Misplaced Classics. Carven AW24

March 4, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Louise Trotter‘s sophomore collection for Carven signals that Paris has a new go-to brand for unconstrained elegance. “I have continued to develop the wardrobe archetypes, the everyday made precious, brought to life in unexpected context, fabrication and proportion. The allure of being dressed up and yet in stages of undress; a space where there is no separation between daywear and evening and where typical daywear silhouettes and fabrics morph into atypical occasion or evening wear. Misplaced classics infused with the comfort and ease of sportswear,” the designer summed up. From the restrained and tonal palette to the masculine-feminine permutations of fabric and shape, there’s a lot to covet. Interestingly, Trotter acknowledged the brand’s history. Madame Carven’s legacy was alive in the column and hourglass silhouettes. And all that stunningly styled by Suzanne Koller. More and more industry insiders are lured by the new charm of Carven, so I expect it to be firing up any second.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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What’s Hot (4.3.24)

March 4, 2024March 2, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Nothing Is What It Seems. Loewe AW24

March 3, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

This was a Loewe by Jonathan Anderson collection that can be comprehended as a line-up of utterly beautiful, artisanally made clothes, but also in terms of something much more conceptual. The framework of this show – set in a private exhibition of small landscape and domestic scenes by the late American painter Albert York – is the context for the designer’s quite off-kilter reflection on the meaning of luxury; specifically a zooming in on the interior landscapes and extremely decorative antique objects collected by wealthy Americans. “I started exploring this idea of provenance and why we buy things and why things come to have meaning,” he said. “The idea of an outsider looking into a world that we don’t experience.” Naturally, Anderson’s intertextual mind was shooting off, looking at the insanely ornate collectibles – elaborate china, tapestry embroideries of pets, Chippendale furniture – that women interior designers “specifically of the 1920s” placed for their clients in their Upper East Side apartments. And there we have the provenance behind the Loewe prints of chintzy fabric and wallpaper flowers, the painted radishes, buttercups, and foliage of English early-18th-century Chelsea porcelain. A silvered collar on a gray cashmere overcoat, masquerading as look-alike fur, turned out to be carved wood. Trompe l’oeil “caviar”-beaded embroidery smothered everything from tracksuits to curtain-fabric balloon trousers. One of the show-stopper bags was a fully detailed bunch of antique Chelsea porcelain asparagus. A replica of a replica from nature, served up once more as the ultimate luxury fashion object for the 21st-century collector.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Prêt-À-Porter. Schiaparelli AW24

March 3, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Daniel Roseberry‘s Schiaparelli ready-to-wear used to read as an offshoot of the haute couture line. But the autumn-winter 2024 collection offered a new mindset. Cleaned from bold surreal ornaments, eye motifs or in-your-face Elsa Schiaparelli references, Roseberry offered his perspective on daily chic. There was strong tailoring with beautiful silhouettes and ties made to look like plaited hair, corsets worn over vest tops and outerwear with spectacular, hand-made buttons. “So what is Schiap ready-to-wear? It’s a wardrobe full of blazer variations, crisp slacks and separates, and dramatic evening wear – with both our founder’s beloved iconographies (the anatomy, the measuring tape, the keyhole) and my beloved Americanisms (fringe, buckles, and denim) making starring appearances and cameos throughout,” the designer summed up. While the collection seemed to lack direction, and in some moments reminded bits of Demna’s Balenciaga, Kim Jones’ Fendi and Pieter Mulier’s Alaïa, it was certainly refreshing to see more lightness at this detail-heavy brand.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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This Is Chic. Isabel Marant AW24

March 3, 2024March 3, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

You can always rely on Isabel Marant. She will never let you down. But her autumn-winter 2024 collection was exceptionally brilliant. It was co-designed with artistic director Kim Bekker, who came out on the runway together with Marant. “There’s a lot of leather,” the eternal queen of Parisian chic said, “but at the same time, even though it’s quite luxurious, it’s also very easy and wearable.” There were great voluminous 1980s inflected blouson jackets in shearling or leather, à la the late Claude Montana, in olive, chocolate, or black, and because you can never have too much of a good thing, they often came worn with matching leather mini skirts, or lanky, leg lengthening pants. Aesthetically, this collection was very Emmanuelle Alt for Vogue Paris – once underrated, now hugely missed as Condé Nast is gradually homogenizing all the Vogues in terms of image. The designers used the suedes and leathers for scrunched boots resting on tiny heels, some of which came embellished with jewelry, or casual, effortless tooled suede bags swinging with fringe. Those boots and bags had a bit of a gaucho vibe. In fact, a lot of this collection did: with the short fringed sarape skirts; the blanket throw coats; the suede scarves wound around the neck; and with a killer pair of black tasseled trousers which had been riveted with silver studs, and worn under a shrugged on black trench. Into this richly layered mix went mens’ chunky cable knit sweaters, rock ‘n’ roll leopard micro-print jeans, utilitarian jumpsuits, stacks of bangles, and a fantastic combo of a beige weathered cotton drill shirt, perfect in its slouchy proportions with a pair of equally weathered cotton trousers also cut with a slouchier attitude. What’s not to love?