Ghesquière’s Blade Runner Girl

July 19, 2017July 19, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Some collections are just unforgettable. And some do both: remain in your mind for seasons to come and stay ahead of time in their remarkable authenticity. Nicolas Ghesquière‘s autumn-winter 2012 collection for Balenciaga happens to fall into the latter camp. Bonded leather coats with over-sized shoulders, voluminous sweaters over cosmic A-line skirts, memorable sweatshirts with Join a Weird Trip signs. Too much of goodness.

I think this one specific line-up of the visionary designer wasn’t as well understood in 2012 as it would have been today – its singularity, sharp modernism and wearability feel so today, but also so 2020, 2030 and who knows – 2040? After seeing the new trailer of Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, I just couldn’t hold myself from writing this short post as it made me think of Ghesquière’s brilliance right away. Blade Runner‘s neo-noir sci-fi sequel, coming later this year, is highly anticipated – and the designers can’t wait too, as Raf Simons did an entire menswear collection dedicated to the cult film. By the way, while designing at Louis Vuitton, Nicolas tends to frequently refer to Blade Runner while describing his futuristic collections.

Balenciaga AW12

Balenciaga AW12 in Purple Magazine’s editorial by Terry Richardson, issue 18.

Balenciaga’s AW12 campaign by Steven Meisel.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Colette Closes its Doors

July 12, 2017July 12, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Sometimes, innocent morning scrolling on Instagram hurts. My heart ached, while I was reading Colette’s latest post. Hoped it’s a late prima-aprilis kind-of-pun. But when all Parisians started posting the signature, blue dots, this became a fact – Colette closes its doors. The boutique on rue St. Honore was founded in 1997 by Colette Roussaux (who decided for retirement), and has been led by her daughter Sarah Andelman in recent years. “It’s the only shop where I go because they have things no one else has,”Karl Lagerfeld told BoF last year. “I buy watches, telephones, jewellery there — everything really! They have invented a formula that you can’t copy easily, because there is only one Colette and her and Sarah are 200 percent involved.”

An era ends on the 20th of December. By that time, the most famous spot in Paris will reach its 20 years of ‘hype’ existence. When I visited Colette for the first time in 2007, it felt like a fashion mecca, where everything, BUT everything was (and still is) the ultimate holy grail. Colette became the example for all concept stores around the world to follow. The idea of having high-end brands like Dior together with streetwear favourites and niche books felt like out of this world, like total non-chalance. And it was the Colette’s founder who did that first. If you think of the number of collaborations Colette has done with all their brands – from sequin totes by Ashish to the current Balenciaga installation – its a chapter of fashion history on its own rights. As for now, the official statement of the store says: Until our last day, nothing will change. Colette will continue to renew itself each week with exclusive collaborations and offerings.

In other words, it’s another sad, sad day for the fashion industry.

All photos come from Design & Culture by Ed archives.

Rare and Exquisite. Alaïa AW17 Couture

July 8, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

The haute couture week in Paris couldn’t end in a better way. In accordance with his manner of doing ‘everything at your own pace’ and after a six-year long break, Azzedine Alaïa‘s couture collection was like the sweetest, priciest dessert in the menu of a gourmet chef. Naomi Campbell, Alaïa’s ultimate muse, opened and closed the show wearing a delightful fur coat and incredibly pleated velvet gown respectively. The models were transformed into modern-day Nefertiti queens, thank to Julien d’Ys magical coiffeur skills. Also, what got everyone talking wasn’t a far-fetched venue or another celebrity in the f-row – most of all, the focus was on the garments. From a python coat in red and a hand-crafted leather maxi-skirt to floral motifs on a jacket and high-boots covered in leopard print, Azzedine’s rare fashion universe is as exquisite as it was when he started out few decades ago. Marvellous!

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Celestial. Valentino AW17 Couture

July 7, 2017July 7, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Whenever a priest wearing a soutane crosses the street, you can’t help but look at the way his garment flows and shapes in motion. Pierpaolo Piccioli, the creative director of Valentino, had a vision for his couture collection: to grasp the sense of holiness and striking simplicity behind canonical robes he observes everyday on the streets of Rome, and convey it in the most haute way. Floor-sweeping capes had a ceremonial aura about them, just like sharply cut coats. If you think ‘Vatican’, you think ‘ornamental’ – Piccioli’s take on sacred is a lot more modern, but equally celestial.

Valentino’s collection might be the couture season’s most intriguing line-up, and if you’re still not convinced, note the one-of-a-kind metal bags with enamel mosaic details made by Harumi Klossowska De Rola especially for this occasion. Each of the bags’ shape reassembles an animal’s head – put together, they symbolize the seven deadly sins. How ironic, thinking about the sources of fortunes of some of Valentino’s richest clients…

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

A Russian Tale. Ulyana Sergeenko AW17

July 6, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

A beautiful, Russian tale was told at Ulyana Sergeenko‘s autumn-winter 2017 haute couture show. The brand is known for its ultra-focus on traditional, slowly dying craftsmanship coming straight from Russia – take the Yelets and Vologda lace techniques, which make Sergeenko’s lady-like dresses look truly one-of-a-kind. The collection orbited around two themes. One was especially intimate for the designer herself – it was a photo of Ulyana Sergeenko’s grandmother taken 64 years ago in eastern Kazakhstan, wearing a black dress with white-collar. Ulyana dedicated the collection to her beloved grandmothers – Sonya, Nina and Zina – making her lucky clients feel the love embedded in these intricate embroideries. The other, darker side of this collection was inspired by Old Holywood’s elegance and Soviet crime stories feauturing spies and gangsters – the all-black looks had something sexy badass about them (for a reason). Fancy, very femme fatale fur coats are here, too.