Lady Grunge. No21 AW16

February 26, 2016August 5, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Milan Fashion Week has never been in such a good form, and it’s all because of the designers, who revive the major houses, or expand the smaller, eponymous ones. Alessandro Dell AcQua, the man behind N21, is an example of the latter, proving to be one of the most successful in his field – the first, marble-rich Milan flagship store has been opened at the beginning of the year, his signature bow-tie mules are called the “total best-sellers” by most of the retailers, while N21’s creative direction, which is often focused on feminine chic, becomes much more refined and aesthetically conscious.

Unexpectedly, the autumn-winter collection presented the defiant side of Alessandro’s style. Grunge already seems to be the topic on everybody’s lips this season, and his polished, lady-like sense reinterpreted the slightly burnt-out, Saint Laurent sucked attitude. Dell AcQua has visibly put extra effort on the texture play, mixing satin slip-dresses with sweaters in his outfits; the floral-print silk dresses styled with thick-knits reminded me of Marc Jacobs’ Perry Ellis grunge era, but in an Italian world of leoard-motived fur coats and rhinestones. It’s great to see tights play an important role in woman’s wardrobe, but rather as a stylish detail than an autumn necessity – the ones which walked the runway at N21 had floral embroideries, and the are too good to be true. It’s the next, triumphant season for Alessandro, and I sincerely hope he will continue to redefine feminine sensuality in his off-duty, edgy way.

I’ve Seen This Face Before. Gucci AW16

February 26, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

The old new identity implemented by Alessandro Michele for Gucci is well-known to all of us – and within the autumn-winter 2016 season, the designer has his first year as the creative director of the womenswear line behind. The “renaissance” mood Alessandro brings back to fashion, as I wrote here and here, deserves applause and praise. Noting that he has utterly revamped the pretentious sleek Italian empire into a brand, which considers Italian craftsmanship as priority, makes Michele’s warm softness more than a trend. It’s about his personal style, and his adoration to old, Italian paintings, antique rings and 70s / 80s attitude. The AW16 collection, in fact, isn’t a surprise – knowing the designer’s deeply rooted inspirations and eclectic aesthetics, you won’t see a totally different theme, coming out from nowhere, during his tenure. Even if this might lead to the Frida-Gianini-effect – a kind of unexcitement starts to accompany his shows, just like before, when his precedessor designed for Gucci. We’ve seen it all during Alessandro’s year – the Pompeian print skirts, pussy-bow dresses, GG buckle belts and those alta moda gowns. They delight the eye, indeed. Just like the crystal-embroidered bodices, inspired with 16th century costumes. But it lacks this loud “wow” everybody gasped last February.

London Utility. Marques Almeida AW16

February 26, 2016February 26, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s exciting to see how such label as Marques Almeida evolves. Firstly, the concept behind London’s favourite designer duo, Marta Marques and Pablo Almeida, was simple – ripped denim pants with the 90’s attire. But the apparel revival wasn’t the first and last invention of the Portuguese-born brand. The vision of Marques Almeida girl is always different with every season – but the youthful soul isn’t leaving these clothes even for a second. And this is easily seen in the model casting for Marques’ autumn-winter 2016 outing – few days before the show, the designers shared Polaroids of the friends, who were about to walk the closing show of the London Fashion Week. Naturally diverse models, as one of the designers said, weren’t over-dressed, in order to keep their real attitude, and not the posh versions of themselves.

The clothes weren’t ground-breaking, but there were many pieces that seem to be checked on the LFW must-have list – even though we’ve had a season of the truly beautiful collections from the British designers, Marques Almeida’s clothes makes you really want to have them. Maybe because of this rawness? The bold orange and fuchsia duvet coats prove that my not-so-stylish jacket for dog-walks ranks up. Utility, and style in one. The long, body skirts styled with elongated checked shirt is a bit grunge, which is already an approved trend that appears in a high number of collections. But of course there is the feminine side of Marques Almeida – the classic slip dress a la Corinne Day’s Kate Moss photographs.

You were good this season, London!

Punk, Belts and SoHO. AF Vandevorst AW16

February 25, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

A.F. Vandevorst showed its new collection in London, which felt quite unexpected, as the designers behind the Belgian brand – An Vandevorst and Filip Arickx – used to be the regulars at Paris Fashion Week. But the city was a pretty obvious choice for them, though. The punk spirit, which was the theme behind the collection, is reflected in British music history in the best possible way – and the fish-net tights revived the old, clubbing attitude of SoHO, before it became a trendy, hipster district. The faces of the models were splattered with red, while some of them wore restrictive belted helmets made of leather or velvet. To a surprise of many, velvet had a bright moment this season at Vandevorst, looking good on platform boots and extra-large maxi dress. Also, the deconstructed skirts and pantalons had a rebellious twist, looking quite fierce with red suede stompers. Punk and rock’n’roll have been present in the label’s codes from the very beginning, and to a large extend this collection was a good occasion to highlight that fact – even though I will always consider A.F. Vandevorst as a much more Paris-based label. Whatever they say about the British subculture present in these clothes, the chic, French decadence is oozing from every corner – and I hope this won’t change.

Mum Knows Best. Christopher Kane AW16

February 24, 2016February 24, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

“Things are so normal these days,” Christopher Kane concluded after his autumn-winter 2016 fashion show. “So why not think out of the box?” After the New York Fashion Week, where everything blurred between shades of beige and black, London Fashion Week booms with colour and lifey attitude, and Christopher Kane’s experimental outing is the best proof for that. The woman, who infinitely inspires Chris is his mother – and this season, the tied-under-the-chin plastic rain hats (made in collaboration with Stephen Jones) were a nod to the embarrassing moments when Kane’s mum picked him up from school in one of these. But, as it’s visible – the unsung tendency became London’s obsession. However, the whole “edginess” of this collection was focused on the clothes, which have an uncommon sex-appeal. Note the stripes of tan pleather and sheer black lace dresses, and the not so average florals applied on the transparent textiles. The chaotically scattered feathers on over-sized pants and masculine coats appeared to be another thing that made this collection so strangely attractive. Of course, it can’t be all just so arty and abstract – the designer slightly bites the dust with the voluminous “K” knits, but that’s understandable – something needs to be a sure best-seller, even though we’ve got dozens of desirable pieces here.