Author: Design & Culture by Ed
Sensual Kink. Helmut Lang SS18
It would be just dumb to try to sum up Helmut Lang in a few words. His massive, creative legacy flows in nearly every second designer’s blood today, from the reoccurring notion of ‘urban minimalism’ to growing tendency of inviting various models and nodels to walk in fashion shows. Let just say one of the biggest Lang-isms revived in Shayne Oliver‘s debut collection at the brand (whose editor-in-residence is Isabella Burley) was sensuality, or rather its much, much filthier side. If you look back at Helmut’s collection from the 90s and early 2000s, you will note that the visionary designer enjoyed playing with transparency and made the hardest-in-use fabrics look refined on the body. For Oliver, sensuality is something much more, hmm, aggressive. It’s kinky. It’s BDSM-inspired, with lots of untamed nudity and boldness. There were lots of irregularly fitted bras, lots of leather and lots of New York-favoured trashiness to it. Actually, the collection had a lot to do with Shayne’s currently under hiatus Hood By Air brand that used to be tagged as the most ‘disruptive’ brand of the New York fashion week’s calendar. Sexuality is a big word this season, and while designers think of it in more subtle and natural ways, Oliver is undoubtedly going very ‘badass’ with it. It’s good that the designer isn’t digging to hard in Lang’s archives. But I’m not absolutely persuaded that the capital letter HELMUT written all over the t-shirts and coats is what the founder thought of. Helmut kept the mood bit more calmer, sans caps-lock. Nevertheless, that was definitely the most anticipated collection this time around in the Big Apple.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
What’s Hot (12.9.17)
Delicacy. Victoria Beckham SS18
Not that I don’t like pastels – but it feels like it’s a current plague in fashion, even though Victoria Beckham‘s usage of baby pink and pistachio green was far above the average. Although the first hints of Beckham’s spring-summer 2018 collection said ‘pastels’ out loud, there was much more to it. Beckham is getting even more and more into ‘slouchy’, abandoning her body-con dress past. Fluid skirts and over-sized shirts; big blazers and big pants. The most striking look was the most sophisticated one and it involved wearing a pencil skirt under a transparent kilt. “Delicacy can be strong,” she said before the show to her press. According to Beckham, delicacy is something more complex than just plain pastels – it’s the softness of the texture and the comfortable, everyday fit.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Few Words. A Détacher SS18
That was a story of masterful layering at Mona Kowalska‘s spring-summer 2018 show at A Détacher. A mint-green hoodie worn underneath a short-sleeved jacquard knit was refreshing, just like a simple blazer-on-dress trick. Knitted, loosely-fitted dresses in lilac or chestnut rank up high as well as high-waisted denim with an A Détacher tag. Mona Kowalska is the woman of few words in terms of fashion, so let her clothes (favoured by New York women of different walks of life) talk for themselves.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Design & Culture by Ed 