Undying Love. John Galliano AW95

December 27, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

The festive time lets you look back at some fashion history in a relaxed, pleasurable way. After all the food, gift unwrapping, Christmas table talks and re-watches of both “Home Alone” films, I indulged myself in the beauty of John Galliano archives. And one of his pre-establishment collections just felt so right in this moment. Galliano’s autumn-winter 1995 “Dolores” collection marks a pivotal moment. It was essentially his last as an indie designer. About four months after this presentation, Galliano was named the creative director of Givenchy; a year later he transferred to Christian Dior and his namesake brand was acquired by LVMH. The Dolores of the show title was the actor Dolores del Rio. The invitation to the presentation consisted of pages from the heroine’s “tortured correspondence from the Rose of Alhambra hotel to her lover, Jaime, aboard the ocean liner Berengaria, along with a lock of hair and a broken locket,” reported The New York Times. Arriving at the venue, guests were ushered onto a snow-covered rooftop set littered with scows and populated by burly sailors. One of them, the report continued, “with bare feet and red manicured toes leaned against a chimney reading a book called Killer in Drag.” Perhaps most exuberant were the flamenco dresses, which allowed Galliano, who was born in Gibraltar, to iterate on his own heritage. There were ruffled numbers cut on the bias in shades of lavender and fuchsia, and peinetas (hair combs) took the place of tiaras. The Catholic imagination was also at work. A model in a whisper-light dress of virginal white carried a rosary and was followed by a shipmate wearing an ersatz crown made of prayer cards. Wearing a silk fuchsia number with a tulle bolero, Kate Moss kissed Johnny Depp seating in the front row. Another real love story of this collection was that between a man and his scissors. Galliano romanced the cloth with a technical savoir faire that was awe-inspiring. The carnation dress worn by Carla Bruni was not only cut on the bias but seamless, thanks to the floral inserts. One of these dresses is in the collection of The Met’s Costume Institute, and the catalog description notes that Galliano used the carnation “as a symbol of undying love.” What more is there to say?

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Browneian. Thom Browne Pre-Fall 2023

December 20, 2022December 19, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

At first glance, Thom Browne‘s pre-fall 2023 collection has a much more sober spirit than spring, with its shades of navy and gray, and its more typically Browneian silhouettes. But Thom’s clothes typically reward close inspection – and you’ll find humor in them too. See the intarsia’d double-breasted coat in which a lifeboat full of sailors is dwarfed by the giant sperm whale, or the tailored skirt suit in a wallpaper print depicting the final battle at sea between Captain Ahab and Moby Dick. On the accessories front, Hector the bag has made some new friends in the form of not just the victorious whale, but also the Pequod, the doomed ship. About this season’s silhouettes. Though there’s a’60s-short shift or two, Browne’s instinct was to cut his tailoring lean and long, often layering pants underneath skirt shapes to extend the line. Accessorizing the tweed separates with tweed tights created a similar elongating effect. Remarkable.

And now, have some TB magic this Christmas…

Thom Browne Fringed Herringbone Wool-tweed Blazer

Thom Browne Grosgrain-trimmed Cable-knit Cotton Polo Shirt

Thom Browne Merino Wool and Mohair-blend Mini Wrap Skirt

Thom Browne Hector Dog-Shaped Leather Belt Bag

Thom Browne Men’s Light Cotton Mid Calf 4 Bar Sock

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Understated Luxury. Loro Piana SS23

December 18, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

For a long while, Loro Piana has been a fashion-insider favorite because it exists outside of fashion, its silhouettes are unchanging despite shifts in trends and its materials are always made at the highest levels. Understated luxury has always been the story for this Italian brand. But as the company makes efforts to grow, it’s adopting some of the industry’s ways. The spring 2023 collection was designed around the theme of an Italian grand tour, beginning in Piedmont and making stops in Tuscany and Portofino, before ending up in the Aeolian Islands, with clothes designed for each destination. Piedmont, Loro Piana’s home base, yielded cold-weather outerwear: a shearling bomber; a bouclé camel hair and silk poncho; an alpaca wool coat with a subtle stripe; and a mohair, cashmere, and technical fabric coat whose weightlessness has to be felt to be believed. As the tour progressed south with the season, the clothes became more summery. A navy and yellow anorak and a shirt with rope embroidery spelling out the house logo both said “seaside,” and linen dresses like a loosely belted smock and a striped linen and cotton caftan were direct tickets to August holidays in the country. A sorbet-striped caftan in silk was a bit loud by Loro Piana standards. Handbags are a main focus for the company. The large bale bag in a warm brown leather with white topstitching and a bucket in striped woven cotton with leather trim are two worthy investments. Loro Piana already stands apart from the sexiness and flash of the Italian fashion, but to this insider’s eye, the best of the collection were the house icons, the unchanging “winter voyager” and “horsey short” jacket, both in cashmere; the cotton and linen “traveler”; and a bomber in water-repellant microfiber. No theme, no concept, and just great.

