Collections

Vibrant. Erdem Resort 2020

| Design & Culture by Ed

Erdem’s resort 2020 lookbook was a collaboration with Ibrahim Kamara, a London-based stylist, who’s best pals with Madonna. They worked together with the photographer Sam Rock to create the sense of vibrance, energy and motion in the poses of the girls as they work their typically Erdem floral prints, billowy sleeve and headwraps. There’s more: over-sized bows, printed tights to match dresses, and polka dots (lately favoured by previosly mentioned Madonna, who wears the ones from Erdem while promoting Madame X). What stands out most? The ethereal, yellow gown, all embellished with floral motifs. Just beautiful.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Shanghai. Chloé Resort 2020

| Design & Culture by Ed

The problem with resort collections presented in far-fetched destinations apply to nearly all, from Louis Vuitton’s presentation in New York to Saint Laurent’s menswear show in Malibu. The venue is spectacular; the audience is wowed; the clothes are, well, boring and far from amusing. Angelo Flaccavento, Italian fashion critic, grasps this perfectly: “these days, fashion is more about brand experience and storytelling than clothes, which most of the time are not as exciting as their packaging. The past month of traveling shows was a study in showmanship over clothes-making.” Natacha Ramsay-Levi‘s resort 2020 collection for Chloé was presented in Shanghai, specifically at Long Museum (at sunset). It’s clear the Chloé’s management has ambitions to make the brand stand in row with Dior and Prada. But does this match Chloé’s intimacy, so beloved by its clients? The entire event had to be quite an experience, that’s fur sure. However, the idea of a Chloé show in Shanghai, other than marketing, makes no much sense. Of course, the designer had some subtle references to the location. A lover of Chinese cinema, she had compiled backstage dozens of stills from her favorite movies by Jia Zhangke, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Zhang Yimou, Bi Gan and Lou Yi. Another film, Three Times by Hsiao-Hsien, informed Natacha’s decision to explore China’s rich history, drawing on its empirical eras, the Art Deco period, and its contemporary buzz. The designer’s nods to Chinese culture were conveyed in details: the side buttons on a floral dress that evoked a qipao for instance. Tiny embroideries were inspired by traditional Chinese handwork. Yet still, in general, this was one of the weakest collections coming from the designer, which is quite disturbing. It lacked a ‘look’. The clothes, put separately, with no styling, don’t spark much attention. For pre-collections, Chloé is really, really fine with look-books.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki

Cool As Usual. The Elder Statesman Resort 2020

| Design & Culture by Ed

Greg Chait‘s The Elder Statesman look is signature: a tie-dye top, a slip-dress, a knit (and not just any knit, but a cashmere, hand-woven sweater of the fleeciest texture). Sounds like today’s trendiest street style? Well, Chait was much, much ahead of the fashion crowd when he revived this Calfiornian, dreamy look. The Elder Statesman’s recent collections have touched on topics like self-realization and talismans, which got the designer thinking about life and the fine line between “darkness and light“. “I realized, it’s really like a game,” he said during the New York presentation of his resort 2020 collection. So he dove into how games simulate life, for better or for worse, from Saga and Nintendo circa the ’90s to ancient Indian board games like Snakes and Ladders and Pachisi. This resulted in the silk checkerboard prints, the crewnecks with jacquard stars and gaming symbols, and the very bold color palette. He didn’t go to literal for the theme, and in overall this is a laid-back, cool The Elder Statesman wardrobe we all need.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

The Finest. The Row Pre-Fall 2019

| Design & Culture by Ed

The Row‘s pre-fall 2019 release came together with the launch of the brand’s on-line shop. Shortly speaking, the collection is as good as the website and the clothes available there – which of course isn’t a surprise, knowing Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen‘s love for refined. The look-book features the most luxe basics out there, from a cotton poplin shirt to virgin wool pants in the most delightful shade of caramel. Maggie Maurer and Małgosia Bela look stunning in those cashmere turtlenecks, without any make-up or accessories. Browsing through the bags and shoes, you will instantly get why The Row won the CFDA Award for best accessories last week. That’s a lot of The Row news for one post. Need more? When you open the Galerie tab on their website, you’re taken a step further into the Olsen’s universe: here, you can buy items from the sisters’ hand-picked, curated antiques collection – Gustave Serrurier-Bovy’s brass chandelier, a vintage Boucheron ring, Georges Jouve’s vase…

All collages by Edward Kanarecki.

Real Life. Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2019

| Design & Culture by Ed

Lately, all designers want to do clothes for ‘real life’. But it’s Demna Gvasalia who actually started that trend-not-trend, first with Vetements, then with time at Balenciaga. The pre-fall 2019 look-book, that sees models walk with their phones in front of their faces or making calls, is all about Gvasalia’s Balenciaga best-selling classics: sharp tailoring, denim, over-sized volumes and exaggerated logos. It doesn’t excite much, as it feels like a transition from the summer show from last October to the winter collection we’ve seen in March. But it’s a pre-collection after all. And it’s hitting stores at this very moment.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.