What’s Hot (5.10.22)
Fashion
Slatterns and Angels. Andreas Kronthaler Vivienne Westwood SS23
For spring-summer 2023, Andreas Kronthaler was in philosophical form. He reported that until his arrival in Paris a few days ago, he’d not been out of London in more than a year. Instead he had stayed at home and read and designed. The book that hit him hardest was Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne by Katherine Rundell. That text on the great metaphysical poet, who saw lovers’ eyes as hemispheres and clothes as states of mind, helped fire this collection. The ragged tricolored cardigan of look 16 and the soulful accordion on the soundtrack signaled Kronthaler’s enchantment at this Paris return. More broadly we were on an imaginative trip through various characters shaped through clothing. Sibyl Buck was particularly magnificent in her two broad-shoulder, Renaissance-man looks. There were slatterns and angels, monks and harlots, nobles and commoners. The models all wore super-high, Vivienne Westwood-signature platforms that even Donne would have struggled to describe. The only missing element was Westwood herself, whom her husband said was back in London taking part in a wave of protests against the government.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Back To The 1980s. Junya Watanabe SS23
The three Comme Des Garçons brands have finally returned to the Parisian schedule: Junya Watanabe, Noir Kei Ninomiya and CDG itself. Lately, Watanabe loves a theme to stick with for an entire season, so for spring-summer 2023 we went back to 1980s. The familiar flashing camera sounds of Duran Duran’s hit “Girls on Film” kicked in and a pair of New Romantic kids emerged from the side of the runway, their hair crimped into mohawks and wedges and their makeup airbrushed on like a Patrick Nagel portrait. All of that was enriched with Junya’s signature codes, from deconstructed tailoring to the punk-rock badassery of chains and pearls. Those first two looks set the silhouette: wide, very-1980s-shouldered capes and a skinny leg punctuated by a sharp-toed boot dressed up with those chains and pearls. Some of the capes were caught by a belt in the front or cut like a trad two-button blazer, but turn them around and it was a different story: all swagger and sweeping shapes, punctuated by fabric selvedge. Shirting got the Junya treatment too; split personality button-downs were well fit on one side and unstructured on the other, a clutch of pearls holding them in place, while pleated shirtdresses came in Klaus Nomi–ish inverted triangles. About those pearls: they were worn as necklaces and integrated into garments, almost like belts, creating the kind of askew volumes Watanabe likes. He seemed to be making a case for more glamour and more drama, but without disconnecting from the realities of daily life. The jeans, whose upturned cuffs revealed a flash of red tartan, were made with Levi’s, and the color-blocked and patchwork jackets came together with Komine, a Japanese racing-gear maker.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Layers. Victoria Beckham SS23
Spring-summer 2023 collection was Victoria Beckham‘s runway debut in Paris. But also, it was one of the least consistent offerings coming from the designer. This makes me wonder: for whom is this brand for at that very moment? And what does it really stand for? The collection wasn’t bad, but it felt like it tried to check all the current trends. The first look: Rianne Van Rompaey in a medical-pink rigorous, ankle-length dress sheathed over her body, its sleeves slit to the shoulder, its waist stitched at the front and pulled apart with strict ruching. Beckham underpinned it with opera gloves in monogrammed lace the color of the model’s skin, matching tights, and high satin heels with almond-shaped toes. It was pretty twisted, but glamorous. The designer could stay in the orbit of this look. But she decided to experiment further. Draped dresses (some seedily worn over latex tights), deconstructed cami dresses that looked as if they were about to slip off the body, and perversely bias-cut fishtail gowns in more medical pastels. A black dress was adorned in slashes as if it had been clawed into. Next to coats with edges cut to reveal their construction and trompe l’oeil leather jackets with the imprint of lapels, tailored jackets had been deconstructed at the back and reduced to their core frame, exposing the naked body (very Peter Do). Each look put separately seemed intriguing, but in overall, the line-up needed a tighter edit.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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What’s Hot (4.10.22)
Design & Culture by Ed 