Men’s – Melting Pot. Wales Bonner AW17

January 10, 2017January 10, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

In my previous post on J.W. Anderson’s medieval-cool collection for men, I’ve mentioned Grace Wales Bonner as another example of a designer, who makes men’s London Fashion Week far, far more exciting. It isn’t a secret that London is Europe’s most celebrated melting pot of cultures, customs, dialects – no wonder why creatives from the whole world come here, to start their businesses. Wales Bonner‘s autumn-winter 2017 colllection is a continuation of her nearly poetic take on the topic of ‘spiritualism’.

“It was about the return of these spiritual characters who have existed in the Wales Bonner language before, it was about making them the heroes and looking at the street in an elevated way – and looking at it at different time periods. It was about bringing this sense of richness and depth to street language,” is the way she explained her latest outing of diverse boys (and girls).

Since the very beginnings of her own label, the Central Saint Martins graduate finds inspiration in her childhood memories – being a mixed-race girl brought up in south London was an experience, which left a significant mark on Bonner’s aesthetical point of view. The clothes presented by Grace clearly showed her interest in intriguing, African culture. Inspired with the unexplored street culture of Dakar, Wales Bonner sent out a line of leather patchwork pants, crinkled shirts with slouchy tailoring and velvet ties – as if the looks emerged out of Patrick Cariou’s photographs from his trip to Senegal.

Patrick Cariou

Tops covered in authentic Masai beading; stunning leather jackets trimmed with Dalmatian-intarsia mink – those are just some of the striking pieces coming straight from Wales Bonner runway. For the collection, the designer invited two, supremely-talented creatives, who are often associated with British fashion – first, Manolo Blahnik, who reinterpreted African sandals and boots. Second, Stephen Jones, who produced a limited number of Rasta caps with white mink stripes (Grace picked London’s Kingston neighborhood as a reference) and Pashtun caps. Bravo.

Photography Chloé Le Drezen

Men’s – Charming Crotchet. JW Anderson AW17

January 9, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

“Pagan knights in shining armor. Layers on layers as a defense mechanism. Something knitty and cozy—the epitome of British craft.” That’s how Jonathan Anderson described his autumn-winter 2017 collection for men at his eponymous label. From granny-crotchet details (!) to XXL-scarves in bold orange and purple, the designer reminded every editor and buyer why London Collections MAN is still worth observing. Big brands like Burberry decided to combine menswear with womenswear due to financial reasons, while young designers… well, British menswear is struggling (except Wales Bonner, of course). But J.W. Anderson is a brand that’s always ahead of the rest in regards of a concept. Yesterday in the morning, Anderson presented a collection designed for a modern-day prince ~~charming~~, collage-ing medieval references (voluminous tops with big tabard sleevess, patches depicting stained glass windows on knitwear and jeans). In the evening, he and Alasdair McLellan launched an event at J.W. Anderson Workshop in London, selling highly-NSFW double-sided posters. In other words, expect the unexpected from Anderson, wherever you’re, whatever you’re doing.

Warm Up. Pringle of Scotland Pre-Fall’17

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

Fran Stringer became the creative director of Pringle of Scotland – the Scottish, 200-years old knitwear house – about a year ago. Looking at the brand’s past collections, and at Stringer’s outings, one thing is quite clear at the very first glance. Pringle of Scotland is the go-to label for anything that’s knitted, in a cool way. Fusing the brand’s archival codes and her own ‘loose’ aesthetic, Fran delivered a brilliant pre-fall collection filled with printed cashmere ponchos, over-sized The Fair Isle sweaters and argyle-patterned cardigans. While it’s freezing outside, you just wish to be covered up with all those absolutely non-itchy wool pieces.

So Fetch, Fake & Fine. Gucci Pre-Fall’17

December 15, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Observing Alessandro Michele‘s creative narration at Gucci is absorbing, even if you know you would never ever dress like that. Or maybe… you would? Looking like a charming, yet edgy granny entire week is hard – but for one day, a bunny-embroidered cardigan, layers of floral brooches and a patchworked midi-skirt sound quite mind-blowing on the background of your daily-routine wardrobe, even if they are far from the term ‘new’.

Alessandro’s pre-fall 2017, forgetting the beautiful chaos, tells one clear thing: brands like Gucci, to stay on ground in 2016 (and 2017, which is ahead of us), should recycle. And I’m not speaking about ecology right now. Keeping the consistency of collections; forgetting others and going your own aesthetically path; enriching every single detail, from branding to logi size on a shoe’s buckle. Similar eveningdress silhouettes, but in new colours, are on demand, and all the time in stock. Last season’s floral prints and this season’s Donald Duck become unexpected friends on an adorable blazer. Instead of creating a new ‘it-bag’, why not revive an oldie from the archives? Just like the shoes (extra-dramatic this season, but that’s not a surprise anytime with Michele). Working with such scheme is quite likely a guaranteed success, and Gucci’s monthly turnovers are the best prove for that. But will this take on nostalgia and chic kitsch get boring at some point? Becoming bored is a human’s nature, sorry.

Ignoring reason – this so fetch look-book was shot in Rome’s two historical locations. First is the Antica Libreria Cascianelli, an old bookstore specializing in art history. The second is the Antica Spezieria di Santa Maria della Scala, a 16th-century apothecary. Mind-blowing. And whatever I’ve written in the paragraph above – Alessandro Michele keeps on surprising and the look so fake tights with GG logo are really the thing.

Ritzy. Chanel Pre-Fall’17

December 7, 2016December 7, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Whenever Chanel does a pre-collection presentation, you know every single detail regarding it a month earlier. The press is burning with the show’s fancy, far-fetched location; Instagram feed is all in #chanel. This time, however, Karl Lagerfeld and the legendary French maison decided to slow it down a bit with their PR – or at least, stay at home. And specifically, in the newly re-opened Ritz hotel on Place Vendome, just a few steps away from the brand’s flagship store on rue du Cambon. Although you can’t call this ‘modesty’, going a bit more traditional than usual is simply… reasonable.

In fact, there were three Chanel shows in one day – the first was presented during a chic brunch; the second started at the time of lunch; and the last during a fancy dinner. The guests (everybody from the fashion editors to couture clients) had a way better day than you, that’s for sure. The clothes were excellent comparing to the last few seasons where Karl did literary everything, from a faux women’s protest to a glossy IT room. I guess it’s because Chanel looks best, when worn in real Paris, rather than in non-sense, meaningless venues. The dining rooms of Ritz perfectly matched Lagerfeld’s vision of cosmolitan elegance. Slouchy knitted cardigans and tweed pencil skirts; black tulle dresses styled with deluxe duvet jackets; shoulder pads and layers of pearl necklaces. According to the designer, the collection was an reflection of and ode to “people from all over the world who’ve come to the Ritz. There were hundreds of dinners in the ’20s and ’30s, where women wore incredible things.” But the most intriguing thing about this collection is the lack of the ’60s’, ’70s’ or ’90s’ tags, which are overused by others in the industry. “You cannot tell from the collection what decade it is, and I think that is modern“. Good point.