What’s Hot (27.2.22)
Fashion
Do You Even Care? Gucci AW22
It’s infuriating how huge brands that preach values of “inclusivity”, “love” and “peace” choose to stay silent in case of Russian invasion of Ukraine. I had a different attitude towards labels that showed their collections and decided to stay silent on the first day of the conflict (like Prada) – everybody was confused. But now is the high time to act, and most of the Western European fashion companies and insiders still pretend to be asleep. Gucci‘s silence is telling – not a single social media post in plain sight that would acknowledge the disheartening situation. Why is that? Kering and other luxury conglomerates are just too scared they won’t sell another pair of shoes to its major customer target, largely located in Russia, which supports Putin’s war crime towards Ukraine. As simple as that.
Alessandro Michele‘s autumn-winter 2022 fashion show failed to share any gesture of solidarity with Ukrainians, even though I thought he would be the first to do that in the industry. Possibly, his good intentions might have been tamed by the upper company structures. The distaste caused by the tone-deafness is one thing. In general, this line-up was one of the most mediocre collections coming from the designer in a while. The message for this collection, entitled “Exquisite Gucci“, was suits for all, with male and female models wearing versions of the Gucci sartorial two-piece. Alongside this focus on tailoring was a collaboration with Addidas Originals, which saw the sportswear brand’s iconic three stripes splashed over sharp cut suits, on leather gloves and baseball caps, or forming a dramatic V down the front of a corset dress. To be honest, most of the looks felt uninspiring, and I feel like we’ve seen enough of fashion collabs with Adidas in the last couple of years.
Back to really important stuff. If you want to spread awareness or help and support Ukraine, here are some useful links:
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/ways-to-help-ukraine-conflict/
https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/countries/ukraine
https://www.rescue.org/article/how-can-i-help-ukraine
https://www.gov.pl/web/udsc/ukraina-en
Also, big love to independent, small and medium-sized brands like Magda Butrym, Collina Strada and MISBHV that will donate 100% of its profits to aid humanitarian crisis in Ukraine in the following days. Any action counts, big or small!
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Sensual Allure. Blumarine AW22
Helmut Newton’s spirit hovered over the Blumarine show. “Always loved his work, how can you not? Always been one of my heroes,” said Nicola Brognano backstage. Newton lensed memorable advertising campaigns for Blumarine; one of the best was shot in 1995, with a young Eva Herzigova clad in a skintight black satin number, slit high to reveal her fabulous legs. Brognano had Herzigova, still breathtakingly gorgeous at 48, close today’s show, nicely coming full circle. You cannot reference Helmut Newton without conjuring dark, sultry atmospheres of intrigue. Brognano is prodding the girly Blumarine ingénue to enter grown-up territory. “She’s more femme and sexual,” he said. His co-conspirator, über-stylist Lotta Volkova, chimed in: “She isn’t so pretty and girly anymore – or at least not only. She has grown into a strong, sexy woman, in command of her body, and powerful. She is a glamorous vamp.” Nocturnal and provocative, the collection was paraded by a cast diverse in age and body type, reflecting the image shift. Lila Moss, Euphoria’s Chloe Cherry, and Mini Anden were among various beautiful curvy figures and willowy, slender silhouettes: all looked equally alluring, clad in a series of skintight, draped micro dresses, each one slinkier, sexier, and skimpier than the other. A bold palette of black, red and purple signaled an erotic detour from the candy pinks and powdery baby blues favored by Blumarine’s teen incarnation. Sweeping long black coats, shapely and nipped at the waist, looked dramatic; in Newton-esque style, faces were sometimes veiled, eyes hidden behind dark glasses. A catsuit in black patent leather with a built-in bustier had an obvious fetish allure; the see-through top with breast-hiding velvet hearts worn by Herzigova in the Newton campaign was remade, as an homage to the Blumarine’s heyday.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
What’s Hot (26.2.22)
Run. Sunnei AW22
Social commentary always lurks in the background of Sunnei’s practice. The pandemic has offered Simone Rizzo and Loris Messina plenty of open questions to chew on, fashion being rich food-for-thought territory, with game-changing actions still slow to come about within the industry. For starters, fashion’s high-pitched, fast-paced beat hasn’t slowed down (even at the moment when Europe’s peace is under threat), and running from one physical show to the next has become normality again. Collateral effects of frenzy, stress and nerve-racking timetables are part of the picture, despite all the good intentions flaunted when the fashion world was in a state of pandemic shock. Their autumn-winter 2022 show seemed a good occasion for Messina and Rizzo to pick up on our collective scatterbrained state. They rallied their community in an open air set on the outskirts of Milan, where they orchestrated a sort of “performance within the performance” as they called it, with the audience commanded to stand on metal benches, facing the sidewalk near a wall of an industrial building. “We wanted to make people stop for a moment and reflect on what’s happening, especially today, which is such a delicate, disquieting moment,” said the designers. With Russia and Ukraine clashing violently, and war looming on the horizon, the mood was one of uncertainty and worry. Instead of walking, models came running along the wall, while the audience was invited to follow the show in slow motion through their iPhones. As a sort of metaphoric “crystallization of the moment,” as the designers called it, it was quite fitting. As for the collection, it was quite hard to see the details with models running at lightening speed, but the clothes looked fit for such an athletic performance. “We’ve used a new technical fabric that extends and stretches, perfect for layering,” said the designers. They riffed on their core items, “focusing on what we do best, experimenting on making our favorite shapes more extreme and radical, without detracting from their identity and character.” While keeping their offer sleek and minimal, they went quite eclectic, playing with colors and textures with a more tactile appeal on balaclava-capes in furry wool and chenille woven into wavy 3D motifs.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Design & Culture by Ed 