met Paola’s team which included Elizabeth Penberthy, the Managing Director. We chatted about Paola's new collection as a beautiful model with European features modeled the new Spring 2013 looks.
Elizabeth: Paola was inspired for this collection by Mother Nature and there are accents in all three deliveries featuring either the jungle with palm prints or in the second delivery a beautiful story of birds in both blue and orange with gorgeous color accents. In the third delivery there is a purple flower so Mother Nature was her greatest inspiration. Color in Spring I think is the perfect marriage of Paola’s appreciation for fun and flair in design as well as always being elegant and luxurious.
Elizabeth: For Spring there are a multitude of silks which you’ll find in all seasons. We have a silk georgette which is seen in the beautiful bohemian palazzo pajama ensemble. We have silk crepe de chine. We also have silk baret which is a gorgeous woven fabric which may look to the un-trained eye to be linen but it’s actually a silk and that’s featured in the purple dress with the fringe. We have rasatello stretch which is found in a lot of our jackets.
Elizabeth: To describe Paula I think that she feels very strongly that fit is very important and making sure that something is closer to the body. This is how she personally feels it’s most flattering to the consumer. She doesn't mask her figure in over-sized clothes. She tends to like a more tapered and tailored look. That I think is what she would feel would be an element of true fashion for the Italian look. It’s also about having that personal flair of fun so that you could enjoy whether it’s the detail in a button or the turned up cuff of a contrast. It’s in those special surprises and the details that make it quintessentially Italian.
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