Paris

Girl Uninterrupted. Zimmermann SS24

| Design & Culture by Ed

I’ve never been a Zimmermann person, but since Lana Del Rey was wearing the brand’s dresses throughout her 2023 tour, I had to reinvestigate its ultra-girl charm. And I must say that I’m in love with Nicky Zimmermann‘s spring-summer 2024 offering. In a collection that contained three main and sometimes intermingling strands – sportily versatile knit pieces; volumized many-ruffled and guipure-edged georgette and charmeuse dresses; and slouchy but smart tailoring in denim and leather – you had a sense of breezy easiness. The pastel jersey looks resembled off-duty dancers’ attire, built for freedom of movement but not visually defined by technicality: a compelling alternative for the yoga-pant constituency. This sporty duality carried over into racerback white lace crops, which were used as formfitting eveningwear base layers over pretty, vaguely Sicilian baptism-gown butterfly-and-flower-pattern voile dresses edged with more cappuccino froths of lace. There was similar genre-blending in looks that placed spaghetti-strap, sometimes semi-sheer tiered mid-length backless dresses over appealingly generous, carrot-cut washed jeans, or light lace tops under textured tailoring. The dresses included a caped and draped robe in graduated dégradé patches of violet, orange, and pale yellow derived from abstract landscapes. Zimmermann said the often layered and backless flower-bomb gowns and shirtdresses had been purposefully given a washed, faded finish because “we want it to feel that the girls are walking and the flowers are just around them.” Sometimes garlanded with lace petals and handsome golden jewelry, including bunch-of-grapes earrings, these had a Dionysian freshness to them. As the viral TikTok sound sums up, “this is so Lana Del Rey vinyl“.

Need some Zimmermann wardrobe fix? Let me help!

ED’s SELECTION:


Grosgrain-trimmed Wool And Silk-blend Duchesse-satin Blazer



Gathered Silk And Wool-blend Mini Dress



Ruffled Tiered Gathered Floral-print Crepon Mini Dress



Asymmetric Floral-print Linen And Silk-blend Midi Dress



Large Leather And Macramé-trimmed Straw Tote



Crochet-trimmed Patchwork Paisley Linen Midi Dress



Pussy-bow Corded Lace-trimmed Striped Linen And Silk-blend Mini Dress

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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No Fillers, Pure (French) Magic: A.P.C. Gifts

| Design & Culture by Ed

The precisely crafted designs of A.P.C. showcase the French label’s refined and understated aesthetic that ages like wine. These are gifts that keep on giving: iconic bags, ultra-chic wool accessories (made in collaboration with JW Anderson!), fantastic candles and eternal denim. No fillers, pure (French) magic.

Here are couple of my A.P.C. picks for this festive season:

Mathilde dress


Box Of Small Candles

Grace Baguette bag

A. P.C. x JW Anderson Barth knit beanie

Milo hoodie

Greta Trench

A. P.C. x JW Anderson Jolly scarf

Quilt

Lola snood

Aurelia dress

A. P.C. x JW Anderson Connor F sweater

Astra necklace

Pillow quilt

“Transmission” Book

Jean work jacket

Michelle quilt


A.P.C. US

Day & Night. Chloé (by Phoebe Philo) SS02

| Design & Culture by Ed

Since Phoebe Philo‘s big comeback that we’ve all experienced during the late autumn, I love digging into her work at Chloé – an underrated era from early 2000s, before reinventing Céline. What I find truly intriguing is that Philo subtly refers to her Chloé days in her new work. For her spring-summer 2002 debut , avoiding in-your-face rock ’n’ roll attitude, the British designer blurred the distinction between day and evening wear with breezy separates inspired by ’70s Saint Tropez, Brigitte Bardot, and Talitha Getty. A sense of easygoing elegance permeated everything from fitted tops with intricately worked sleeves to lace-trimmed camisoles and fabulous monkey-appliqué bathing suits. A long suede skirt with blush gray and black panels exuded earthy chic, as did the Moroccan-style beaded bags and sandal-boots in aged gold leather. There were also plenty of high-impact sexy staples, a category Philo and Stella McCartney introduced to the brand during the latter’s tenure (Phoebe was Stella’s right-hand at that time). The low-slung flared pants with flirty cutouts at the hips, pinafore shorts, summery minidresses and punchy T-shirts with net backs could easily pass in 2023 and look absolutely HOT.

P.S. I also happen to have an amazing macramé blouse from this collection, waiting for a new owner in my vintage shop!

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Body-Celebratory. Xuly.Bët SS24

| Design & Culture by Ed

Lamine Badian Kouyaté’s well-known wizardry with pantyhose dates to the 1990s. For spring-summer 2024, the designer revived the signature red-stitched nylon tops with which he first made his name. Cut into a sleeved bandeau that can be worn Flashdance style, or pieced into a minidress with elongated sleeves, these stretchy Xuly.Bët wonders had a second-skin fit that goes with Kouyaté’s body-conscious and body-celebratory dressing. Their flexibility also spoke more broadly to the designer’s generous and innovative approach to fashion, which is influenced by his experiences with second hand clothes in Mali, and can now also be framed within current discussions about sustainability. Also back in action were Kouyaté’s sporty jackets and tops made using upcycled American football jerseys. Some looks were styled with vintage basketball shorts, whose bagginess provided a nice contrast to the tight fits of leggings and micro minis. The gold-on-denim pieces – some modeled by the designer’s son – were part of a collaboration between Xuly.Bët and artist Smaïl Kanouté. Kouyaté used Kanouté prints on pieces worn in a performance of “Yasuke (The Black Samurai),” which is about bringing together diverse traditions, choreographed by Kanouté. Kouyaté still believes in the power of fashion to evoke joy; he also thinks it can be used as a platform for change.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Go With The Flow. Maryam Nassir Zadeh SS24

| Design & Culture by Ed

“Spontaneous” is a word that well describes Maryam Nassir Zadeh’s design practice. The spring-summer 2024 „Rush” lookbook is a result – not by choice, but by circumstance – of total spontaneity, as it was styled and documented during one afternoon in Paris. „The exhilarating exercise was taken as an activity of being in the moment surrendering to circumstance and making the most an afternoon with people you love around a medium you love, clothing”, said the New York-based designer of the go-with-the-flow process. Following your guts and instincts is the best possible advice anyone in fashion should take close to heart, and while sadly not many follow it, Nassir Zadeh proves that its utterly true. The collection, paired down in fabrics and styles, is a sincere return to the designer’s core and past styles, as well as a reiteration of her favorite summer clothes. But there were also novelties that will be enjoyed by the brand’s loyal fanbase. One of the heroes of this lineup is a wrap that can be worn as a skirt or a dress that was inspired by a cover-up Zadeh’s mother wore in the ’90s. It’s essentially an easy-peasy scarf-topped skirt that you self-tie. It’s vacation-ready but also has that lived-in Lower East Side cool with which Zadeh’s work has become so synonymous. “What I’ve been trying to achieve for so long is this sensibility which I look for a lot… when a garment has spirit in it and it has lightness and delicacy in the way that it’s made.” Love.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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