And now here are my festive picks from the brand! Who wouldn’t want to find some timeless Loro under the Christmas tree…

Loro Piana Coarsehair Cashmere-jacquard Sweater

Loro Piana Cashmere Baseball Cap

Loro Piana Faux Shearling Slippers

Loro Piana Double-breasted Reversible Shearling and Leather Coat

Loro Piana Striped Cashmere Sweater

Loro Piana Sesia Medium Leather Tote

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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La Raphia. Jacquemus SS23

December 13, 2022December 13, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

In the middle of winter, Jacquemus transported our minds to hot, sun-drenched summer. That’s the effect of “La Raphia” – the spring-summer 2023 collection he presented yesterday in Paris. Under a straw-storm that rained from above, his humongous cartwheel sun hats came out, balanced over his tiny cutaway things, some with trails, others with slinkily bunchy drapes, and still more with bits and pieces suspended from skimpy lingerie straps and held on with criss-crossed shoelaces in the back. Beachy sarongs, tiny shorts and soft-psychedelia ’70s-ish prints were all over the place, too. It was a happily playful excursion around all of the youthful, sexily revealing, quirkily accessorised bases he’s been building for his brand since 2009. This one, he said, was inspired by “girls you imagine in Portofino and Capri, going around with their hats and earrings and polkadot pants.” But there was something dramatic, Pedro Almodóvar-esque about it as well. There were mad fringed raffia hats, poufs of straw decorating triangle-shouldered tailoring, and one whole shaggy coat that was a collaboration with Lesage, the French haute couture embroidery house. Clutched in hands were soft bags (a new contrast to the miniscule Jacquemus purses of fame). And amongst the shoes the pointy toes implanted with a circle and a square on each toe, his own signature invention. Simon Porte Jacquemus is famed for his love of creating environmental scenarios—and for projecting the imagery with which he’s gathered an adoring public around him. Friends and influencers turned up at Le Bourget already dressed in the collection that was on the runway; others were wearing pieces from the one he showed in June. Jacquemus is all about humorous exaggeration and French romance, combined with a down-to-earth instinct for reality. This collection, in the last gasp of 2022, showed all of that at his best.

How about some Jacquemus for the festive season?

Jacquemus – Saudade Asymmetric Draped Woven Mini Dress – Pink

Jacquemus – Cutout Draped Linen Mini Skirt – Pink

Jacquemus – Aneto Cropped Cold-shoulder Linen Top – Pink

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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From Dakar With Love. Chanel Pre-Fall 2023

December 10, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

Chanel‘s Métiers d’Art collection shown in Dakar was a thoroughly considered, deep dialogue between the brand and the Senegalese culture and community. Best testimony to that were Virginie Viard‘s words: “This conversation is not going to end here today. And it’s not a question that we have to continue it – we don’t. We are going to do it because we like it very much.” For Chanel to choose to present its first-ever show in Africa – and simultaneously the first show to be presented by any European or US house anywhere in Sub-Saharan Africa – was an ambitious move. At a fittings appointment pre-show, backstage in the Senegalese capital’s former Palais de Justice (now home to its art Biennale), Viard said that the idea first took hold three years ago. Two years of Covid-enforced hiatus followed, before scouting began. “When we first came to this place, Dakar, it was really incredible, and we knew,” she said. The Métiers d’Art event felt like a respectful exploration of cultural affinities – an interweaving of the pre-existing to create something entirely new. Much of that atmosphere was generated by all of the many Senegal-facing activities, but it was also inherent – albeit more discreetly – in the fabric of the collection itself. The lion motif that reappeared on jewelry and bags was a dual reference to the emblem of Senegal and the sign of Coco Chanel. Viard also looked beyond Senegal. The tailoring and menswear shapes were informed by Congo’s sartorialist Sapeur subculture, as were the heftily commando-soled shoes. Almost invisible after long and complex processes of fabric development, some of the beading materials and patterns were rooted in source material from Africa. Talking drums and surfboards were other talismanic symbols of place and connection integrated into the language of the pieces. The broader context was 1970s-inflected: casual, unpretentious, and free. Michel Gaubert’s soundtrack of freshly-released Sault tracks provided a dreamy dimension. At the end of this show guests lingered and the hubbub of conversation steadily increased. Those guests included Senegal’s first lady, Madame Marième Sall, and four government ministers (three of them female). The models changed into their off-duty clothes and joined the party. This collection was Viard’s most bold and reflective move since her appointment as the maison‘s creative director.