Author: Design & Culture by Ed

Orlando. Comme Des Garçons SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

Rei Kawakubo presented a collection of unbridled opulence and transporting fantasy in the second of three shows themed on Virgina Woolf’s ever-inspiring novel, “Orlando“. The men’s show back in June was Act I, this is Act II. Act III is coming up in Vienna in December, at the premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s opera adaptation of the mentioned literary masterpiece. The narrative of the Comme des Garçons show ran in tandem with Woolf’s time travelling protagonist, jumping from Elizabethan times through the 18th and 19th century to the present. And, Kawakubo also added her own chapter: the future. The first part of the show, the Elizabethan period, was overfilled and stuffed with ornaments and details, and the garments seemed to be decaying with their splendour the same moment they appeared on the runway. With every look, the amount of decorations seemed to decrease. The last silhouettes – would never call them clothes – were all-black, minimal in cut and big. The future is unknown and uncertain. Or maybe black is the symbol of transformation, Orlando-wise? As always, Kawakubo raises many questions for you to answer yourself.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Extreme Nature. Noir Kei Ninomiya SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

Noir Kei Ninomiya is one of the most fantastic brands present on Paris Fashion Week schedule. For spring-summer 2020, Kei Ninomiya looked towards nature, creating unbelievable wonders. The models seemed to walk in clouds (made out of tulle), in huge chunks of spiky salt crystal (the material is a mystery) and coats that looked like forest moss creatures. Azuma Makoto’s hats were made of real ferns, palms, and moss and worked as a finely landscaped complement to Ninomiya’s fashion. I really dream of a behind-the-scenes film showing Kei’s design process. Just incredible.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

The Art of Sensual Tailoring. Haider Ackermann SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

Haider Ackermann‘s spring-summer 2020 was about combining sensuality with tailoring – a sort of art that the designer mastered to perfection. The waist was a big focus of his new season line-up. Men and women both got midriff-spanning leather belts, and other times Ackermann knotted a jacket at the hips with a casual flourish. It looked especially compelling in the case of a jacket lined in vintage kimono silk. But if anything, this was a less androgynous collection than usual, due to the work the designer did with plissé bands of color, wrapping and twisting them around female torsos in a style reminiscent of Madame Grès. The tops, that are actual ribbons of fabric, are daring, just as the jumpsuits with the bumster-low cut-out detail in back. Bella Hadid and Adut Akech’s plissé bandeau dresses are highlights. The women’s and men’s show featured as well an ensemble first worn by Timothée Chalamet at the Venice Film Festival: a dove gray lapel-less suit in technical nylon with a flash of aqua blue at the hem. The belted tuxedo in the same pale shade with a liquid silk top underneath Chalamet wore not a while ago also appeared on the runway, styled in a slightly different way. Ackermann never disapoints.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

The Daughter of a Bourgeois. Celine SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

Last season, Hedi Slimane‘s Celine was about the Parisian, bourgeois woman. For spring-summer 2020, it’s about her daughter, who wears nothing else but denim, dreams of Woodstock and eventually takes part in street protests. But still, she’s bourgeois, no matter how she tries to rebel. Slimane doesn’t overstrain himself. His collection is again a 1:1 version of Celine’s 1970s archives, with a bit more of slouchiness and the presence of Yves Saint Laurent turbans (and, oops, it seems that Anthony Vaccarello pulled them off as well at Saint Laurent – the two brands are dangerously the same this season). While fashion drowns in nostalgia, there are designers who interpret the past in a fresh way – take Marc Jacobs or Paco Rabanne‘s Julien Dossena for SS20. In case of Hedi, noting how masterful he is in rebranding and shaking things up in the most of frustrating ways, it’s laziness. And confidence that anything will sell. Well. It will. Those denim culottes, fur coats and peasant dresses are destined to sell well, because they are easy, undemanding and chic. And, comparing to Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent, not so revealing. One more thing. Here’s to the Philophiles: there are parallers between Phoebe Philo’s Céline and Hedi Slimane’s Celine. Actually, Philo was really good at the bourgeois style, even though nobody noticed that at the time. Her swan song collection is the best example. But while Phoebe’s take on Parisian bourgeois aesthetic was modern, comfortable, unobvious and less strict, Hedi is literal. And there’s nothing noble about doing things in a literal way.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.