Bally will be showcasing its Autumn/Winter 2014 collections for both men and women at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes next month (Stand number: Riviera Village RC6).
A key highlight from the AW14 collection is The Corner Bag featuring a single cut corner, inspired by the “˜gentleman’s corner’ of a men’s shoe. Fresh from the Bally archives of 1935, The Corner Bag is available in embossed Dottie leather, pony, lizard and alligator, and comes in small or medium sizes.
The gentleman’s corner is a slice off the inside edge of the heel on a man’s dress shoe, that functions to prevent tearing of the bespoke fabric of trouser legs, Bally explained. This graphic detail has become a signature in Bally’s collections for men and women alike, and appears throughout the AW14 collection on the corner of handbags, wallet’s, shirt and jacket cuffs, and pockets, etc.
For women, Bally has created a collection of “confident, easy going silhouettes” in a mix of materials including exotic skins, suede and nappa, wools and cashmeres, plus twills and tweeds in an updated minimal palette.
“Razor sharp in focus, soft in silhouette and defined by the cut we played with proportion to create a look founded in pared-down ultra luxe separates for a real woman of today,” said Bally’s new design director Pablo Coppola. “Every essential piece has been created for a modern luxury that is fresh and authentic.”
The line-up also comprises shoes, accessories and ready-to-wear in a colour palette of “˜Bally red’, navy, blush, black, military, stone, fawn and citron.
The season’s heel is stacked and rounded, matched with a delicately pointed or rounded toe, in pumps, ankle boots and knee-high boots. High polished finishes add lustre to shades of burgundy, military green and black, while blush and fawn hues give a silky look to pony skin pointed courts. Natural tactility and patterns of ring lizard are enhanced via shades of stone or electric citron in stiletto pumps. A single piece of leather is shaped on a form for days to create a long single-seamed boot that follows the curve of the leg. Bold three-dimensional effects appear on brogue’s seams, and supple cream nappa plimsolls round out the shoe wardrobe.
Bags feature clean lines, minimal hardware, and contemporary heritage signatures. Bloom is named for its duffle shape with buckled sides that open out like petals. The design features Bally’s updated crest motif, subtly embossed near the handles – a reference to Switzerland’s three mountain peaks.
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The Corner Bag features a single cut corner inspired by the ‘gentleman’s corner’ of a man’s shoe – a key design detail that runs throughout the AW14 collection | |
Bally Dottic, an indented pattern first seen on men’s shoe styles from 1935, is featured on into the Gentlewoman bag. Structured and square-shaped with a detachable shoulder strap, the bag has one levelled angle on its base that is inspired by a century-old Bally design detail of the gentleman’s corner.
Hold-all Sommet, featuring structured bull grain leather lined in Bally red nappa, has a modern pliable shape that is left bare except for a single buckle closure. A drawstring blush shoulder tote doubles as a folded-over clutch. The structure and polish of box calf was designed to give rectangular clutches and shoulder bags “a commanding finish”, the brand said.
The ready-to-wear wardrobe is curated for a modern dynamic woman, Bally added. Men’s tailoring codes are found in outerwear and essential suiting: a classic blazer, and a duo of trouser styles, narrow with pleats or roomy. Proportions are precisely balanced in a shortened cashmere-bonded leather blouson, full length unlined cashmere camel and Prince of Wales black-and-white check coats are paired with twill silk shirts, wide-legged high-waist trousers and dense cashmere knits. Knee-length pencil skirts – one in pale cream cashmere – have high waists so pockets sit on the hips. Evoking the texture of cashmere, suede features in a t-shirt and crew neck military green dress.
In creating the men’s AW14 range, the Bally design team has considered every aspect of a man’s need in his everyday life to form a modern luxury collection of shoes, accessories and ready-to-wear.
Pieces are created from high quality materials for a wardrobe designed “to weather seasons and generations”, according to the brand. Shoes and bags are created with noble leathers and treatments and unfettered silhouettes, while tailoring with classic proportions is cut from fine fabrics with discreet heritage signatures as details.
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“Every essential piece has been created for a modern luxury that is fresh and authentic,” says Bally’s new design director Pablo Coppola of the new AW14 collection |
Described as “distinctly masculine”, the shoes are crafted for life’s events: work to weekend, black tie gala to mountain summit. Glass finishes create a tactile patina on oxfords, double monk straps and ankle boots with Goodyear soles in shades of oxblood, military green and bark – a dark brown. A prized model from Bally’s 1930 archive, the Tusco’s sinuous shape is recreated in Armagnac-hued calf with original design and production techniques. Every top stitch on the sole is secured and indented by hand in Bally’s “˜grain of rice’ stitching technique. Rugged details give a masculine edge: a substantial leather sole and hand-stitched apron front and toecap seams on dress shoe Pinox, and injected rubber tread on goatskin tall buckled boots. A triangle is sliced off the inner corner of each shoe’s heel – reprising the design detail dubbed “˜gentleman’s corner’ invented by Bally last century. This signature trim is reflected throughout the collection, which is completed by supple white deerskin plimsolls.
Focused attention on function mixed with understated clean lines creates a line-up of essential accessories. Every pocket, zipper and buckle was designed with a deliberate purpose. Hardware is refined, lighter and tucked away. Leather is tanned and unstructured to show its natural smooth grain and composure, evident in the slouchy tan duffels. Accents include a red foil Bally logo on the suede lining of a shopper and a hand-painted contrasting edging on a messenger bag, inspired by a vintage 1920s courier bag. The line also includes reporter bags equipped with multiple pockets and compartments, rectangular shaped hold-alls crafted in diverse sizes for 12, 24 and 48 hour trips, and sleek, lean briefcases and document holders.
The ready-to-wear wardrobe uses fine fabrics from Japanese, Italian and English mills cut into classic proportions with sartorial finishes and classic hues. The season’s suit comes with looser leg or straight flannel pant, lined jacket or unlined with patch pockets. Cashmere and wool knits are finely spun to go over poplin oxford shirts, or chunky as shawl neck cardigans and cable sweaters. Staples get a luxury update: rare Japanese denim jeans, a suede bomber bonded with cashmere and suede ribbed cuffs, a down-filled puffer crafted from light lambskin. Outerwear, designed to channel Hollywood cinema style, includes a camel overcoat and double-breasted check coats, Shearlings with spongy nappa exteriors and soft lambswool collars. A jean jacket is given “a sartorial touch” by bonding its interior with a felted wool suiting fabric.
This season’s Everest collection includes a goatskin hiking boot with a layered rubber tread featuring a groove where cramps would be fitted, and nylon backpacks trimmed with rich brown calf inserts and carabiner clips for a luxurious sporty look. The colour palette comprises military green, bark, dark and pale grey, camel, oxblood, Bally red, navy, sky blue, black and beige.
