Author: Design & Culture by Ed

So Batsheva. Batsheva Resort 2020

| Design & Culture by Ed

Batsheva is the fashion brand on everybody’s lips in New York. And not only. Her signature prairie dress has already left a mark on fashion, seeing very, very similar silhouettes at other brands (like at the just launched, first capsule collection from The Marc Jacobs). But Batsheva Hay seems to be unbothered. Her loyal clients will buy the original idea at its source. And her resort 2020 lookbook doesn’t just sell the clothes. It sells a fresh view at fashion, which is more of an outsider’s perspective. Here, Batsheva herself is the model, and her photographer husband, Alexei, takes the photos. They ran around Manhattan shooting the collection quite spontaneously, in their favorite places together. No makeup. No stylists. Just a married couple marking some of their most cherished spots in the city where both grew up. So, what do we have? Of course, the prairie dress, in new colours, lenghts and prints. We also have Victorian blouses and a gorgeous, voluminous skirts in gingham. One of the dresses with a turtleneck was sewn from a sourced, U.S.A. flag. Flared pants in leopard print, styled with a matching dress, look hot. With every season, the designer makes you want to come back for more of her clothes, her kind of ‘basics’, that are quintessentialy… Batsheva.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Photos by Alexei Hay.

The Romans. Gucci Resort 2020

| Design & Culture by Ed

Another day, another resort show taking place somewhere in the world. Gucci‘s resort 2020 unfolded in the shadowy halls of the Musei Capitolini in Rome, where the legendary Capitoline wold statue stands guard telling the story of Romulus and Remus and the mythic tale of the Founding of Rome in the 8th century B.C. Where busts of Hadrian, whose love affair with Antinous peaks fantasies up to now, and Neron, who was one of the first dictators and mysogynists in the world, might look at each other in the corridor. Alessandro Michele‘s new collection was lots, lots of history, heavily inspired with loose sheats and tunics of Romans. And there was this notion of theatrical dressing up, something Romans loved a lot. Michele revisited this idea (as if he didn’t every season…) with more modern, pop references: Elton John (who sat front row), Bob Mackie’s iconic black peacock Cher look, 70s Gucci jet-set style, Mickey Mouse prints… well, lots of content. So much that you barely see the clothes, which is something we already got used to with Gucci shows. Alessandro also attempted to grasp something from the contemporary world – which is highly recommeded for brands with such huge platform of viewers. A uterus was embroidered on a pleated gown, sparking very mixed feelings on social media, and as the brand explained, “the piece reflects the creative director’s continuing vision of freedom, equality and self-expression. Since founding Chime for Change in 2013 – the global campaign that represents and advocates for gender equality – Gucci has a longstanding commitment to women and girls by funding projects around the world to support sexual and reproductive rights, maternal health and the freedom of individual choice.” Which is, shortly speaking, a comment on current abortion issues going on in USA (and not only). A blue jacket with “MY BODY MY CHOICE” slogan on the back was even more straight-forward. Still, I’m not a fan of this collection. There’s just too much going on. And with every ‘fantasy’ of Alessandro, it gets blurrier and blurrier…

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

I’ve Seen You Before. Saint Laurent Pre-Fall 2019

| Design & Culture by Ed

Looking at Anthony Vaccarello‘s Saint Laurent through a prism of his delightful campaigns (Juergen Teller’s spring-summer ad shot around Como and the recent Keanu Reeves spread are highlights), his girls gang (Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anja Rubik, Zoë Kravitz, Kate Moss, Mica Arganaraz, need more?) and art projects (production of Gaspar Noé’s latest film that premiered in Cannes, Lux Aeterna, starring Gainsbourg, Beatrice Dalle and Vaccarello’s model muses) and spectacular fashion show venues, you really feel like his work is… major. And, it does sell very well. But since Hedi Slimane is back in fashion with his Celine, you just can’t help but think: I’ve seen that face before. And while the new Celine aggressively hits the stores, and most of the clothes look identical to Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent (crucial note: YSL was actually defibrillated by Slimane some years ago with his slim look aesthetic, new branding and white marble floors), there’s a tension growing on. Do we really need two brands doing the same mini-dresses, boyish tuxedos and traumatically size 0 apparel? Moreover, both designers reintepret their maisons codes for the contemporary times: Anthony keeps on squeezing out Yves’ legendary Le Scandale collection, while Hedi goes for bringing back the old, very old bourgeois style of pre-pre-pre-Phoebe-Philo-era Celine. But somehow, the results are too similar. One thing’s sure: Hedi was first in the game. Still, fashion forgets quickly. Time will show who wins. Or maybe there will be enough customers to push both brands’ turnovers?

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.