Author: Design & Culture by Ed

Definining Elegance. Lemaire AW19

| Design & Culture by Ed

I could write and write about each and signle look coming from Christophe Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran‘s autumn-winter 2019 collection. Everything’s just so beautifully balanced and refined. Lemaire might be defining elegance this season – I mean, just look at this all-knitted look feauturing a sweater with big shoulders and waist-highlighting button-down skirt. From masculine coats to evening dresses, there isn’t a thing about the collection that isn’t compelling. The blouson jackets with leg-o-mutton sleeves have this chic, slightly vintage-y Parisian feel about them, just like leather jackets or business-ready blazers. Some things don’t change, like Lemaire’s season-to-season goodness – and I’m fine with that.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Not Just Flowers. Dries Van Noten AW19

| Design & Culture by Ed

For the autumn-winter 2019 prints, Dries Van Noten and his design team went for a ‘field trip’ to the designer’s garden (and it’s not just any garden – you must witness it in the ‘Dries’ documentary on Netflix!) in order to take photos of flowers. The photos were taken last October, so quite naturally the flowers weren’t all that bloomy and fresh. Still, what attracted the designer the most were their imperfections: black spots, visible diseases, dried petals. Don’t expect basic floral prints, but rather, a strangely romantic, darker take on the very unlikely trend of the A/W season. Turtleneck dresses, satin blazers, robe coats and shirts were adorned with these flowers, while the colour palette was kept in deep greys, lilac and burgundy. Many compare this collection to Prada this season – where flowers were as well the key point – but at Dries Van Noten the effect is much different. Styled with long leather gloves, loosely-fitted pinstripe suits and faux fur stoles in extremely bright orange, the feeling was edgy, chic eccentric, but very feminine in an unmistakable Van Noten manner.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

New Lanvin. Lanvin AW19

| Design & Culture by Ed

Since 2015, Lanvin had a very harsh time. After Alber Elbaz abruptly parted ways with the company, Lanvin went from hands to hands, and it took too many wrong, creative (and marketing) directions. After a number of designers who either didn’t understand what Lanvin should stand for today or were, simply speaking, terrorized by the impatient investors, the historical label seemed to drown deeper and deeper with every season. In all possible aspects. After such a period of mishandling, can a brand still be returned on a right track? Bruno Sialelli might be the last rescue, even though his debut collection felt more like Loewe (where he used to work at the design studio) than Lanvin. Breezy dresses and slouchy pants worn over skirts were printed with medieval motifs; men’s coats had some artisan detailing that felt very ethnic; bags were huge, the shoes were so Phoebe Philo’s Céline (just like the edgy styling that was very, very Célinist to be honest). What suggested it’s Lanvin? The new branding? The JL print (that stands for Jeanne Lanvin, the house’s founder) was all over the shirts, accessories and the runway’s carpet. Still, Bruno could use Lanvin’s archives to inform the collection, and even if he did, the message wasn’t clear enough. Hopefully, Sialelli’s second collection will speak more for itself. But he has a long path to go now.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.