REPLAY 25th anniversary

This year the Italian fashion jeans label Replay celebrates its 25th anniversary – in fact, they celebrated it three times this summer. In conjunction with MTV, Replay invited guests and musicians to the abbey San Gregorio at the Canale Grande in Venice in June, July and September. The first of three exclusive concerts was given by Mary J Blige in June with a glamorous performance in front of the medieval, 14th Century setting. In July, Craig David followed and performed live in the courtyard of the historic monastery under a clear starry sky in front of 200 invited guests. Hosts of this evening were Silvia Buziol, daughter of Replay founder Claudio Buziol deceased last year, and Marco Bortoletti, manager of the Replay company. On the opening of the event, they both presented the Premium 5 Pocket Jeans Edition especially created for the label’s anniversary. This model is limited to 1.000 pieces and was endued with elaborate details and handmade in Italy. The abbey used as the event location was bought by Claudio Buziol shortly before his death in order to make it a meeting centre of the “Fondazione Claudio Buziol” founded together with the SDA Bocconi School of Management. The foundation is geared to Claudio’s desire to give young people the opportunity to talk about their hopes, to make them see their dream as life projects and to find ways, to actually realize these dreams. Buziol, who started his career literally from nothing, realized the dream of his own fashion label, driven by the desire and the power to create a lifework. “Our aim is to make young people believe in their dreams and their own creativity, even in difficult situations, and to teach them to face problems with optimism,” Claudio once said. With the help of scholarships, courses, workshops and international competitions the goal is to give young talents the opportunity to express their originality, imagination, their passion and their emotion. Besides that, young designers can learn about the factors that help to make dreams and ideas become reality by working in Replay’s design departments.

It is here where the designs of the current F/W 06/07 collection were created. With the claim “Denim more Denim” Replay’s Blue Jeans line goes back to the label’s roots. The jeans are puristic, dark and true to their original colour. Variations of the classic, pure untreated indigo colour are black solid-coloured pants, jackets and blazers with discreet threadbare spots. The seams not longer appear in one or more contrast colours but rather synchronize harmonically with the denim. The drainpipe jeans with their extremely slim silhouettes fit like a second skin. For men, Replay offers silhouettes with softer lines and straight cut legs. Rivets and raw, darned-looking seams bring about a rougher look. As usual, the F/W styles of the We Are Replay collection are characterized by a wild mix of styles and materials – ranging from early 20th Century Edwardian influences to the Psychobilly eighties to Gothic and Black Romance. The colours are mostly dark, black is combined with violet and hazelnut. The surfaces are silk-like, while the variety of materials is diverse – from black denim and traditional lace, to velvet, stretch satin and dyed cashmere. In addition, you’ll find knee-long and tight skirts, as well as hot pants and knee-long stretch pants. Men rather wear classic styles, as for example, long jackets with a maritime buttoning. Drainpipes are a must, combined with worn-out looking shirts or vests.

www.replay.it | Text: Kay Alexander Plonka