Arno Dress by Naketano, $102
This is the second piece I’ve reviewed from the Naketano label. The first one is the Senna Black Sweatshirt from their Fall/Winter 2007 Collection.
Naketano is a contemporary fashion project-turned-brand, initiated in the fall of 2004. It is the name of an idea, a notion of what it is that defines genuine streetfashion design. Naketano is an independent, small streetfashion company that is 100% owned and run by young fashion professionals from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds, none older than 35, and whose common denominator is that they all grew up in Germany.
The word Naketano is a composition of the ancient Germanic term "naket" and the Romanic term “tano”. The choice of a combination of a Germanic and Romanic (the common denominator for all European languages) term was consciously made to represent everyone behind the brand. Naketano can best be translated as the worth of ones’ personal appearance. The name leads directly to the Naketano mission of creating favorite pieces.
Nicole Christensen, Naketano´s head designer, believes that a fashion designer receives the ultimate praise when a piece of clothing becomes a favorite piece, when one buys and wears other garments solely to combine them with the favorite piece. This is the benchmark by which Naketano measures its pieces and the goal it aims to reach. Choosing the right fabric is a lengthy and tedious process for this brand. The brand that is always marked by vivid and bright colors, that strive to create garments that are comfortable but not ungraceful, and that provides unusual cuts and outrageous color combinations, but at the very core is always distinctly female and light. The label targets 20 to 30-year old women.
In line with Naketano tradition, warm and merry colors dominate the Spring/Summer collection. The use of patches accentuate the primarily sporty jersey collection.
We received the Arno Dress in Almond Oil from Naketano’s Spring/Summer 2008 Collection. It is off-white with streaks of aqua and powder blue and retails for 64,90 EUR which is roughly equivalent to $102. It is also available in a radiant Gray/Yellow combination.
Spring rang in loudly over the weekend in Los Angeles as temperatures soared into the 80’s and 90’s, just the perfect weather for this dress.
Apart from the gorgeous pops of color the patches provide, what I loved the most about this dress is its softness. It is super comfortable, it felt so great against my skin that I wanted to wear it all the way to bed.
With straps holding it together at the top, this dress would work well as a beach cover-up – easy on, easy off. The waist is cinched by cords for an adjustable fit. For me, I prefer to wear it low so I cinch it around my hips. Worth mentioning is the hemline. It’s finished in the same way as the top which holds the bottom in. I like it for two reasons – one is that it provides a nice shape in the bottom and two, it’s a designer touch that sets the dress apart.
For coordinating footwear, I played around with different heels and I found that flats work the best with the style of the dress. My personal favorite is a thong sandal in an aqua color although I also like it paired up with a leather thong accented with discs of mother-of-pearl as well. They both complement the dress fabulously and make the whole outfit spring worthy!
Reviewed by: Chic Techie
