Fashion

No one does California story-telling like Eli Russell Linnetz. Now, the ERL designer has taken a step further, and dropped a capsule collection entirely produced in the Golden State. Key shearling pieces came from sheared sheep that roam around the ERL studio alongside shearling waste from local farmers. In tandem with the California-made production, the collection leans into quintessential Americana styles – whether it be through denim or something as simple as plaid boxer shorts. I literally lost my mind for the cowboy sweater. The entire wardrobe is laden with jackets, flared bottoms, shin-length shorts, plaid shirts, heavyweight zip-ups with matching sweatpants, pocket tees and accessories. But the clear standout of the collection are the canary yellow shearling pieces that extend to an oversized jacket, bags and standout $28,000 chaps (hot). With its American-influenced aesthetic, the collection still channels the gritty-meets-sensual sentiments the brand is also known for.

The “Made in California” collection is available now online.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!

The Chloé girl is so back, baby. Chemena Kamali‘s pre-fall 2024 collection – a prelude to the runway line-up we’ve seen in the end of February – proves that the designer is confident about her vision of the Parisian maison. Kamali knows the history of the brand inside out, and worked there as a Chloé-obsessed junior designer in the noughties under Phoebe Philo’s creative direction, and then again under Clare Waight Keller. Nobody comprehends better than Kamali the spontaneous feeling of it-ness that belongs to the female-centric Chloé philosophy; a power recharged through so many generations since the house was founded in the 1950s by the Jewish-Egyptian emigré Gaby Aghion as a free-spirited ready-to-wear antidote to Parisian haute couture. “I really was thinking a lot about the Chloé wardrobe, what it should consist of, just, quite frankly, why do I want to wear it? What do I think is important to have in terms of essential pieces, things that go well with other silhouettes that you have at home already?” It’s the balance of carefree romance and pragmatism that’s run through the house since Karl Lagerfeld’s tenures in the ’70s, ’80s, and late ’90s; what Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo, and Hannah McGibbon ignited in the aughts; and Kamali’s consciousness of what contemporary women need (she herself is a working mother). Customers will soon come across hot wardrobe staples at Chloé boutiues: a navy gabardine jacket with an elongated “Karl collar“, hanging next to a pair of white jeans with scalloped edges, and a soft navy blouse. Then, there’s an array of perfectly-cut trousers hang with slim cognac leather maxi coats, blazers, and caped “highwaywoman” gabardine trenches. Silk slip dresses elude with hyper-feminine energy, contrasting with utilitarian button-on capes on the raincoats. As for accessories, Kamali offers some of the chicest pieces in the brand’s recent history, instant best-sellers: the spacious “Camera” bag, classic wedges and timeless, suede over-the-knee boots.