Back To The Core. Khaite Resort 2027

June 4, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

Cate Holstein‘s Khaite works best when it isn’t burdened by the theatrics – or the demands – of a fashion show. The newly released resort 2027 lookbook presents the clothes with clarity, and relatability. It also suggests that Holstein is returning to the core of her brand, which wasn’t always quite so serious as we’ve got used to in the past seasons.

The collection’s fashion-statement rigidity has given way to chunky knits and denim – the pieces that formed Khaite’s foundation when the label launched a decade ago. Sometimes, nothing feels more appealing than an oversized sweater that looks as though it has been borrowed from your boyfriend’s closet, paired with an inherently cool black leather skirt and oversized sunglasses.

What Holstein does with flesh-revealing cutouts – particularly in bolero jackets and dresses – is especially worth noting. Khaite began as the kind of brand where effortlessly stylish it-girls, seemingly unaware of their own appeal, might shop. Some of that spirit was lost as the label evolved, but this collection suggests it has found its way back.

ED’s SELECTION:

KHAITE Aimee Calf Hair Sandals

KHAITE Danielle Stretch High-waist Straight-leg Jeans

KHAITE Nora Cashmere Cardigan

KHAITE Jett Leather Mini Skirt

KHAITE Cate Leather-trimmed Calf Hair Tote

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Legendary. Balenciaga AW07

May 31, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

After Nicolas Ghesquière’s latest show for Louis Vuitton, staged among the old masters and Gilded Age grandeur of the Frick Collection, my affection for him returned with a bang. The collection left me perplexed. Confused, even. But confused in a good way – the kind of confusion that sends you back into the archives looking for answers. Which is exactly how I ended up revisiting one of the great Ghesquière collections: Balenciaga autumn-winter 2007.

And let me tell you: whatever Ghesquière and his team were on that season, I want some. Because it’s extraordinarily rare for an entire design studio, together with a stylist, to arrive at something so wicked, tweaked, spectacular and utterly forward-looking. Nearly two decades later, it still feels as if it landed from another planet. READ MY FULL TEXT HERE.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Concise Memo. Saint Laurent Pre-Fall 2026

May 22, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

Noting how quickly everything shifts in fashion, Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent has become a contemporary classic. The lingerie-inflected separates and gilded lace may be edging toward formula, but the Zoë Kravitzes of the world still can’t get enough of that smoky, after-hours boudoir allure – and Anthony, naturally, delivers again this autumn (and winter too, if the March show was any indication). Shearling is in, sheer black-stockinged legs are in, and the YSL Smoking now comes paired with bermudas. Some collections could have been an email, and there’s nothing wrong with that. This lookbook reads like a reassuringly concise memo on the virtues of absolute consistency.

ED’s SELECTION:

SAINT LAURENT Lace-trimmed Silk-satin Skirt

SAINT LAURENT Cropped Leavers Lace-trimmed Ribbed Silk-jersey Top

SAINT LAURENT Lace-trimmed Silk-satin Bodysuit

SAINT LAURENT Deroche Satin Slingback Pumps

SAINT LAURENT Howl D-frame Acetate Sunglasses

Nauseatingly Stimulating. Louis Vuitton Resort 2027

May 21, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s very easy to dismiss – and even dislike – Nicolas Ghesquière’s contemporary work. His vision for Louis Vuitton feels so far removed from any broadly accepted notion of good taste, and so detached from the mainstream trend cycle, that it can easily be written off as a mad hatter’s prank. It’s worth noting, however, that not every designer enjoys the luxury of creating ready-to-wear that does not necessarily have to sell. At Vuitton, Nicolas seems to possess virtually boundless freedom to experiment, with little visible pressure placed upon him.

Of all the destination shows we’ve seen this month – Chanel’s Biarritz extravaganza, Dior’s take on Hollywood, and Gucci’s invasion of Times Square – Ghesquière’s New York presentation at the Frick Collection was probably the least eventful in terms of Instagram appeal, yet the most complex from a design perspective. Every look proposes an idea that attempts to reinvent the wheel – sometimes with promise, sometimes veering spectacularly off course.

What he does with scuba-inspired constructions, ornamented with an idiosyncratic bricolage of Edwardian ruffles, is genuinely splendid. The Keith Haring prints, however, come across as unapologetically tacky. There are Annie Hall hats; Alana Haim dressed like a character straight out of “The Panic in Needle Park“; and then Gilded Age cameos emerging through ruffles swirling around necks above lace bodices. It’s excessive – and that’s before even mentioning the 1980s-inspired, shoulder-padded dresses layered over clouds of tulle. If Hanna Horvath was a trust fund baby, she would love Louis Vuitton.

Nothing here entirely works, but then again, this is New York: a metropolis that fuses together countless walks of life into one overwhelming whole. Perhaps that is the collection’s real point. Whatever the case, Nicolas’s understanding of fashion challenges both the eye and the mind in a way that is almost nauseatingly stimulating.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Madame. Carven Pre-Fall 2026

May 20, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

Just when it seemed that Carven had finally found its perfect leading man, news broke in April that Mark Thomas would be leaving the brand. Although the British designer’s winter 2026 runway show marked his final outing for the maison, the pre-collection has only just been released – and it is yet another reminder that the brand’s owners made a mistake in parting ways with such a talent.

Thomas served as Louise Trotter’s right hand while she was reviving Carven from its slumber before departing for Bottega Veneta, yet his solo collections – distilled to perfect forms and lines, focused on chic classics that required no excessive styling, and unmistakably Parisian without ever slipping into cliché – represent some of the finest moments in the brand’s recent history. The pre-fall 2026 offering is now landing in stores, and this is your last chance to catch Mark’s jackets and coats, evolving from rounded shapes into sharper, more masculine double-breasted constructions. They form a sublime dialogue with lighter silhouettes built around delicate, ladylike convergences of organza and lace. Pieces rendered in crisp cedarwood brown, paired with leather skirts and fluffy shearling, conjure the image of a quintessential Carven madame, and one can easily imagine the many chic scenarios she inhabits.

To put it simply, this untimely separation arrived just as the brand seemed on the verge of discovering its contemporary rhythm.