Collections

Last Soirée. Lanvin AW04

| Design & Culture by Ed

There comes a time every year when I tumble down the old Lanvin rabbit hole and find myself missing Alber Elbaz. Terribly. His untimely passing in 2021 still feels strangely impossible to believe. No one lasts forever, but a great legacy does (yes, Charli xcx’s new song featuring none other than David Cronenberg hit me right in the feelings).

I have countless favorite Alber Elbaz collections for Lanvin, but lately I keep returning to autumn–winter 2004. With Kate Moss and Linda Evangelista in the front row beneath a monumental chandelier, the show felt like an aristocratic family on the brink of bankruptcy, dressing for one last ball, one last soirée. Slightly antiqued crystal flower brooches were pinned onto day dresses, shredded chiffon roses tucked into buttonholes, and a grey fox fur was thrown nonchalantly over a heavenly white slip. A little black dress, cut just above the knee and exquisitely cinched at the waist, became an exercise in eveningwear virtuosity – the kind that made women around the world fall in love with Alber’s work. READ MY FULL TEXT HERE.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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That Girl. Chloé Resort 2027

| Design & Culture by Ed

For her resort 2027 collection for Chloé, Chemena Kamali turned to the archives – but not those of Gaby Aghion or Karl Lagerfeld. Instead, she looked to the late 1990s, when Stella McCartney arrived at the house with an unprecedented sense of youthful confidence. Back then, the British designer transformed Chloé into the go-to destination for women seeking a great Savile Row–esque suit that could just as easily be thrown over a frivolous lingerie top. The echoes of that masculine-feminine flirtation are back, and it’s hard not to fall for the lacey dresses, satin jackets, and ballet skirts, which never veer into saccharine territory because they’re grounded by washed denim, robust furs, vintage-inspired hardware, and sharp, down-to-business tailoring. Kamali’s work carries a natural feminine energy that’s perfectly in tune with Chloé’s enduring charm, and it makes you want to be that girl – no matter the season.

GET THE LOOK:


Chloé High-rise Straight-leg Jeans



Chloé Lace-trimmed Crinkled Silk-satin Top



Chloé Shearling-lined Quilted Shell Coat



Chloé Lola Studded Leather Platform Pumps



Chloé Paddington Python-effect Locket-detail Shoulder Bag

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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A Woman’s Touch. Fendi AW26 Couture

| Design & Culture by Ed

Nobody wants to have that conversation, but Maria Grazia Chiuri’s first haute couture collection for Fendi was very good. Of course, there were fillers – she just has to include those client-pleasers: the unassuming A-line, unwaisted silhouettes that tend to fall at mid-calf or ankle length. But then, at her Rome show at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, there were genuine stunners, like an ivory cloak that looked like lace from a distance, only to reveal intricate flowers crafted from fur, leather, and fabric up close. Or the opening caftan, pieced together in black-and-white chevron stripes and modeled after a dress worn a century ago by Emilie Flöge. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Cocky! Jean Paul Gaultier AW26 Couture

| Design & Culture by Ed

What I love most about Duran Lantink‘s debut haute couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier is that it doesn’t seek approval. It’s unapologetically cocky- and fashion has become strangely afraid of cockiness lately. More importantly, it makes you believe that Lantink might just be the designer to reinvent the wheel – or at the very least, come up with a piece of clothing you’ve genuinely never seen before. He’s certainly on that path.

The weirdness and abstractness of his couture prove he’s no longer just the guy fascinated by Rei Kawakubo’s lumps and bumps, churning out inflated silhouettes (although he refines them here into something even more otherworldly – and delightfully bouncy). His understanding of silhouette and texture extends far beyond that, allowing him to experiment with remarkable confidence.

Looking at the collection, you stop wondering whether it fits within the Jean Paul Gaultier universe. Somehow, the internally corseted, sideways-melted body carapace worn by Leon Dame, feather-covered tubes knotted into a dress, or those enormous ball gowns wrapped in Versailles brocade all feel unmistakably enfant terrible. I suspect Gaultier himself wanted a successor who wouldn’t treat the archives as sacred scripture, but would think wildly outside the box – and reinvent. Reinvention has always been the designer’s ethos, and Duran understands that instinctively.

This couture season has been a rather safe one, with a few highs and plenty of middling moments along the way. Then Lantink’s Jean Paul Gaultier came along, changed the trajectory, and spiced things up. More than anything, it left me eager to see what else emerges from that brilliantly fearless mind.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Instinct For Restraint. Armani Privé AW26 Couture

| Design & Culture by Ed

Sometimes all you want from a haute couture collection is a goddamn great evening dress. Armani Privé, under the helm of Silvana Armani, delivers exactly that. Of course, Mr. Armani’s niece won’t escape living in the maestro’s shadow. There’s a peculiarly Italian curse surrounding family-run fashion houses: the successor always seems destined to struggle against the legacy of their blood predecessor. Just look at Versace, Missoni, or Etro. Wild rumours are already swirling about who might become the next creative director(s) to steer the Armani empire. But, much like Leo Dell’Orco‘s excellent recent menswear collection proved, why change something that already works?

Some of Silvana’s instincts do feel slightly dated, but that seems more like a styling issue than a design one. Give her someone like Suzanne Koller to shake things up, and the conversation could be very different. Once again, Armani Privé excels where it matters most: the dresses. A sequence of sculptural evening gowns, their fluid lines offset by architectural necklines, delivered a genuine frisson of drama. The restraint and confidence of these silhouettes are virtually beyond criticism. And Silvana clearly has a taste for something with a little more swagger. Just look at the velvet-skirted look with its sheer leopard bodice. It’s easily one of the finest looks of this haute couture season.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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