The Great. Ralph Lauren Pre-Fall 2024

May 2, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

This Ralph Lauren collection had to grow on me for a moment. But when I saw Anok Yai in her finale look, consisting of a cowboy hat and stunning body-skimming sequined gown, being applauded by the all-American designer – who himself wore a blue western shirt, a pair of well-worn jeans and grey New Balance trainers – I was like “wow, this is it“! The pre-fall 2024 collection, which Ralph presented a couple of days ago in New York, is a reminder that he’s a great designer. One of the greatest. A living legend. “The woman I design for has a beauty that comes from an inner confidence,” he noted in his press release. “My collection is inspired by that woman, her sense of timelessness, her individuality – a style that is forever.” The show’s opening song, Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are,” seemed chosen to call attention to that constancy, as did the first model Christy Turlington, whose career began in the 1980s on Lauren’s runway. Turlington wore neat tailoring, a tie tucked into the waistband of her trousers, with an RL 888 leather tote in the same shade of buff gray as her clothing. Neckties and power suits were recurring sights on the autumn runways; for Lauren they’re not seasonal affectations, but rather pieces that he’s returned to over the years, sharpening and fine-tuning them. City sophistication and red carpet drama are essential parts of his repertoire, as well. These were represented by a chunky cardigan and cocktail dress combo (so good), the pinstripe jacket he threw over a silk charmeuse shirt and long skirt in gunmetal gray. Yes to all that, forever.

Here are a couple Ralph Lauren classics I fancy a lot…

ED’s SELECTION:

“Ralph Lauren: A Way of Living” Book

Driss Distressed Straight-leg Jeans

Nancie Cotton Poplin-trimmed Floral-print Silk-gauze Shirt

Fringed Leather Jacket

Niles Strapless Bow-embellished Velvet Gown

Gregory Double-breasted Satin-trimmed Velvet Blazer

Cotton Straight-leg Pants

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Harvest Season. Bevza AW24

April 18, 2024April 18, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Collage by me featuring Bevza AW24 look and works by Maria Prymachenko – Ukrainian folk art painter, who worked in the naïve art style. The Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum, where several works by Prymachenko were held, was burned after a deliberate attack on a museum during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the reported loss of 25 of her works.

It’s over two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, so for her autumn-winter 2024 collection, Svitlana Bevza – formerly Kyiv-based designer – set out to celebrate her motherland’s vibrant culture and history through distinct, soft-minimalist lens. Bevza selected the Ukrainian Institute of America – which specializes in promoting the art, music and culture of Ukraine – for her New York Fashion Week presentation. The collection was centered around Ukraine’s role as one of the world’s largest grain producers. Apron dresses were crafted from eco-leather and outerwear was made from sheepskin; it largely focused on an A-shaped silhouette inspired by a traditional 19th-century Ukrainian coat called a Kozhukh. The Tisto vest – named after the Ukrainian word for dough – sported plaits that echoed the texture of traditional Kosa bread. As for the palette? It was muted with the occasional pop of canary and gold coming through to mirror the lush colors of a healthy harvest. These monochromatic looks were elevated by shapes that were experimental yet considered, edited with geometric collars and belt-scrunched waists. Beautiful, functional and emotionally moving at the same time.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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She’s A Textile Girl. Maryam Nassir Zadeh AW24

April 12, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Maryam Nassir Zadeh has finally dropped her autumn-winter 2024 lookbook, and oh boy, it’s so good. The designer is one of the leading fashion voices of New York, and she certainly doesn’t need the platform of New York Fashion Week to prove that. Nassir Zadeh’s textile-informed (“I’m a textile girl“), tactile approach to her brand is widely copied by up-and-coming brands, but nobody does it so authentically and with such instinctual ease as her. There’s just lots and lots to love in this new collection, from the styling (perfectly matching the look-book’s location, shot somewhere in the South of France) to the clothes and accessories. The pastel pink fringed scarf in either pastel pink, beige or graphite, made from soft suede, will very likely become the label’s top-seller: you can drape it around the neck in many different ways or wear it as a shawl. Styled with new season workwear jackets, the vibe of this pieces is supremely cool. The goovy fringe story continues in skirts of different lengths. Then we’ve got citrus-colored metallic-threaded Indian materials made into charming bra-tops, mini-bags, and boxers. The designer recently visited Rajasthan, so that sun-drenched color palette definitely originates from that experience. Maryam achieves more with less, but she isn’t really after minimalism. She offers playful garments, but not in an adorned way (there are pretty much no superfluous embroideries or embellishments in her work) – it’s more about the way you can nonchalantly style and layer these pieces. The New York-based designer keeps on experimenting with merging womenswear with menswear, and the results are more than inspiring. “I’m putting the men in more feminine things and the women in more masculine things,” she noted. “It’s a full circle moment.”

