Pansies. Christopher Kane Resort’17

June 2, 2016June 2, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Christopher Kane is obsessed with pansies. To this extend that he dedicated his whole resort collection to these small, springish, cheerful flowers. “Pansies are a symbol of freethinking! I like that. I never want to follow trends. Pansies also look like they’ve got cheeky laughing faces. And they’re all these colors because they’re crossbred. And that’s what I’m doing now—crossbreeding my ideas.” Cute. Just like the petal-shaped shoulders of satin dresses, girlish gingham skirts signature, woollen cardigans (in case you want to keep your inner pansy warm during cold, March days). The collection, presented in Kane’s boutique in London, looks back at Chris’ best-selling pieces, his love for flora (which is emphasized nearly each season, from embroideries on biker jackets to neon-yellow lace) and blush baby-Lolita style (see this look with goth-like gloves and a slip-dress. Grunge, but of course drowning in pansy print!). Miranda Priestly used to be skeptical about flowers – but Chistopher Kane really makes florals look ground-breaking for spring.

Collage by me

It’s Friday and That’s Ashish!

March 25, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Diana Ross and her I will survive song; neon-shaded afros; a lot of dazzle and glitter. And you’ve got Ashish‘ austumn-winter 2016 collection, which is your Friday night outfit inspiration! Sending out a line of diverse models, Ashish Gupta has presented the most fun collection of the season, making us all forget the daily-life problems. That’s why we have Fridays, and these great evenings – to loose ourselves to dance. Possibly, in one of these gold smoking suites or red cocktail dresses, please!

A little ‘slip dress’ never killed nobody.

When you’re out of the gym and heading to a booze party. Basically, these sweatpants will keep you comfy.

Your crrrrazy Easter look.

Or something more Chez Castel, meaning a night of your life in Paris!

A Diana Ross themed party, of course. The only rule – everything should be lilac purple, or you’re out.

Red lips, red dress, red manicure – just another, average Friday night out.

London Utility. Marques Almeida AW16

February 26, 2016February 26, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s exciting to see how such label as Marques Almeida evolves. Firstly, the concept behind London’s favourite designer duo, Marta Marques and Pablo Almeida, was simple – ripped denim pants with the 90’s attire. But the apparel revival wasn’t the first and last invention of the Portuguese-born brand. The vision of Marques Almeida girl is always different with every season – but the youthful soul isn’t leaving these clothes even for a second. And this is easily seen in the model casting for Marques’ autumn-winter 2016 outing – few days before the show, the designers shared Polaroids of the friends, who were about to walk the closing show of the London Fashion Week. Naturally diverse models, as one of the designers said, weren’t over-dressed, in order to keep their real attitude, and not the posh versions of themselves.

The clothes weren’t ground-breaking, but there were many pieces that seem to be checked on the LFW must-have list – even though we’ve had a season of the truly beautiful collections from the British designers, Marques Almeida’s clothes makes you really want to have them. Maybe because of this rawness? The bold orange and fuchsia duvet coats prove that my not-so-stylish jacket for dog-walks ranks up. Utility, and style in one. The long, body skirts styled with elongated checked shirt is a bit grunge, which is already an approved trend that appears in a high number of collections. But of course there is the feminine side of Marques Almeida – the classic slip dress a la Corinne Day’s Kate Moss photographs.

You were good this season, London!

Punk, Belts and SoHO. AF Vandevorst AW16

February 25, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

A.F. Vandevorst showed its new collection in London, which felt quite unexpected, as the designers behind the Belgian brand – An Vandevorst and Filip Arickx – used to be the regulars at Paris Fashion Week. But the city was a pretty obvious choice for them, though. The punk spirit, which was the theme behind the collection, is reflected in British music history in the best possible way – and the fish-net tights revived the old, clubbing attitude of SoHO, before it became a trendy, hipster district. The faces of the models were splattered with red, while some of them wore restrictive belted helmets made of leather or velvet. To a surprise of many, velvet had a bright moment this season at Vandevorst, looking good on platform boots and extra-large maxi dress. Also, the deconstructed skirts and pantalons had a rebellious twist, looking quite fierce with red suede stompers. Punk and rock’n’roll have been present in the label’s codes from the very beginning, and to a large extend this collection was a good occasion to highlight that fact – even though I will always consider A.F. Vandevorst as a much more Paris-based label. Whatever they say about the British subculture present in these clothes, the chic, French decadence is oozing from every corner – and I hope this won’t change.

Mum Knows Best. Christopher Kane AW16

February 24, 2016February 24, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

“Things are so normal these days,” Christopher Kane concluded after his autumn-winter 2016 fashion show. “So why not think out of the box?” After the New York Fashion Week, where everything blurred between shades of beige and black, London Fashion Week booms with colour and lifey attitude, and Christopher Kane’s experimental outing is the best proof for that. The woman, who infinitely inspires Chris is his mother – and this season, the tied-under-the-chin plastic rain hats (made in collaboration with Stephen Jones) were a nod to the embarrassing moments when Kane’s mum picked him up from school in one of these. But, as it’s visible – the unsung tendency became London’s obsession. However, the whole “edginess” of this collection was focused on the clothes, which have an uncommon sex-appeal. Note the stripes of tan pleather and sheer black lace dresses, and the not so average florals applied on the transparent textiles. The chaotically scattered feathers on over-sized pants and masculine coats appeared to be another thing that made this collection so strangely attractive. Of course, it can’t be all just so arty and abstract – the designer slightly bites the dust with the voluminous “K” knits, but that’s understandable – something needs to be a sure best-seller, even though we’ve got dozens of desirable pieces here.