Empowering. Tom Ford AW16

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Fashion month kicks it off, and we’re all ready for the next marathon of womenswear. But surprisingly, New York Fashion Week starts with a first industry ‘paradox’. It’s September, and throughout the years we’ve got used to the fact that we start reflecting on the next summer wardrobe at the very beginning of the cold season. Tom Ford does the opposite, presenting autumn-winter 2016 collection, instead of spring-summer 2017 (which you will see a lot during the upcoming weeks). But he isn’t an exception – this new model of selling, so see-it-now and buy-it-now logic, is already in the process at Burberry or Thakoon. But why is Tom Ford, and the others, making it even more complicated, if we already have all those pre-collections and capsules? Well, in fact they want to make it all easier for us all, even though the transition moment is HARD.

Here’s why. Tom Ford presented his AW16 collection yesterday in the evening during a celebrity-filled dinner (Tom Hanks, Julianne Moore, Uma Thurman to name a few), and today, a majority of those clothes hit the on-line stores and boutiques world-wide. Looking behind-the-scenes, the international buyers ordered the collection months ago, Tom Ford factory had its time to produce the one-of-a-kind pieces, and the customers are really into buying those velvet skirts and sequined turtlenecks, because they feel so “relevant”. They just saw it on the internet and their heavily-Instagrammed feed. As easy as that – virtually, the sales boom. Logistically, everyone is appealed to this new deal, which will MAYBE slow down the pace of the industry.

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But Tom Ford’s newest collection isn’t a sensation just because of its new, business strategy. This glamorous outing of diverse models (featuring 90s stars like Amber Valletta and todays newcomers) wearing feminine silhouettes and gorgeous accessories, is one of Ford’s best for a long, long time. Belted corsets on seductive leather jackets and slim pencil skirts. Ornamental, gold necklaces contrasted with elegant, tweed dresses, while over-the-knee boots made the models look even taller and badass. Mica Arganaraz and Lineisy Monero walked down the runway in colourful fur coats; Grace Hartzel, in her all-black outfit, looked like a rock’n’roll chick with whom you can’t argue. It sounds like a collection oozing with sex-appeal, a typical thing for Tom’s past, provocative Gucci-era. But in fact, it was much more mature, and it celebrated this specific type of killer woman, who enters the room and makes people drop. Guys in velvet blazers and duvet jackets looked nothing but harmless next to those girls. Ford definitely has a toast to a very good start of the fashion month, and his brands’ future of the revolutionary retail model.

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East. Ania Kuczyńska AW16

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Ania Kuczyńska is Poland’s most recognizable designer for a reason. After years of working in the industry, her signature style is distinct. Her fashion is consistent, and that’s why she’s leading in Polish fashion game. Aware of her ‘trademark’ pieces, like her take on the little black dress, or Warsaw’s street-style favourite Shanghai totes, Kuczyńska’s eponymous attitude is beloved by her intellectual customers. But don’t think she’s resting on laurels.

The newest autumn-winter 2016 look-book (presented off the schedule), entitled ‘East’, might be dubbed as one of her most refined collections to date. At the first glance it’s very stern, definitely moving away from girlie sweetness which we know so well from Ania’s past collections. Mostly kept in black, with contrasting denim accents, the collection glances at the craftsmanship of the past. With nods to traditional ‘dress-code’ of Polish noblemen from 16th-17th century, AW16 is a contemporary look on elegance of historic silhouettes.  Some of the names of new season’s items – for example ‘Baikal’ for a bomber jacket – make it visible that the collection is rooted in Slavic references, which aren’t too cartoonish or literal. The designer’s vision is always open for interpretation, leaving some mystery for the viewer. I, for instance, feel a connection between those incredible black coats and turtlenecks, and Paweł Pawlikowski’s masterpiece, Ida – a story of a nun who discovers her Jewish origins, and seeks the truth about her family. The black-and-white aura of this film goes hand in hand with Kuczyńska’s  elusive woman.

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Space Cowboy. Ganni SS17

Ganni‘s take on spring-summer 2017 appeared to be quite outer-space. The show venue was surrounded around a massive installation of red balloons splattered with paint – the effect looked cosmic. Meanwhile, the clothes had a lot to do with space, but rather in a sci-fi context. The collection was entitled ‘Space Cowboy‘, which, as many of the editors and street-style stars expected, ended in a line of covettable, cowboy boots (in python leather, the Ganni way). But the clothes weren’t that literal (expect the t-shirts!) – geometrical culottes styled with ribbed knit top, leg-exposing shorts in python print, floral robe dresses with ruffled sleevs and fringes. A bunch of modern-day essentials that are about to invade contemporaty women’s wardrobes, kept in an exciting, Wild West aesthetic. But if you’re still in search for astronaut accessories, then next summer Ganni will offer  big, big shades to protect you from the sun’s heat.

Cool Fur. Saks Potts SS17

If you’re a fashion insider, you must have already spotted two or three pastel-coloured fur jackets on the international. street-style scene. There’s a big chance they came straight from Copenhagen’s hottest young label, Saks Potts. The brand’s statement piece stole the spotlight this season, opening the show on Caroline Brasch Nielsen, a runway favorite. In a light-blue shade, covered with lily motif, the outerwear must-have looked charming with simple denim pants and a pair of suede pumps. Saks Potts and its creative usage of fur has many faces. Shaggy, chocolate-brown Mongolian jacket fur was styled in a casual way with vichy pants, while cute, fluffy pompoms covered a simple, black coat. 70s attitude was present in the air – take a look at the Jane Birkin-flares, and the last look (a floral, pussycat bow dress).

Scandi Attitude. Freya Dalsjø SS17

 

Copenhagen Fashion Week is a great occasion to observe, how Danes do fashion. This time, I’m in love with Freya Dalsjø‘s spring-summer 2017 collection. Dalsjø has a new take on heritage techniques with an avant-garde approach in her work, deconstructing and exaggerating forms and silhouettes. The collection is quite simple at the first glance, but just have a look at the voluminous coats and parachute dresses. Raw-cut denim and pajama shirts with elongated sleeves make me think of the ‘Vetements factor’, but in a much more clean, Scandinavian version. Dalsjø’s strong point of the collection is the colour palette – lime-green jumpsuits, chocolate-brown skirts and bold-yellow, polished boots. Oh yes, the boots… too good to be true. Always unconventional in model casting, clothes with Freya Dalsjø tag live their life on diverse women with attitude.