Finesse. Danielle Frankel AW25

April 14, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

I said it once, I will say again: Danielle Frankel is the contemporary maestra of bridalwear. Her designs are so exquisitely crafted and majestic in execution that you will inevitably desire to wear one of her dresses not only on that most special day, but on many other occasions. Dominated by bold, architectural, Art Deco shapes and Erté-inspired forms, the latest collection stuns with incredible construction and finesse.

Take the micro-pleated dress that swishes and swirls around the body, like flowing water. Except this isn’t a styling trick; the micro-pleats in the dress are actually hundreds of micro-bones holding the shape. Then, there’s the hand-painted silk chiffon made in collaboration with a French artist who moved in to Frankel’s New York atelier for a few weeks and created a breath-taking, impressionistic floral gown in dark green as well as the hand-painted organza cocoon worn by Kristen McMenamy in the lookbook.

Frankel makes all of her dresses in Manhattan’s Garment District, and she has a talented group of designers in her atelier that can rival any haute couture house. The finale gown, also modeled by McMenamy, is made of 100,000 petals which took the atelier four months to sew by hand. Somehow, it looks effortless – just like any truly great couture garment.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Boutique Pleasures. Abra AW25

April 9, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Abra – the brand name, but also Abraham Ortuño Perez‘s widely-known nick among industry insiders – grew from an accessory label to a ready-to-wear obsession. The designer, who did some of the biggest footwear hits for the likes of JW Anderson, Loewe and Jacquemus, is on a roll with his (very) personal endeavor. The autumn-winter 2025 collection is dedicated to the very pleasurable feeling of wanting to dress and look like those mythical, sophisticated city folk do in big fashion capitals, that he and his mother used to dream up in “fashion boutiques” when he was a child. “It’s this whole feeling of being from a small town and buying something imported, something from Paris!”, he mused. A nostalgic spark ignited Ortuño Perez’s whimsical yet sincere collection – a cheeky ode to peripheral boutique “hits” reimagined for the woman who dreams in fashion, not trends. His muse? Storefront mannequins of the late ’80s and early ’90s, dolled up in glitzy metallic lamés and over-the-top wigs. Perez gave us all that – and more. The show kicked off with faux-fur coats sculpted into giant roses. Only Perez’s playful lens could render them so fantastically offbeat. Then came hybrid coats – fur, gabardine, and suiting – riffing on “Working Girl” power dressing, now with rounded shoulders and leggings replacing pencil skirts. Closing the show was a trio of lamé dream dresses: one unraveling in fluid drapes, another with an off-kilter crinoline, and a third bursting with ruffled tiers. These were certainly THE boutique showstoppers.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Marmo. Pucci SS25

April 5, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Camille Miceli‘s latest Pucci collection was refreshing: not only because of its restrained color palette consisting of only black, white and shoft-shell pink, but because it felt essential (and at the same time exuberant – not an easy pairing to achieve). Presented at La Cervara, a medieval hilltop abbey with hidden cloisters just around Portofino, the spring-summer 2025 outing was dedicated to the Marmo motif, “the first print that seduced me,” the designer mused. Originally conceived by Emilio Pucci when he found himself mesmerized by the sunlit ripples inside Capri’s Grotta Azzurra, the swirling pattern carries a hypnotic, groovy rhythm. Miceli sublimated and revamped it, weaving it through the collection not only through kaleidoscopic prints, but metallic studs on palazzo pants and black-and-white beads on finale eveningwear, mini and maxi, that had a vintage flair, but in the end looked rather contemporary. The designer also excels when she blends Pucci’s very-Italian glamour with more rough, utilitarian touches. I loved how she combined a high-neck windcheater with an ankle-length skirt, completing the look with layers of silver jewels.

ED’s SELECTION:

PUCCI Printed Silk-twill Scarf

PUCCI Fringed Raffia And Organza Jacket

PUCCI Embellished Embroidered Leather Wedge Sandals

PUCCI Big Marmo Printed Silk-twill Kaftan

PUCCI Printed Silk-twill Scarf

PUCCI Leather-trimmed Knotted Printed Silk-twill Shoulder Bag

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Coarse Sensuality. Rick Owens AW25

April 1, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

There’s something definitely intriguing about Rick Owens’ recent collection. The designer dialed down on the performative and returned back to his core, dating back to his 1998 debut, “Monsters” – his first complete collection, a pre-runway line-up that marked the birth of a new era in fashion. Not that the designer is retrospective in any way (although he take over the Palais Galliera from June with a retrospective exhibition). But you can see and sense that certain coarse, undone beauty of his long, draped jersey dresses reflected in the new season evenigwear, covered with thin laser-cut leather fringes that rippled like gills as the models moved down the runway. Rough sensuality was also embedded in the breath-taking mille feuille tops (that looked as easy to wear as a t-shirt) and the oversized, fringed leather jacket worn by Kristina Nagel (have you seen her recent shoot for i-D featuring Rick and Michele Lamy? Obsessed). On the collection’s ambiguous power-dynamic between the elusive and the bold, quiet and loud, he said: “it’s a constant, trying to keep that balance: of shock and wonder, but you can’t let people dismiss you as just being out of the question.”

ED’s SELECTION:

Rick Owens Wool-felt Cape

Rick Owens Luna Draped Crepe-jersey Mini Dress

Rick Owens Twisted Cantilever Suede Wedge Mules

Rick Owens Bias Ribbed-knit Trimmed Satin Wide-leg Pants

Rick Owens Sahara Asymmetric Paneled Gathered Jersey Gown

Rick Owens Minimal Grill Beatle Leather Platform Ankle Boots

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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New Softness. Balmain AW25

March 29, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Olivier Rousteing‘s Balmain collection was one of the most intriguing and pleasing surprises of the season. You might have noticed that I might not be the brand’s number one fan and I barely ever write about it, but the new energy that pulsates in Rousteing’s autumn-winter 2025 line-up can’t go unnoticed. No shoulder pads in sight. Instead, sensual gray melange, layers of fleecy knits and body-wrapping cashmere. “I want to make a new softness, with shapes that are cocooning,” the designer mused. An unexpected color palette, consisting of bold orange, and a splash of zebra print made the largely understated, yet still charismatic and vivacious Balmain collection feel Balmain… but not in the old way. I want more of the new Olivier.