Author: Design & Culture by Ed
What’s Hot (8.10.17)
Anachronism. Louis Vuitton SS18
“I thought anachronism was interesting. How today can we incorporate pieces considered as costume into an everyday wardrobe?”
Nicolas Ghesquiere wondered, what it’s like when groups of tourists in their sweatpants and sneakers storm the corridors of Louvre, which is filled with some of the biggest masterpieces of the previous centuries, from Mona Lisa to the Dutch masters. That’s quite a striking contrast, right? But contrast is Ghesquiere’s favourite field to discuss in his fashion. Although this season’s Louis Vuitton show venue (in the Louvre’s Pavillon de l’Horloge – which opened just last year – that holds the Great Sphinx of Tanis, which dates back to 2600 BC) foreshadowed something as serious as the location itself, Nicolas did the most unexpected. First look said it all: heavily embroidered, tapestry frock coat à la Marie Antoinette styled with blue nylon shorts. A lesson in fashion history plus the off-beat, street aesthetic. I was struck. That’s Ghesquie-genius. The crowd had to gasp with excitement, when the first pair of new, sculptural Vuitton sneakers appeared on the runway. Just like when Freja Beha rocked a pair of polished, futurist slim pants. Ghesquiere acknowledges the past as well as the contemporary in his spring-summer 2018 collection. In the line-up of intricately embellished dresses and fancy Victorian blouses, there was this one Stranger Things t-shirt (so Balenciaga AW12, screaming!) worn over a loosely-fitted georgette shirt. Major.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
What’s Hot (7.10.17)
Dreams. Thom Browne SS18
Thom Browne‘s debut womenswear show in Paris suggests one thing: sometimes, one collection is better than dozens of other designer line-ups. With his unique, artistic sensitivity for couture-ish ready-to-wear, Browne’s collections are not just about fancy dresses – they are entire spectacles, modern-day fairy-tales. For spring-summer 2018, the New York-based designer had “two girls dreaming of unicorns and mermaids, and all the things that little girls dream of” as initial point of departure. Indeed, there was an all-white unicorn on the runway, ‘worn’ by two models. A mermaid has also appeared, wearing a plaid coat and intricately embellished gown. But there were also fairies wearing feather-trimmed jackets, mischievous captain ladies, haunted widows and a Goddess of sun. There was something of a magical and mystical narration in the collection. It’s rare to have a walking skeleton (no, not printed, but delightfully embellished) in your fashion show. Or see a dress with an attached, silk octopus sculpture on the back, with its tentacles covering the model’s body. Another look was spun from spongy clouds of tulle, that trailed behind the model like sea-foam, as she walked down the runway.
I see no obstacles to call this is the most phenomenal collection of this Paris fashion week. Or even, of the entire season. I’m bewitched.
Collages by Edward Kanarecki.
Design & Culture by Ed 