Collections

Tactile. Gabriela Hearst Resort 2020

| Design & Culture by Ed

Gabriela Hearst‘s resort 2020 shows the essence of her brand: fabrics and tailoring. The pre-collection features aloe linen (that moisturizes the skin), a hand-knit as weightless as a feather, macramé detailing spliced between the pleats of minimal dresses and skirts, finest cashmere used in coats… all of this is really  an exercise in luxurious tactility. Meanwhile the tailoring surprised with an interesting development: the jackets were gathered and tied at the waist, not with belts but via construction. So, a sort of invisible belt. The ones with artisan fringes looked sublime as well.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Getting Better and Better. Bottega Veneta Resort 2020

| Design & Culture by Ed

It’s been 11 months since Daniel Lee‘s arrival to Bottega Veneta, and it seems he’s there for, like, forever. Throughout this short time, the brand received big love from clients, who never bought at Bottega before. And it seems that the success isn’t solely rooted on the absence of Phobe Philo. Lee and his team prove this in the resort 2020 collection, which is sublime in every aspect, from bags to clothes. Leather accessories, whether in the brand’s signature intrecciato weave or not, are so good. Just look at the wrist-slung, tightly knotted bag in blue or orange strips of soft matte leather, or the sandals in fake snake, which featured three and a half encirclements of leather strip that ran upwards (these worked to cinch Lee’s expertly cut wide-leg pants and were complemented by similarly functioning bracelets). Clothes are a delight, as well. Whether we’re speaking of the draped leather dress in orange worn by Maria Carla Boscono or all the trench coats that appeared in the look-book, it’s a dream wardrobe. Minimalism and top knotch craftsmanship aren’t a novelty, but Bottega Veneta and Salvatore Ferragamo get that balance especially well in Italy today. Better start saving…

All collages by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s – Italian Goodness. Salvatore Ferragamo SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

I’m still in absolute awe. Salvatore Ferragamo‘s spring-summer 2020 collection for men (and resort 2020 for women) was the best thing I’ve seen for a while in fashion. It was that good. No fashion show has ever been allowed in Florence’s Piazza della Signoria before. The view had to be really, really impressive, noting that the models walked in front of David. Plus, comparing to other shows we’ve seen this month, this one had a real sense behind the location: Florence is the company’s home. Now, fashion. Paul Andrew and Guillaume Meilland have already proved that they’re a good match for Ferragamo in their previous. But this one was their best. I fell in complete love with all the jumpsuits the designers sent down the runway – especially the one in deep purple, with a zipper and a belt at the waist. The perfect balance between utilitarian and Italian elegance. Something you would love to wear to your vineyard in Tuscany. I adored all the leather pants and shorts, too. The colour palette, mainly mint, lavender and ochre, was a dream. There’s beautiful tailoring as well as pajama pants. While using the so-called “rave” sunglasses sounds like trying too hard to impress the younger audience, here they looked properly cool. Just wow.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s – Malibu. Saint Laurent SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

Like other fashion shows presented in far flung destinations this month, Saint Laurent‘s spring-summer 2020 collection for the boys (and resort 2020 for the girls) had its ups and downs. Ups: the runway’s spectacular venue, which was an ebonized boardwalk runway atop a Malibu beach, against a stormy horizon. Keanu Reeves sat front row. Anthony Vaccarello‘s ideology behind the collection, which well related to Yves Saint Laurent. The starting point for the collection was Marrakech in the ’70s (Yves’ ultimate favourite place to visit) reimagined as 21st-century Los Angeles, a city that resides on Vaccarello’s own emotional landscape. While that’s some geographical leap, it’s not an unimaginable one; both locations have that certain bohemian, free-spirited, almost mystical escape. “You come to L.A. for vacation,” Vaccarello said. “You can disconnect from the rest of the world.” And finally, Mick Jagger. The Rolling Stones musician gave Vaccarello access to his vintage Saint Laurent, for inspiration. Yes, it all sounds dreamy. But again, the problem of clothes hits – they seem to lose their priority in such events. Except for the abrupt comeback of super-wide, super-fluid pants (in gauzy knit or a crushed pleated silk), billowing and flowing from a high and often belted waist, there was barely anything exciting about this rock & roll-ish wardrobe. It all was a remake of Hedi Slimane-era YSL. And I guess you really need that Malibu heat to grasp the essence of this collection, and not only the imagery.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s – Pastels, Shorts, Youth. Prada SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

After Chloé’s resort 2020, Prada was another brand presenting its new collection in Shanghai – spring-summer for men, specifically. Over a blue-lit runway at the Minsheng Art Wharf, a parade of short shorts, nylon jackets in pastel pink, tank-tops that could pull off as baby doll dresses and printed jackets took place. This wasn’t a demanding Prada collection. Quite the opposite – this rather felt like the most commercial, menswear outing from Miuccia Prada for years, with a young client as the main target. Other than the khaki shorts that are much in need right now due to the summer heat, the only strong point of the collection was the black & white tailoring.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.