Lets be real. Eckhaus Latta SS17

September 12, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

“Just clothing, in a sense,” Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta said backstage after showing Eckhaus Latta’s spring-summer 2017. With an art school background, Eckhaus Latta fashion, or rather style, is well recognisable – it’s all raw, and kept in a über-cool, DIY kind of way. The clothes, designed by the Los Angeles-based duo, are nothing without the attitude of the person wearing them – a non-model, or a friend, or just a person walking down the street. Denim skirts, deconstructed t-shirts, extremely exaggerated stitchings on pants: Eckhaus Latta isn’t into fooling around with themes and, eww, trends. Although the label used to be much more radical when it made the first steps in the industry, the newest collection is a statement – lets be real.

Lil’Kim Approved. Area SS17

September 11, 2016September 11, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

For spring-summer 2017, Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk of Area searched deep for inspiration in their favourite issues of Vogue, coming from the 1960s and 2000s. Both of these major fashion eras are alive in the new season clothing, full of shiny rhinestones and feminine tulle. At Area, there’s often a stark contrast between what’s “good taste” and what’s kitsch – but in the end, the collections always ooze with glamour. Ahh, the I-used-to-be-cool Lucite accessories flecked with suspended glitter. Big, big rings, hoop earrings, and chopsticks for hair (which, by the way, would be a perfect fit for Samantha Jones). And I nearly forgot about those sunglasses! I mean, they revive every single thing, from Spice Girls to Bubble from Absolutely Fabulous. The look-book, photographed by Charlotte Wales, is full of fluorescent, gleaming flares and ruffled tops. One of the dresses, made of a croc-skin imitating fabric, is strangely sexy with all those cuts and bows. Then, suddenly, we’ve got the Dalmatian print all over the pants. Fun. Who else would have slayed Area’s newest creations? My vote is for Lil’ Kim (of course the old, good 2003 version of her)!

Female Contrast. Hillier Bartley AW16

September 10, 2016September 10, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Tom Ford might have just started his new retail model – but Hillier Bartley isn’t new in this topic. Entering September, it’s the perfect (and most practical) time to think of refreshing your autumn wardrobe. Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley are here to help, in time, with their see-now, buy-now collection. The British duo has already built a ‘set’ of signatures: banana pants which do look flattering; top-notch suiting in Savile Row manner; feminine dresses with chic tassell-scarves. Also, Hillier Bartley is recognized for its Anglomania attire: at a first glance, the idea is based on the wardrobe of an English-aristocrat, who belongs to an gentlemen’s club. But then, the elegance blurs with Bowie-esque, out-of-this-world knack. With that said, don’t forget Hillier Bartley is a womenswear label, filled with women’s clothes created by women.

For autumn-winter 2016, the designers went for flea-market cool, which is so timeless and eternally relevant in London. One of the coats virtually looks like a re-cut and re-shaped Persian rug. A satin robe is worn as an evening dress according to the designers, with a pair of moccasins. Icy blue, velvet suit with a black, ribbed turtleneck underneath is a total-look worth investing. The intricately embroidered gown is a cherry on the cake – I’m obsessed with the way the oriental motif contrasts with the entire collection filled with feather elements, leopard spots and romantic, Fleetwood Mac flair. Oh, and the bags line (Hillier’s part) is blooming. From ‘Bunny’ clutches to collar-box bags with lilac tassels, the range is wide and… yummy.

Down to Earth. Rachel Comey SS17

September 10, 2016September 10, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Rachel Comey‘s attitude to fashion has its down-to-earth, modest appeal. After having a look at Tom Ford‘s glamorous outing filled with grown-up celebrities, Comey’s outing is like a brunch with your friends – unpretentious and casual. The show was literally taking place on New York’s Crosby Street, just a few steps from Rachel’s flagship store. Chairs were set up on the sidewalk for guests, and the models, varying in age, size and look – walked down their path as naturally as it’s possible. In her press notes, the designer described the clothes as perfect for “farmer’s market,” or “to pick up the kids” adventure. But those pieces were far, far from boring. The chain skirt styled with a simple, white sweatshirt was outstanding; denim overalls and well-cut pants will sell out right away when they hit the stores. Also, Comey revives her menswear line with rainbow-striped cotton shirts and dad-style coats. Low-budget, but the result is impressive.

P.S. Instead of letting the models faint in the sun, because Kim arrives three hours late, and selling plain-looking trash-clothes to the masses, Kanye West could really take a lesson or two from Comey in “how to keep a fashion brand” subject.

Empowering. Tom Ford AW16

September 8, 2016September 8, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Fashion month kicks it off, and we’re all ready for the next marathon of womenswear. But surprisingly, New York Fashion Week starts with a first industry ‘paradox’. It’s September, and throughout the years we’ve got used to the fact that we start reflecting on the next summer wardrobe at the very beginning of the cold season. Tom Ford does the opposite, presenting autumn-winter 2016 collection, instead of spring-summer 2017 (which you will see a lot during the upcoming weeks). But he isn’t an exception – this new model of selling, so see-it-now and buy-it-now logic, is already in the process at Burberry or Thakoon. But why is Tom Ford, and the others, making it even more complicated, if we already have all those pre-collections and capsules? Well, in fact they want to make it all easier for us all, even though the transition moment is HARD.

Here’s why. Tom Ford presented his AW16 collection yesterday in the evening during a celebrity-filled dinner (Tom Hanks, Julianne Moore, Uma Thurman to name a few), and today, a majority of those clothes hit the on-line stores and boutiques world-wide. Looking behind-the-scenes, the international buyers ordered the collection months ago, Tom Ford factory had its time to produce the one-of-a-kind pieces, and the customers are really into buying those velvet skirts and sequined turtlenecks, because they feel so “relevant”. They just saw it on the internet and their heavily-Instagrammed feed. As easy as that – virtually, the sales boom. Logistically, everyone is appealed to this new deal, which will MAYBE slow down the pace of the industry.

But Tom Ford’s newest collection isn’t a sensation just because of its new, business strategy. This glamorous outing of diverse models (featuring 90s stars like Amber Valletta and todays newcomers) wearing feminine silhouettes and gorgeous accessories, is one of Ford’s best for a long, long time. Belted corsets on seductive leather jackets and slim pencil skirts. Ornamental, gold necklaces contrasted with elegant, tweed dresses, while over-the-knee boots made the models look even taller and badass. Mica Arganaraz and Lineisy Monero walked down the runway in colourful fur coats; Grace Hartzel, in her all-black outfit, looked like a rock’n’roll chick with whom you can’t argue. It sounds like a collection oozing with sex-appeal, a typical thing for Tom’s past, provocative Gucci-era. But in fact, it was much more mature, and it celebrated this specific type of killer woman, who enters the room and makes people drop. Guys in velvet blazers and duvet jackets looked nothing but harmless next to those girls. Ford definitely has a toast to a very good start of the fashion month, and his brands’ future of the revolutionary retail model.