Christophe Lemaire is the go-to designer for a guy who needs a solid and structured wardrobe of daily essentials. A soft flannel shirt; black shearling jacket; Shetland tweed topcoat; high-waisted denim pants. Also, the two, both elegant and casual, pair of shoes – polished black derbies and white moccasins. Indeed, sometimes the codes of Lemaire need an ease-up – however, if talking of the seasonless must-haves, this supremely French label is always a reliable choice.
Valentino‘s pre-fall 2016 collection delivered by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli feels too good to be just a pre-collection. It has about 85 looks, and each of them tells a different story. The first series of looks were all about a pictorial, vivid scenario of a volcanic eruption – meticulously embroidered mini-dresses were styled with refreshing floral maxi-skirts and electric, blue high-knee boots. The force of nature, which was embraced by the designers this season was continued in the most romantic way – using the traditional, Italian way of fur-painting, the mink coats were blooming with delicate, white flowers. The Astrakhan skirt with fluffy cotton-flowers was genius, too, when styled with a classy, soft knit. However, the collection had its other side – the aim was, to make it span the worlds. The inspiration, as Maria Grazia and Pierpaolo explained in the showroom set up in Andy Warhol’s Factory in New York, was Elio Fiorucci. The Italian designer, who died last year, was focusing his fashion on influences which came from everywhere. “He was local and global,” said Chiuri, “and we think that fits with the way we work.” Moreover, the designers were drawn to Fiorucci for the 70’s lifestyle he represented in fashion, and his joy of discovery. I must admit, it was really hard to choose only a few, representative looks from this beautiful collection – so here are my definite favourites.
And if you are not familiar with Fiorucci’s pre-Instagram fashion…
He was the first designer to dress Madonna.
His work was captured the essence of Italian opulence and New York’s Warholian energy.
Elio used to have the most provoking advertisements in the industry – sexuality was his favourite element to play with.
The newest Acne Studios collection for pre-fall 2016 is a perfect set of looks, which defines the current fashion obsession – so the raw girl, who is wearing her favourite, yet slightly dilapidated knitted cardigan, cowboy boots from a Los Angeles thrift shop (Gilda Ambrosio style, of course) and a satin slip dress, but in a very party-hard way. The grunge edginess of this Parisian outing is softened with toned and warm autumn colours of curcuma and dove grey, while the focus on knitwear (this green, super-long scarf looks perfect for a lazy, September day) felt like a fresh gust of air for the brand. If talking of the textures, one of the coats is a real, one-of-a-kind piece – the tartan check has a kind of an arty, hybrid contrast on the waist-line. The contemporary usage of velvet as a bra-piece of a slip-dress looks both dramatic and flawless with a delicate shawl tied around the neck of the model. Jonny Johansson, this collection is a BOMB.
Even though these clothes will hit the stores only in June, Rochas delivered its pre-fall 2016 collection just in time before Christmas and New Year Eve fuss. Literally, this collection is a treasury of tips for a chic party outfit. Alessandro Dell’AcQua, who celebrates his second year at this heritage couture house, knows the codes of Rochas inside out – the meticulously embroidered silks, masterful Chantilly lace usage and the richness of textiles is not strange to him at all, but rather makes him feel like in his opulent fashion heaven. Also, Alessandro’s all-time favourite fashion trick for a slight granny-elegance update is here – socks worn with fancy pussy-bow pumps. This season, the fur game is strong for Rochas, too – the beautiful shades of blue, chestnut and burgundy made the variety of outerwear look more than fun. The non-chalance kept in the slouchy, fur stoles and the on-the-go idea of putting a slip-dress over a t-shirt will never disappoint or bore. And definitely not during a tasteful, New Year party.
Vetements in French means “clothes” – but Vetements goes far beyond the meaning of clothes in today’s fashion industry. It exaggerates clothes. It elongates the sleeves, gives volume to cowboy boots and makes floral grandma dresses look provocative, and kind of sexy. Led by Demna Gvasalia and six other anymous designers, who met while working as design team at Maison (Martin) Margiela, Vetements is the new force which makes fashion rules feel even more useless than ever.
AW15 – Even their autumn-winter fashion show wasn’t a typical event where clothes were celebrated in a traditional way. But don’t think it was done in a fussy, Chanel way – oh no. The “creative network” of the brand took their guests to Le Depot, a sleazy sex-club, where everybody felt a mood of anti-fashion. At first sight, you might not really understand the collection – but in reality, it is not that deep in its meaning as you might think. These clothes, even though look pretty grotesque, are wearable. Gvasalia claims “as long as we can make clothes that people want to wear and they find them cool and relevant, that’s my understanding of hype”. Although the styling is complicated and well-considered (or not), separately the clothes are easy. Take the over-sized trench coat. You can wear it with everything – even if you might look like a hobo, you look like a anti-fashion person. But the thing about Vetements is, that you need to feel this anti-fashion thing. And live in it, consciously.
SS16 – For summer, Vetements presented its collection in a tacky Chinese restaurant. But, even though the SS16 mood-board wasn’t focused on China nor on Asia, it reflected the spirit of this place through old-fashioned kitsch. Floral dresses inspired by aprons of Gvasalia’s grandmother, sequined capes, velvet sweatshirts and tunics – and all of that bound up with ultra-long leather belts with Harley-Davidson-style buckles. The eerie soundtrack of the collection perfecly described the new season’s attitude – it began with gentle waltz and then abruptly descended into Mayhem – the Norwegian heavy metal group. The black hoodies featuring a print based on Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet in Titanic burst confusion (maybe one of Vetements’ designers loves / hates this film?), however the leather jackets that were constructed to be comfortable when sat on real bikes made much sense. The must-have, best-selling jeans were renewed to be more comfortable and affordable. In other words, the summer version of Vetements is rather an expansion of the last season’s wardrobe than a new idea. But in reality, it absolutely made the collection feel more desirable, just like the cowboy boots or sock heels.
2016 will be a very special year for Vetements’ leading designer, Demna, as he is going to take Balenciaga under his creative direction! And basically, I can’t wait to see his debut collection in March.
