Braving the not so collaborative weather has often made Milan Fashion Week nerve-racking this season (outdoor shows canceled, traffic unmanageable). Yet the intrepid JJ Martin had a pint-size carousel built en plein air in the Porta Nuova square. Any other designer would’ve been pale with worry and prone to heart attacks. But Martin? No. The day of the presentation it rained, but her posse of indomitable aficionados, who flew in from around the globe for the occasion, kept going for “joy rides” on the carousel. Led by Martin’s guru charisma, they raised their vibrations so high into the stratosphere that the Goddess of Rain, tired of being angry and distracted by the improbable carousel situation, stopped the downpour and went shopping in Via Montenapoleone’s Quadrilatero instead. In the end, it didn’t rain on La DoubleJ’s parade.
For Martin, the world is an oyster replete with bountiful gifts to be enjoyed to the fullest. In April she went to Seville during its Feria to celebrate the birthday of a friend. It’s a time when the Spanish lust for life and sizzling drama is at its apogee, and obviously La Martin threw herself into the thick of it. At today’s presentation, she received guests fully clad à la flamenco dancer, with flowers in her coiffure and sporting a La DoubleJ flounced number that was a swirling triumph of ruffles alla Spagnola.
The collection seemed to have been conceived while listening to the ebullient rhythm of castanets and clacking heels: Upbeat and colorful as usual, it was somehow further dramatized by a panoply of tassels, fringe, crocheted inlays, lacelike macramé, and swingy ruching. La DoubleJ’s ever-expanding range was enriched by new prints, textured fabrications, and flattering silhouettes, spiked with the uplifting, contagious vitality of Martin’s spark. Everyone wants a piece of it—there’s a sort of “I’ll have what she’s having” effect, as in Meg Ryan’s famous restaurant scene from When Harry Met Sally…