Collections

Fluffy Clouds. Cecilie Bahnsen AW20

| Design & Culture by Ed

The music began, and once the lights came on, Cecilie Bahnsen‘s signature romance was illuminated. Of course there were all the beautiful, fluffy ball skirts and big sleeves, sculpted with delicate silk organza. Still, this season the Copenhagen-based designer slightly stepped away from her saccharine dreaminess. There was a fresh edge to Bahnsen’s new work, thanks to the mix of metallic materials and to more form-fitting, corseted silhouettes that added a sensual and bewitching quality to her designs. Crisp, fitted blazers were styled with cloudlike dresses and sheer A-line skirts, and Bahnsen also expanded into knitwear with ribbon- and ruffle-bedecked sweaters that could be worn as easily with jeans as they could be layered over one of her voluminous dresses. Outerwear was crucial to the collection. Bahnsen collaborated with British luxury heritage brand Mackintosh and showed minimal anoraks alongside cocooning quilted coats with floral embroidery. That’s a great lesson in layering. Bahnsen is one of the most skilled designers in the city and this season she really pushed herself and her talents to the next level.i

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Kid At Heart. Helmstedt AW20

| Design & Culture by Ed

In Copenhagen, in the sea of one-dimensional minimalism, there is a chance to find a true gem. Helmstedt is the best example of a Danish label that doesn’t follow the local aesthetic. Emilie Helmstedt builds her own sets every season, finding inspiration in her dreams and her childhood. Flanked by her bright paper sculptures, the designer is like Alice in a wonderland of her own making. For autumn-winter 2020, the label brought the guests to the city’s French Embassy, where she juxtaposed the ornate tapestries and gilded trimmings with giant papier-mâché teacups and teapots, even a golden spoon. She is a kid at heart, and though this collection stayed true to that aspect of her brand, her fall 2020 clothes represented a bit of a maturation. Take the fitted knit dresses with wavy, Pucci-like patterns and a covetable quilted pink velvet coat in a brushstroke pattern. Helmstedt also introduced crochet vests and sacks, which make sense in the context of her DIY sensibility. Those are clothes to have fun in.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Refined Classics. The Row Pre-Fall 2020

| Design & Culture by Ed

“We try to be thoughtful. It’s everything for every day. There aren’t really tricks,” said Mary-Kate Olsen during The Row‘s pre-fall 2020 presentation in Paris. She and her sister, Ashley, keep on impressing the industry with their sublime, refined, minimalist, yet soft take on everyday classics. There’s an American tradition behind this: The Row stands on the shoulders of what Donna Karan did for second-wave feminist aspirers to boardrooms in the 1980s, and what Calvin Klein contributed to New York minimalism in the 1990s. Add quality that will last for years and years to come, and here’s The Row that keeps on pushing envelope in terms of the luxurious simplicity. The pre-fall line-up is filled with well-cut peacoats and silk robes, as well as business-ready offering: perfect midi pencil skirt with a matching a shirt in the same fabric or fluid trousers and a double-breasted jacket in the creamiest shade of ecru. Delightful.

All collages by Edward Kanarecki.

The Grand Finale. Jean Paul Gaultier Couture SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

Euphoric. Bold. Joyous. Fantastic. Pushing boundaries. Forever iconic. That’s Jean Paul Gaultier. Many of the conversations we are having today – about such issues as diversity, gender fluidity, recycling, and sustainability – are built into the Gaultier DNA, and reused by other designer subconsciously. Since his first show in 1976, he has shown pan-generational models of all sizes, genders, and ethnicities on his runway, because they reflected the real-life people on the streets who inspired his style. Rossy De Palma, Blond Ambition Tour cone bras, Dita Von Teese, leather, trompe l’oeil, Beatrice Dalle, France, queer, sailors, sex, body… COUTURE! Although it’s Gaultier’s last fashion show ever, it’s not the end of his career. Can’t wait to see what he’s up to next!

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Shades of Elegance. Valentino Couture SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

From all the couture shows this season, I (of course) anticipated Pierpaolo Piccioli‘s line-up for Valentino the most. For spring-summer 2020, a very different facet of Piccioli’s imagination transpired. The designer challenged himself to stop the operatic volumes and begin his search for a new silhouette. This time, it was structured, linear, fishtailed, modular, yet still drenched in color and pattern by turns. Looking back at the previous, ecstatic collections he dreamed up for us, he decided it was time to step off the path. “I hate it when people talk about ‘storytelling.’ I am not a storyteller. I don’t have the feeling that Cristóbal Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Charles James, Mainbocher, whatever—I don’t feel they had stories of the season.” Trusting himself to free-association meant exploring form and emotion in ways that emphasized choice, variety, and the ingenious devices that only the Valentino craftspeople are able to realize. There were more trousers, more columns than before; an interest in constructing layers in ways which only the wearer will know about. Bubbles, bows and plenty of Valentino red recurred. There was a gorgeous color palette – purple, eau de nil, scarlet, pink, mint… and black (this one looked super refined in the eveningwear section). As usual, the best.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.