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Accidental Impressionism. Danielle Frankel AW24

April 3, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

If there’s one designer that leads the bridalwear game today, then it’s definitely Danielle Frankel and her New York-based studio. However Danielle isn’t limiting her designs to weddings only; she describes her namesake brand as “a fashion label” whose “medium is bridal,” a minor yet important distinction that indeed manages to capture her stunning creative output. The latest collection, starring Italian beauty Mariacarla Boscono and styled by Vanessa Traina, is an in-depth study of texture, unique fabrications, and gesturally arranged flowers lead to a sort of accidental Impressionism. The brand’s signature interplay of hard and soft and its relaxed refinement join pointedly feminine details that are naturally mussed at the edges. Oil-on-canvas landscapes are interpreted by hand-painted petit-fleurs, watercolor prints, and sculpted blooms. Painterly brushstrokes adorn featherweight organza juxtaposed by castings of metal and clay blossoms created by artisans in Ukraine and South Africa. The introduction of silk jersey brings a goddess-like liquidity to the range, while the addition of Lyon lace elevates an exploration of sheerness and structure. Silk woven with metal fibers creates beautiful wrinkles that are meant to last rather than be pressed away; a sort of “perfect imperfection“. In a continued exploration of color for the aisle, alabaster is joined by patinaed rust, hibiscus, citrus, pale chrysanthemum (Frankel’s favorite) and various shades of ivory. Degradé-dyed and pearl-tipped organza fringes mimic grasses in the hand-brushed expanses that inspired them. This really isn’t your average bride-to-be wardrobe.

Here’s a couple of Danielle Frankel beauties you can get right now…

ED’s SELECTION:

Nina Pleated Wool And Silk-blend Satin Gown

Harper Open-back Draped Wool And Silk-blend Satin Gown

Guinevere Shirred Grosgrain-trimmed Tulle Gown

Wendell Tiered Ruffled Lace And Tulle Mini Dress

Lucy Cold-shoulder Lace-trimmed Tulle And Cady Mini Dress

Lottie Strapless Appliquéd Silk-organza Mini Dress

And here’s a selection of gorgeous bride-perfect shoes just in case!

Manolo Blahnik Hangisli 70 Crystal-embellished Satin Slingback Pumps

Manolo Blahnik Rinialola 70 Bow-embellished Embroidered Mesh And Crepe De Chine Pumps

Magda Butrym Spiral Appliquéd Satin Sandals

Roger Vivier Belle Vivier Trompette Leather Pumps

René Caovilla Crystal-embellished Lace And Leather Pumps

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Currency. Vaquera AW24

February 27, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s quite ironic that Vaquera, a formerly New York-based brand with the best humor in this industry, opens Paris Fashion Week. It’s like a pill for the overdose of snobbishness that will avalanche on us throughout these ten, long days. Patric DiCaprio and Bryn Taubensee are candid about the harsh reality of being designers in 2024. Through their clothes, they manage to communicate these oh-so-not-fashion, yet relatable on human level, dilemmas. The time crunch between seasons, lack of days off, their bank accounts. What really ticked them off this season, they said, is how much they found themselves caring about money. “Fashion these days is dominated by the crudest form of currency,” DiCaprio said. “We felt like in the past, artistic merit, a vision, and being punk was a bit more of a powerful currency.” And so, in a punk move, they developed an American currency print and graffiti’d Andrew Jackson’s eyes or painted over his face with hearts, and stamped the word FAKE over the White House. And then they used it for a matching button-down and tie, the cummerbund on a loose-fitting pair of trousers, and the three-dimensional rosette bodice on a cocktail dress. Toying with another currency – sex – there were cone bra tops and cone bra-printed t-shirts, titty twister tees à la their icon Vivienne Westwood. DiCaprio and Taubensee aren’t naive enough to think that (real) fashion is an artistic pursuit, but they aren’t cynical enough to believe that it’s all about dollars and cents, either. They would like a day off, but then again, they wouldn’t change it. “I’m grateful for where we are,” DiCaprio said.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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