Author: Design & Culture by Ed

Directionless. Balenciaga SS26

| Design & Culture by Ed

Alongside the stern, cold, and soulless Mugler collection by Miguel Castro Freitas, Pierpaolo Piccioli’s Balenciaga debut stood out as this season’s bleakest. This was particularly surprising given the now-legendary moments he once delivered at Valentino. I’m still not sure why Piccioli tried so hard to merge Demna’s aesthetic – oversized glasses, tough leathers, exaggerated proportions – with Nicolas Ghesquière’s urban coolness, which the collection only vaguely attempted to channel. The result was a confusing mix of directions that ultimately rendered the collection entirely directionless.

One could, of course, play fashion trivia and identify the visual nods to Cristóbal Balenciaga’s vast archives: the single-seam wedding dress, cocoon and sack silhouettes, elongated architectural forms… Yet Piccioli’s interpretations felt rushed and, above all, unflattering. There were even moments when I thought I was looking at a Victoria Beckham collection. She has a tendency of trying hard to make fashion statements through unnecessary gestures (that was the case this season). Very worrying.

But then I never was a number one fan of Piccioli’s ready-to-wear at Valentino. He’s a haute couture guy, so I’m very much looking forward to his take on the maison‘s sacred heart.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Housewives. August Barron SS26

| Design & Culture by Ed

August Barron – you might remember it as All-In – is a brand that makes you feel like a pop doll. Their vintage-inspired dresses are short and cute, often slashed in the most unexpected places and finished with a cartoonish twist. No wonder Addison Rae wears them on her tour.

I loved how Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø approached the theme of the housewife. Unlike Marc Jacobs, who explored that notion at Louis Vuitton back in 2010 in a Mad Men-ish way, the August Barron duo envisioned Grey Gardens’ Little Edie through a Lynchian lens. The result? High-octane drama mixed with 1950s floral skirts, heads wrapped in brooch-pinned cardigans, underpinnings peeking from beneath dresses in a chicly scandalous way, and an undercurrent of despair.

The collection – styled, of course, by Lotta Volkova – is filled with clothes that will be an absolute joy to wear all day and all night.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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The Debut! Chanel SS26

| Design & Culture by Ed

Last season, everyone seemed to be asking the same question over and over again: “What do women want?” Whether designers provided the answers they needed remains unclear. This season, however, another crucial question arises for designers: are their clothes life-affirming? Does wearing this dress or that jacket offer the wearer an emotionally – or even spiritually – uplifting experience?

We’re living in a world where you can literally buy anything – and, amusingly, where anyone can call themselves a “designer.” That’s why those showing at Paris Fashion Week should truly consider: is this pairing essential? Am I contributing something meaningful, something with a genuine point of view, to an already overcrowded table? And perhaps most importantly: will this piece of clothing actually spark joy?

This brings us to the most anticipated debut of the season – among more than a dozen others: Chanel by Matthieu Blazy. This is a collection whose perception entirely depends on how you approach it. If you came expecting a pared-back, 1990s-inspired Chanel in the spirit of Karl Lagerfeld, then you were likely overwhelmed by the tactile exuberance of feathers, beading, and embroidery that Blazy – and the house’s métiers d’art – delivered. If you were hoping for a radical departure from Virginie Viard’s Parisian femininity, you might again be disappointed. That woman is still present – but she now looks far more contemporary, less of a cliché. And if you were a fan of Matthieu’s days at Bottega Veneta: bingo. His Chanel debut stayed within a familiar orbit (pun intended, given the space-inspired show setting), yet it was elevated by the unparalleled craftsmanship that only this house can offer a designer. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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