American Horror. Calvin Klein SS18

September 8, 2017September 10, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

First thing you notice in Raf Simons‘ spring-summer 2018 collection for Calvin Klein is that he’s the man of consistency. The first looks – the new CK uniforms – were the cowboy shirts in heavy colour block, the same as we’ve seen in his debut collection last March. The shoes haven’t changed dramatically, too. The venue took place in Calvin Klein’s headquarters and it was again covered with Sterling Ruby’s installations, but the main motif was actually quite disturbing- knife and blood. Were horrors and criminals on Simons’ mind?

At Klein, he’s a fan for American symbolism, and thrillers are very well rooted in American cinema – wherever we speak of mid-20th century or 2017. To grasp the idea of crime-drenched drama in his new season evening wear, he pulled off 50s looking ball gowns (surprisingly constructed using vinyl). Some of the leather coats looked as if they were blood-stained, which gave the audience a thrill. Horror film vibes got even more serious when latex gloves emerged down the runway – the high fashion reminiscent of Jason’s mask from Friday 13th, some noted. But that wasn’t the end of the American obsession. For this season, the brand collaborated with Andy Warhol Foundation on prints, using some of the lesser known elements of the artist’s works on trousers, t-shirts and dresses. Simons shakes things up again, in a very sinister (even as for him) manner.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

You Do You. Tom Ford SS18

September 7, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Wherever I look, I see a long feature about the importance and potential of Tom Ford. Business of Fashion did one recently. New York Mag had it in August, exclusively sharing bits on the designer’s work behind the spring-summer 2018 collection. All of the magazines praise Tom Ford for his work at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, for his venture in the film industry (like Nocturnal Animals) and most of all, his own brand with commercially succesful beauty line, men’s ready-to-wear and growing womenswear. Is Tom Ford’s PR working night and day, lately? Or maybe just in the year of 2017 the fashion industry decided to agree on one thing – Tom Ford is boss. And his fashion, season-to-season, wherever he designs, says you do you. Really, no else does Tom Ford as well as, gasp, Tom Ford.

There were rumours that Ford is planning to do a loud 90s revival – and that was certainly true. Backless jumpsuits, shoulder pads in denim, killer puchsia and lots of bling-bling were present, giving New York fashion week a glamorous kick-off. Don’t think it was nostalgic, as nostalgia in fashion often ends looking dusty and pretentious. That was a sleek line-up of ultra-glossy and great-body-demanding clothes, with no deeper meanings. That’s a collection that you look at with a relaxed, optimist eye at the beginning of the fashion month triathlon. Surely not like at a show of the last few days that you would confuse with Balmain and rather skip. But still, Ford is in a very, very good form, and what’s more, on his own terms.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

On The Sunny Side. Ganni SS18

August 12, 2017August 17, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Copenhagen Fashion Week is the best indicator of what’s really hot, whether we’re speaking of Balenciaga’s or Céline’s cross-national influence. I always feel like the local designers make the best edit of current fashion tendencies with their very own, Scandinavian sharpness. Ganni, a Copenhagen girl’s favourite go-to label with over 20 stores across the Scandi-countries, is a great example of that ‘curation’. Ditte Reffstrup, brand’s creative director, sent down a sunny line-up of models (spot Dilone, Frederikke Sofie and Lera Abova) wearing joyous tea-dresses, beach-ready bras and striped knits for breezy spring evenings by the shore. The styling – as always on point – had some striking highlights, like wearing a V-neck mini-dress with extremely big flares underneath or layering a masculine blazer over a midi-skirt AND over matching pants. The show venue, designed in collaboration with the New York-based artist Ana Kras, was another feature that makes Ganni’s spring-summer 2018 collection worth taking a look at.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Rare and Exquisite. Alaïa AW17 Couture

July 8, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

The haute couture week in Paris couldn’t end in a better way. In accordance with his manner of doing ‘everything at your own pace’ and after a six-year long break, Azzedine Alaïa‘s couture collection was like the sweetest, priciest dessert in the menu of a gourmet chef. Naomi Campbell, Alaïa’s ultimate muse, opened and closed the show wearing a delightful fur coat and incredibly pleated velvet gown respectively. The models were transformed into modern-day Nefertiti queens, thank to Julien d’Ys magical coiffeur skills. Also, what got everyone talking wasn’t a far-fetched venue or another celebrity in the f-row – most of all, the focus was on the garments. From a python coat in red and a hand-crafted leather maxi-skirt to floral motifs on a jacket and high-boots covered in leopard print, Azzedine’s rare fashion universe is as exquisite as it was when he started out few decades ago. Marvellous!

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Celestial. Valentino AW17 Couture

July 7, 2017July 7, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Whenever a priest wearing a soutane crosses the street, you can’t help but look at the way his garment flows and shapes in motion. Pierpaolo Piccioli, the creative director of Valentino, had a vision for his couture collection: to grasp the sense of holiness and striking simplicity behind canonical robes he observes everyday on the streets of Rome, and convey it in the most haute way. Floor-sweeping capes had a ceremonial aura about them, just like sharply cut coats. If you think ‘Vatican’, you think ‘ornamental’ – Piccioli’s take on sacred is a lot more modern, but equally celestial.

Valentino’s collection might be the couture season’s most intriguing line-up, and if you’re still not convinced, note the one-of-a-kind metal bags with enamel mosaic details made by Harumi Klossowska De Rola especially for this occasion. Each of the bags’ shape reassembles an animal’s head – put together, they symbolize the seven deadly sins. How ironic, thinking about the sources of fortunes of some of Valentino’s richest clients…