Mix-And-Match Lady. Tory Burch Resort 2023

August 4, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

Tory Burch is going through a renaissance. Her latest collections are just so, so good. “You can only control so much in your life at the moment, and one of the things you can control is the way you dress and how you look. I think that’s an incredible creative outlet. Individual creative expression is what I’m really interested in right now.” A year ago, the experience of the pandemic led Tory Burch to Claire McCardell, a post-war designer celebrated for the chic functionality of her dresses. Fast forward to 2022, Burch is leaning into more eccentric and freer style, which is still in dialogue with McCardell’s design ethos. Resort 2023 is all about details: the plastic charms fringing the waistline of cropped jackets; the parachute lining peeking from underneath a-line skirts (it’s removable); the lurex fuzz of popover knits. These are the building blocks of the Tory Burch wardrobe, but they’re not square or boring. Quite the opposite. A sense of play permeates the season, whether it’s the raffia tassels that accent the baggy cargo pants she paired with a sleeveless tweed peplum top or the two-piece dress consisting of a little wrap shirt over a yoke-waist skirt with lots of volume (padding at the hips and hem give it shape). Most experimental are a pair of party looks whose tops and skirts are cut on the round with zig-zag edges trimmed in beads. In mismatched but complementary floral prints, these outfits put the emphasis on craft and quirk. Though it’s rooted in American sportswear, with its mix-and-match possibilities, the collection wears its utility lightly. It looks like a lot of fun.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Rise. Roland Mouret Resort 2023

August 2, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

Last autumn’s news of Roland Mouret‘s collapse into administration was yet another reality check for the fashion industry: the consequences of global pandemic, from inflation to dynamically changing customer patterns, have no mercy. But with a surprising resort 2023 presence, it seems that the London-based designer’s label is rising from the ashes. For his first offering under newly-formed umbrella company SP Collection (owner of Self Portrait), Mouret brought forth fresh energy, while acknowledging his brand’s heritage. “To exist in the present, you must understand your own history,” said the designer at a showroom set-up in London’s Claridge’s hotel. “Now, it’s time to modernize our signatures to reflect how people want to dress today.” I was never really a fan of Mouret’s fashion – his runway collections felt overworked, the brand’s visual communication lacked freshness and kick. In his return collection, the designer streamlines his offering, presenting the most sublime silhouettes in his repertoire. And, believe it or not, the echoes of his signature “Galaxy” dress still do the work in 2022. Floor-length dresses range from rib-knit cashmere with fluted skirts in lilac, to iridescent micro-sequin gowns in crimson and emerald. Midi and mini-dresses are gently nipped at the waist with ruched and cut-out details. The tailoring is particularly exemplary, with two-piece wool suits in jet black, camel, and magenta featuring exaggerated shoulders and matching straight-cut and flared pants. As a designer who’s attained distinction with his trademark drape and construction, the garments play to his strengths yet feel new with their off-kilter-ness. “We’ve also updated our price points for the contemporary consumer market,” says Mouret. “It was a decision that made perfect sense for where we’re headed.” It seems that the brand is now branching out into the world of party-girl dressing, in addition to still being a go-to for workwear and cocktail attire. Looking forward to see more of the new Roland Mouret brand.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Always In The Sun. Maryam Nassir Zadeh Resort 2023

August 1, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

Maryam Nassir Zadeh‘s resort 2023 collection looks like the inside of a well-packed luggage that’s on the way to a summer-perfect, beachy, breezy, always-sunny destination. Sheer camisole tops and slouchy pants that feel just the right kind of vintage-y. Over-sized t-shirts, wrap skirts and denim bermudas in faded neutral colours, looking as if left exposed to sunlight for days. Charming accessories that seem off-and-odd-but-oh-so-good, like the blue taffeta bracelet-scrunchie, funky ornate belts and necklaces with big, ceramic beads. Groovy, hand-made macrame appeared in form of sachets and eclectic inserts, (not) randomly placed on a men’s leather biker jacket’s back or at the pants’ waist. And of course the latest addition to Nassir Zadeh’s brand: the blue towel with MNZ’s logo, made from the finest frotte, resembling the one that would lie by the pool in some lovely, off-the-track boutique hotel by the French Riviera or somewhere in Sicily.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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This Woman’s Work. Gabriela Hearst Resort 2023

July 30, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

Gabriela Hearst’s resort 2023 collection started with a dream about a woman on a horse. She was a chieftain at the top of a mountain of fire. Hearst, who often taps into her Uruguayan roots, layered these clothes with equestrian touches. There are long leather coats debossed in a swirling pattern of her design finished with whipstitched edges and buttons engraved with the same curving motif, and a new leather bag has been finished with a contrasting leather bottom that she said was meant to evoke the sole of a riding boot. As ever, Hearst emphasized craft. The crochet cashmere dresses and separates – again, in that swirl design – are the work of many women’s hands and many hundreds of hours, she explained. “I like working with other women,” she said. “I think of that Gloria Steinem quote: ‘We are linked, not ranked.’ We all have to start helping each other more.” The patchwork chambray and denim pieces are the result of a new collaboration with Anna Foster of E.L.V. Denim, who sources vintage jeans and reworks them. You’ll notice the curving seams. Materials are Hearst’s other driving passion. Of particular note is the silk of fine tailored outerwear and suits for both women and men, and the substantial, lustrous black silk of a double-breasted tuxedo. An evening number married that silk with a ribbed knit bodice. “That’s not easy to do, to get it to fall right,” she said. The hard work resulted in an effortless, highly elegant dress.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Balance. Jil Sander Resort 2023

July 28, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

The creative dynamic Luke and Lucie Meier have brought to Jil Sander isn’t just a reflection of the two of them sharing art and life, but also an echo of the big-picture conversation about the redefinition of identities around the intersection of masculine and feminine codes. “In our designs there’s always this tension between the masculine and the feminine,” they mused in their studio in Milan. “It’s always there in some form or another.” The husband and wife pair complement each other with the same easy flair that they give their experiments between rigor and plasticity, severity and fluidity. They describe their process as an exercise in “searching and finding that right pull, whether it’s an artisanal gesture breaking something very strict, or something soft being broken by something very rigid and structured. That play is always there.” For resort their search for a point of symmetric repose between opposites played out in what they called “deflating couture,” a turn of phrase defining sculptural, elegant volumes “collapsing” into softer, gentler, fluid shapes. Seen through this lens, their suiting consisted of sharp-cut, narrow-shouldered, and fitted jackets worn over ultra-voluminous trousers, almost like next-generation palazzo pants. The sartorial is a territory the Meiers navigate skillfully, favoring extreme precision in cutting and construction as well as a romantic feel for the handcrafted; a case in point was a sharp-structured, overcoat in a pale mauve, without lapels, fastened with a single hand-blown glass jewel button, and worn over a black tunic with a feminine ruffled collar. The play between fluidity and structure gave the collection character and appeal, and was consistent throughout. An elongated dress of voluminous couture construction was made in delicate white cotton voile, a rather humble material; straight-cut tunics and tops with plunging necklines were given a transformable twist with the addition of turtlenecks or t-shirts in contrasting colors worn underneath. The season’s version of the tuxedo had a similar versatile approach; it was proposed as a fluid combination of a pleated-bib black chemise and a pair of billowy, liquid trousers. You cannot take the sense of rigorous chic out of the Meiers.