Giovanna Battaglia’s Style: A Master Class
By Kate Ringo Suzuki
Take a moment to gaze at Milanese stylist and editor of Vogue Gioiello, Ms. Giovanna Battaglia. Just look at her! I think she has a lot of style and a lot of spunk.
It’s not my style and it may not be your style. But it’s her style — it’s her own.
Some say that with a body and face like Gio’s, it’s easy to look fierce. I beg to differ. Welcome to the Everyday Glamour Chick (E.G.C.) Master Class! Let’s break it down, shall we?
Focal Point: Gio has a great figure. Today she has opted to feature primarily her lovely waist — it’s the main feature. And secondarily, her long legs. Her legs are like the stems on a beautiful flower. It’s secondary, but necessary to the flower’s beauty.
In terms of clothing, we would say the focal point is her skirt. The skirt is most prominent. Everything else is more subdued in terms of details. (As a side note, the skirt is designed by a two year old, up & coming cool-girl label, called SUNO. The designer finds fabrics in Kenya and reworks them into impressive acid-hued concoctions. You can find it at Opening Ceremony in NYC.)
Pattern: The diamond pattern on her skirt points toward her waist, the primary focal point, remember? And the pattern of the skirt lends itself to her angular facial features. I mean look at those cheekbones!! Hello.
Scale: Gio is tall, so she can pull off a larger scale pattern. The spaces in between the diamond pattern on her skirt are expansive and mirror the expanse between her facial features, especially around her angular cheekbones.
Silhouette: The outer shape of Gio’s outfit is like an hourglass. It’s all about the waist. Her strong shoulders are balanced with her strong hip line.
Inside Lines: Gio’s one button lapel dramatically points to her waist. The jacket also has darts and seams that further emphasize her waist.
Color: In the second picture you will see more clearly that she chose a beautiful aubergine turtleneck. That color is a complementary color to the green in her skirt. Also note that the dark turtleneck paired with the dark tights creates a narrow center rectangular space that draws the eye inwards and cleverly elongates the whole body. The green jacket picks up the green in the skirt which is a secondary color in the skirt. A purple jacket would have been too matchy. She also happens to look smashing in these colors. They set off her skin tone beautifully.
Texture: The stiffness and crispness of the jacket and skirt emphasize straight lines. In turn, the straight lines emphasize her beautiful angularity. (A more curvy girl looks better in fabrics with some flow.) And her hair texture is wavy, very much like the waves in her skirt.
Accessories: Her bag has zippers set at an angle. Hello angles again! They also point to her waist, by the way. The texture of the leather is in harmony with the texture in her hair and the pattern in the skirt. Her shoes are suede, a soft counterpoint to the bag, so as not to be matchy. The shoes also have laces that are angular. Angles, angles, everywhere! And her belt further emphasizes her waist. It says… here is Gio’s waist, this is exactly where it is, not higher or lower, it’s right here. The belt is still subtle, though, so as not to steal the skirt’s limelight.
Proportions: This woman has perfect proportions. A perfectly proportioned figure is 8 head lengths long. Three head lengths to the waist and 5 head lengths from the waist to the ground. Go ahead, scroll back up and measure it right on your computer screen!! (For more on this, read Pythagoras, Fibonacci, & YOU!!) Her green jacket sleeves are at 3/4 length to further emphasize her perfect proportions.
And she’s not even wearing heels. Not fair.
sabato 19 marzo 2011 
