Jonathan Anderson is the strange man in London fashion scene. And this menswear collection proves the point. Scarcely a promising scenario for a collection of mens-wear, but gender blurring has always been an Anderson trait, and here it yielded clothes whose softness and languor were—what else?—oddly appealing, especially in the bias-cut tops that slipped off the shoulder or the hip into loose scarf-ties. “Sleepy eroticism” was the impression he wanted to convey. The collection was one of the disturbingly hyper-normal. Why? Just see the first three looks. Cap-sleeve tops patterned after the work of octogenarian carpet designer John Allen, which were items of bucolic loveliness. True to character, Anderson felt compelled to point out the dropped pockets, which made the models stretch their arms. “A bit creepy,” he mused. “It feels normal, but it’s not.” I myself wouldn’t wear any of these clothes. But after all, I feel that Anderson makes fashion fashion, and not just something to be sold on-line (although his new web-site is amazing). More on http://j-w-anderson.com
Collections
Sweet Dreams. No.21 Resort’15
Allesandro Dell’ Acqua is now the man behind two brands. First is his No.21, based in Milan and the second one is Rochas- based in Paris. And he makes it really, really fine! The new collection for No.21 was all about cute prints and sweet words like Darling that made the overall result very girlie and feminine. I truly fell in love with all these floral prints a la Marni and gorgeous polished bags with huge No.21 written over it. This is going to be a really lovely spring, I assume…
Quality. The Row Resort’15
Perfection. The Olsen sisters know how. If you see a woman wearing a caftan this Spring on Manhattan, then guilt The Row’s SS14. If you see huge, 900 gram heavy cashmere sweaters- also think of The Row. This eponymous brand really influences fashion. It’s ultra-luxurious approach towards the silhouettes, clothes and fabrics is impressive. Oh, fabrics. This time for Resort they were the biggest thing at The Row! Sea Island cotton, natural linen, double-face wool, supple suede and knitted cashmere are just few examples of fabrics that were used to create this great collection. And all of that was perfectly composed into gorgeous outfits! Maxi coats, oxford shoes, delicate blouses, super wide trousers… and all linked with mink belts that reminded of Phoebe Philo’s idea for AW14 Celine. To sum up, for me the American version of Celine is The Row and Parisian version of The Row is Celine. Why? Both are best quality and… perfect (sorry for my bias)!
Muse. Ellery Resort’15
The Sydney-based designer, Kym Ellery, does the most simple & sophisticated clothes at once. For her Resort 2015, she managed to make the clothes well fit for casual time and evening events! Ellery deployed her signature bell shapes with restraint, making a trumpet hem on cropped pants or fanning out the sleeves of a slinky boucle dress or cotton poplin shirt. Also, the spaghetti straps and V-cuts brought the collection a poetic attitude and mood. Ellery is for a long time one of my favourite Australian labels and I really enjoy it’s luxurious approach towards the modern evening-wear.
Slouchy. J.W. Anderson Resort’15
I am mesmerised. I truly love this Resort 2015 collection in case of Jonathan Anderson. It’s beautiful in it’s ugliness. Kept in calm colours of beige, grey and red, the collection reminded me of the typical British country land-scape, full of farms and valleys. There was something delicate about it too. The deconstructed shirts, origami maxi dresses and the chic black costume made of a shirt and over-sized trousers were my favourites. It somehow reminds of early Prada, at which Miuccia investigated uniforms and ugliness in fashion. This slouch way of styling, these imperfections… I am looking forward to see the continuation for this interesting idea in September, Jonathan!





















