Collections

Artifice. Saint Laurent SS27

| Design & Culture by Ed

Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent menswear collection seemed to have it all: a perfectly orchestrated front row amid a Paris heatwave, a new kinky shoe with an elongated toe and transparent construction, and a Fujiko Nakaya water-vapor installation as the show’s backdrop. Yet the clothes themselves felt inflated – not with substance, but with artifice.

It increasingly feels as though Vaccarello is repeating the same tropes: exaggerated shoulders on virtually everything, nylon-like windbreakers paired with tailored trousers, and trench coats rendered stuffy for no discernible reason. The flashes of eroticism are there, certainly, but they can’t speak for themselves; they get choked – though not in a sexy way – by relentless overediting.

I remember reading a few years ago that Vaccarello fantasized about doing an all-gold collection but couldn’t find a way to make it look chic. Well, he still hasn’t. The three final looks in slightly antiqued gold fabric failed to make much of an impact. Perhaps too much gold is inevitably tacky after all.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram.

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe.

Villain Teen. Valentino Resort 2027

| Design & Culture by Ed

Valentino and teen-inspired coolness aren’t exactly two concepts you’d expect to find in the same sentence, but Alessandro Michele somehow makes the combination feel entirely natural. The designer has long been fond of punctuating his own eclectic wardrobe with a slogan cap – often sourced from Idea Ltd – and for resort 2027, he decided to bring the trick to Valentino.

The result? His “Villain Teen” caps look surprisingly chic paired with heavily embroidered jackets worn over ripped jeans, floor-sweeping retro dresses, heirloom furs, and all the glorious shoulder-padded excess of 1980s glamorama. You can easily imagine the Valentino girl and boy spending their parents’ money on antiques at Paul Bert Serpette, draped in their grandmother’s jewels, wrapped in bourgeois silk scarves, and indulging in a touch of aristocratic cosplay.

These are modern-day villains, but the kind who know how to have fun. The cap is the crucial ingredient: it stops everything from feeling like costume and makes it read as genuine personal style. Michele has been gradually loosening Valentino’s collar with each outing, and this feels like the most convincing expression of that approach yet. It’s a direction he should continue to pursue.

ED’s SELECTION:


Valentino Garavani Striped Metallic Knitted Poncho



Valentino Garavani Bow-embellished Ruched Wool Jacket



Valentino Garavani Vlogo Signature Mini Bow-detailed Velvet Shoulder Bag



Valentino Garavani Bowow 45 Bow-embellished Leather Pumps



Valentino Garavani Panthea Small Patchwork Leather And Suede Shoulder Bag

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram.

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe.

Legacy. JW Anderson SS27

| Design & Culture by Ed

JW Anderson opens the spring-summer 2027 season with a cast brimming with character and charisma – while keeping the clothes firmly in familiar territory. More than a year ago, Jonathan Anderson very deliberately repositioned his London-based namesake label, a move that made perfect sense once his biggest job shifted to Paris at Dior. Gone are the runway spectacles; in their place come carefully crafted lookbooks starring friends of the brand, dressed in the signatures you can find year-round in JW Anderson’s meticulously curated boutiques. Craft – unmistakably British craft – remains the central pillar. At this rate, the label could soon become the new Barbour or even Burberry, albeit with a sharper sense of humor and considerably cooler company. In other words: the next great British brand. Donegal wool knits bloom with wildflowers and ferns, while the house’s signature knitwear references the image of a traditional Irish cottage. The ever-present squirrel motif traces its origins to a Scottish Fair Isle pattern from Sanquhar, and a striking red coat with a matching scarf emerges from a collaboration with Johnstons of Elgin (arguably the source of the finest cashmere in the world – sorry, Italians!). Throughout the collection, Anderson playfully weaves together folk textiles, domestic objects, and rural craftsmanship, recontextualising them through a joyful cast that includes Dree Hemingway, Isaac Cole Powell, Camille B. Waddington, Sophie Okonedo, and more than a touch of flamboyant mischief.

ED’s SELECTION:


JW Anderson Layered Wool And Cashmere-blend Cardigan



JW Anderson Cauliflower Crocheted Cotton Bag Charm



JW Anderson Shearling-lined Suede Ankle Boots



JW Anderson Wool-twill Blazer



JW Anderson Tie-detailed Crinkled-silk Midi Dress

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram.

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe.

What’s Going On? Balenciaga Resort 2027

| Design & Culture by Ed

Balenciaga has released its resort 2027 lookbook. It’s Pierpaolo Piccioli’s strongest work for the house so far – which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good. Maybe he’s getting there. But I still think he needs to decide what exactly he wants his Balenciaga to be, because at this point, I’m still clueless.

The collection spans more than 80 looks, photographed inside Cristóbal Balenciaga’s couture salon. The space itself carries enormous symbolic weight, especially considering it was Demna who restored, reclaimed, and reactivated it not a while ago. Using it this early in Piccioli’s tenure feels almost too obvious. Rather than communicating a convincing new chapter, the setting keeps pulling the conversation back to the previous one. Visually, it feels less like a fresh beginning and more like reheated nachos. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram.

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe.