Paris

Heatwave. Stella McCartney SS’2005

| Design & Culture by Ed

Lately I love going back to Stella McCartney‘s early collections. They are just so straightforward and simply chic. As the summer heatwave isn’t going anywhere for some time, here’s a throwback to Stella’s beachy spring-summer 2005 (which sometime ago I’ve unearthed in my “Summer of Jessa” newsletter post!). Here, the designer – who was still establishing her brand in Paris – played to her strengths: a smidge of vintage (think floaty floral chiffon dresses), a touch of lingerie (camisoles and bras used to good effect layered underneath tops or dresses), feminine tailoring (safari jackets worn over loose pants). And she made strong case for very-boho tiered skirts, letting them swoosh along the runway in white cotton muslin. Ah, simple times…

Inspired? Get a similar look.

ED’s SELECTION:


Chloé Ruffled Silk-georgette Blouse



Stella McCartney Corduroy-trimmed Organic Cotton-twill Wide-leg Pants



Castañer Chiara 80 Metallic Canvas Wedge Espadrilles

Sonia Petroff Dragonfish Belt



Sachin & Babi Sabrina Gown



Isabel Marant Aurely Embellished Bouclé-trimmed Cotton-twill Jacket



Stella McCartney Lace-trimmed Jacquard Halterneck Maxi Dress

 

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Ease of Today. Carven Pre-Fall 2024

| Design & Culture by Ed

The best indicators of whether a brand is taking shape under a new creative director are not the runway collections, but the pre-collections. Judging by the pre-fall 2024 lookbook, Louise Trotter‘s Carven certainly is on the right path to be your new favorite Parisian brand. “It is not a nostalgic or particular prism of a woman,” said the British designer, when asked how the heritage of Carven informs her approach. “It’s that sense of silhouette and sense of proportion with an ease of today.” Comparing to other designers in Paris who struggle with reviving historic Parisian maisons (think Nina Ricci and Rochas), Trotter isn’t stepping into the trap of the archives. She isn’t pulling out a mid-century dress and trying to make it look somehow relevant in 2024. But she smartly deconstructs elements of Madame Carven’s sensibility, and incorporates them into contemporary Carven. For instance, the 1950s column silhouette is revisited in a tank dress worn over a t-shirt. For pre-fall, the designer is gravitating towards a more masculine wardrobe; think sweatshirt in sheepskin or a technical Prince of Wales trouser. The softly tailored coat that comes in either double-face cashmere or chocolate wool gabardine is phenomenal. “I want to find solutions for her life, as I do for myself,” Trotter noted. “It’s instinctive for me. These are pieces that I appreciate and want to wear.” Other women will, too.

Here are some of my favorite pieces from Trotter’s debut collection for Carven. Last sizes left!

ED’s SELECTION:


CARVEN Striped Tech-shell Shirt



CARVEN Pleated Satin Midi Skirt



CARVEN Strapless Twill Maxi Dress



CARVEN Oversized Embellished Tulle Top



CARVEN Satin Shorts



CARVEN Leather Mules



CARVEN Oversized Satin-twill Jacket



CARVEN Striped Shell Tote Bag

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Femme-hood. Saint Laurent Pre-Fall 2024

| Design & Culture by Ed

It sometimes seems Anthony Vaccarello is more YSL than Yves Saint Laurent ever was. The Belgian designer has formed an immensely razor-sharp image of the contemporary maison, smartly constructed out of Saint Laurent archives and refreshed with modern-day approach to glamour. For pre-fall 2024 – that is now hitting stores – there are plenty of great weathered leather coats, blousons, and belted utility jackets. There are also two absolutely to die for le smokings, particularly the one suit whose tux jacket was faced with lace. But there was also the body-revealing part, one that caused a stir in Vaccarello’s winter 2024 collection we’ve seen in early spring. It was built on sheer stocking dressing, with fake furs casually thrown over it all. The story is here too, emphasized by lingerie-esque pieces and styled with black lace hose with just about everything – such a classically, somewhat naughtily playful Parisian gesture. The boudoir vibe was played up with a slew of gorgeous screen siren satiny long dresses, sinuous little slip dresses, and a new iteration of the jumpsuit, conjured out of a skinny-strapped lace-edged camisole, all of which were variously worn with stacks of chunky bangles and pointy satin-y sculpted shoes. You better don’t mess up with that femme.

Shop my favorite pieces from the collection…

ED’s SELECTION:


SAINT LAURENT Satin-jersey Midi Skirt



SAINT LAURENT Lace-trimmed Ribbed Silk-jersey Mini Dress



SAINT LAURENT Faux Fur Scarf



SAINT LAURENT Lace-trimmed Ribbed Silk-jersey Tank Top



SAINT LAURENT Hall Satin Mules

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Haute Sharpness. Jean Paul Gaultier AW24 Couture

| Design & Culture by Ed

The rather mild haute couture week in Paris suddenly heated up near its end, all thanks to Nicolas Di Felice‘s guest collection for Jean Paul Gaultier. It was absolutely refreshing to see the designer outside the context of Courrèges, and with the tools of couture in his hands. The French enfant terrible of fashion made a strong impression on the Belgian designer when he was a teen: “for me and for so many queer, different people from the countryside – from everywhere in the world – he represented Paris, a city where everything is possible. He was really the first one to celebrate different people. Everybody remembers this about him and it’s a good thing, because he actually did it.”  The collection told a story about a Paris arriviste, who wears covered up clothes: jackets and dresses with long sleeves, long skirts, and necklines that climb up the face. Slowly, as the show progressed, the head emerged, then the shoulders, and by the end, dresses were peeling off the hips and hands were tucked into the gaps in the fabric in an erotic gesture. The motif of adaptability-to-the-body returned throughout the collection, and it was masterfully applied in a gorgeous slip dress that was worn undone to the waist, exposing a sleeveless shell underneath on which hooks-and-eyes were applied like studs. Di Felice chose to reference Gaultier’s subtler moments, especially his precise technique of cut and sharp, yet feminine tailoring. Everything synced so well. Now imagine Di Felice do haute couture at Courrèges!

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Reject The Rules. Balenciaga AW24 Couture

| Design & Culture by Ed

This was Demna‘s fourth haute couture collection for Balenciaga, and his most subversive in its rejection of the formality of this exclusive, highly-elite discipline. The designer is also returning to his Vetements roots via his shaping years at Margiela, which as a result gives a collection that riffs on subcultures and plays with garment (de)construction. “I wanted to create a fusion or a tribute to my personal vocabulary as a designer, which is subcultures… but I needed to bring in that kind of equilibrium with Cristóbal, obviously, because this is couture,” he said. The first mashup combined a sculpted oversize gray tee and slouchy faded jeans engineered to look like a jacket was tied around the waist, with a saucer hat of the kind he introduced in his memorable couture debut. As the show progressed, it moved from haute lumberjack shirts and hand-painted faux merch t-shirts styled with hysterical butterfly-wings masks (an IYKYK reference to Janine Janet’s 1950s and 60s window display installations for Cristobal Balenciaga’s Avenue George V salon – which today happens to be the brand’s couture boutique and show venue) into the fancy evening silhouettes associated with couture, only they were patchworked together from denim and colorful parkas that looked like they could’ve been repurposed from Demna’s earlier collections for the house. Or he constructed them with new fabrics and techniques; one column dress was made from melted plastic shopping bags molded onto the body and a strapless number was constructed with golden aluminum foil. It seems that the designer questions couture’s preciousness and the certain, imposed obligation of using the finest materials and the most fragile decoration – a stereotypical trap that literally engulfs couture work of such designers as Thom Browne. The final look was a swirling mass of black nylon, chosen because it best evoked Cristóbal’s precious gazar. It was constructed just prior to the show, a one-off piece of “ephemeral couture” that will come with three Balenciaga staffers for its assembly for the client who buys it. Love it or hate it, Demna still has it.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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