A Russian Tale. Ulyana Sergeenko AW17

July 6, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

A beautiful, Russian tale was told at Ulyana Sergeenko‘s autumn-winter 2017 haute couture show. The brand is known for its ultra-focus on traditional, slowly dying craftsmanship coming straight from Russia – take the Yelets and Vologda lace techniques, which make Sergeenko’s lady-like dresses look truly one-of-a-kind. The collection orbited around two themes. One was especially intimate for the designer herself – it was a photo of Ulyana Sergeenko’s grandmother taken 64 years ago in eastern Kazakhstan, wearing a black dress with white-collar. Ulyana dedicated the collection to her beloved grandmothers – Sonya, Nina and Zina – making her lucky clients feel the love embedded in these intricate embroideries. The other, darker side of this collection was inspired by Old Holywood’s elegance and Soviet crime stories feauturing spies and gangsters – the all-black looks had something sexy badass about them (for a reason). Fancy, very femme fatale fur coats are here, too.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki (backdrop: a still from Renata Litvinova’s ‘Rita’s Last Fairy-Tale’).

Single-Minded. Dior AW17 Couture

July 5, 2017July 5, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Looking at Maria Grazia Chiuri‘s time-line at Dior, which started about a year ago, one thing’s sure – she doesn’t care about the critics and suggestions of others. She likes going one clear, single-minded direction per season, making her overall work feel like a set of trends, rather than a consistent story told by an experienced designer. Let’s go navy this season, let’s do ‘feminism’ this time, oh, maybe let’s do a Western theme!

So, what’s on the table this couture season? Fifty shades of grey, literally (expect three, four looks kept in multi-coloured patchwork). Heavy masculine coats, fedora hats, dusty ball-gowns for cosmopolitan ladies of early 20th century – you would expect something more radiant for a brand’s 70th anniversary. “Honestly, it’s completely different to see the real archive and the image that some people have about Christian Dior. There’s so much daywear.” Thought it’s a haute couture show, where you don’t give a damn about something like ‘daywear’ and instead go for imagination. Talking of Dior, the man – the bar jacket is here. With this exhausted piece, Chiuri checks the box every season, saying that she finds a connection with the brand’s founder. But Maria Grazia should focus on making Dior feel contemporary, even for a billionaire’s wifes who will buy it later in the atelier. Or, I guess, this sells well, if she’s still at the maison…

Collage by Edward Kanarecki (backdrop: Gordon Parks’ photo).

Chic Era. Schiaparelli AW17 Couture

July 5, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

“I see their era as the beginning of the liberation of women,” Bertrand Guyon commented on such female creatives as Nancy Cunard and Anaïs Nin. But it wasn’t about Schiaparelli garments these women used to wear – it was about their timeless sense of freedom and independence. Since his first days at Elsa Schiaparelli’s maison, Guyon’s work was slammed by the critics, because of his too great attachment to the brand’s heavy archives. This season, he decided to loosen it up and go with his own flow. And that was the right thing to do, as this was his best collection up to date. Remarkable evening-wear spanned from a long-sleeved gown in burgundy to a fantastical white tulle bride dress (which served as a closing look). Little details, like trompe l’oeil-effect embellishments and Picasso-esque prints on bolero jackets. A tiny whimsical dress of Swarovski chainmail paired with Victorian boots. Chic, chic, chic.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki (backdrop: George Sowden’s illustration).

Ride. Miu Miu Resort 2018

July 4, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Just in time for the haute couture week in Paris, Miuccia Prada invited her guests (note Sofia Coppola’s The Beguilded cast, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning, in the f-row) to the Miu Miu club, an ultra-glamorous, one-night-only venue. For resort 2018, Miu Miu girls are hot automobile riders, who wear green intarsia coats, striped jumpsuits and day-dresses in vichy checks. If somebody’s not full throttle into fast car rider theme, the designer has tropical prints and masculine, woollen coats in her latest offering. Bum-bags (surprisingly seen in Miuccia’s menswear collection at Prada a few weeks ago) are evidently having a loud revival this season, whether you’re having a problem with that, or not.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Witchy. Rodarte SS18

July 3, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Americans in Paris – I love seeing them here. Proenza Schouler‘s spring-summer 2018 was already a very good sign. The same day, Mulleavy sisters‘ Rodarte line-up was a feast for the eye in pure form. The show was staged in a Parisian cloister with a garden patio, where the models strolled around in witchy dresses and badass leather gears. All those ethereal and rebellious elements of a Rodarte woman symbolised Kate and Laura’s romantic sensibility with a sophisticated vision of femininity.

Throughout the seasons in New York, Rodarte reflected on womanhood in various ways, from skate girls to punk princesses. Spring-summer 2018 was “the most Rodarte collection” the sisters created, where they mixed all of their magical ingredients into one delightful potion. Like fairies, the models had baby’s-breath tiaras on their heads or carried huge bird of paradise bouquets. Some wore scarlet red gowns, some pastel pink ball-dresses, but all oozed with a carefree, A Midsummer Night’s Dream sweetness. There were the leather pieces, too, which are Rodarte’s signatures – this season ornamented with metallic bows. I guess the Mulleavy girls deserve a loud ‘bienvenue’, just like the Proenza Schouler boys do.