Elusive Glamour. Hillier Bartley SS16

February 20, 2016February 20, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

The beginning of London Fashion Week for autumn-winter 2016 season begins with… a spring-summer 2016 collection coming straight from Hillier Bartley‘s studio. The brand, formed by Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley, breaks the fashion system with the philosophy of “see it now, buy it now” – but don’t mistake this statement with Jeremy Scott’s Moschino sweatshirts which appear on-line a few minutes after the fashion show. Hillier Bartley looks at retail in a very realistic and smart way – the summer collection appears right now in the stores, and it feels just as fresh as the AW16 outings we see now from the other designers – the thing is that you don’t need to wait six months for one of these divine silk blouses or adorable tassel bags!

The London-based label’s second collection is as desirable, as inspiring One thing’s sure – David Bowie is present in these beautifully decadent, alluring clothes. As Luella Bartley told Vogue, “Talking about Bowie’s influence on myself or any other creative person is like talking about how oxygen influences the breathing process. Bowie, as the Thin White Duke in a double-breasted linen suit, felt particularly apt to illustrate a vague idea we had to imbue the Hillier Bartley woman with a louche ’30s glamour.” Just like the legendary musician, the Hillier Bartley woman has a fashion tendency of androgyny – note the importance of English tailoring, from the linen blazers to high-rise trousers. However, the designers behind the brand introduced something much more feminine, like the satin skirts and fringed crepe dresses we’ve seen in AW15 look-book. Hillier Bartley redefines “sexy”, but in a totally different, very elusive way.

The collection is available here.

Cool Goth. Marc Jacobs AW16

February 19, 2016February 19, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Marc Jacobs, thank you for saving the New York Fashion Week from boredom oppression – all those “safe” and “layered” collections make me yawn, even though there are a few exceptions. The collection Marc Jacobs presented yesterday in the evening was just… jaw-dropping. Although the all-white, minimal venue of the collection felt unexpectedly too simple, comparing to all those extravagant settings Marc envisioned throughout the years, it was a perfect backdrop for the clothes. And the clothes were bomb, in one word.

Autumn-winter 2016 was all about gothic culture in fashion, mixed with an aristocratic, soigne mannered dames and grunge, off-duty slouchiness. Chokers, velve platform shoes (a la the ones Vivienne Westwood pulled off in the last decade) and all those extravagant embroideries on cardigans and dresses… then, the queens of darkness came out (Molly Bair slayed the runway – even Lady Gaga couldn’t keep up with her) in their voluminous, black ball-gowns with astrakhan capes. Laser cut floral PVC skirts and crotchet collars styled with elongated college sweatshirts had this striking contrast of old-school and the vintage tendency. The effect? Over-the-top, as usual at Marc Jacobs, but this season it was even more outstanding.

In fact, it’s a nonsense to list all of the season’s inspirations behind Jacob’s winter outing, because there were too many of them – from Winona Ryder in Beetlejuice to Gene Simmons’ Kiss band costumes, it’s visible that somebody still has balls in the industry to present playful fashion and not so easily selling ready-to-wear pieces. Bravo, Marc. You utterly win my heart – and graciously mess up with the system – of all the NYFW’s labels and designers that have presented their “fashion shows” this week.

San Francisco. Rodarte AW16

February 18, 2016February 18, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

San Francisco is more than hippie flowers, even though we have literally seen real orchidees as earrings and crowns on the models’ heads during the Rodarte show. Kate and Laura Mulleavy looked back at their collage roots, reinterpreting the city of their youth in the most original way ever, leaving the well-known stereotypes behind. The sisters had a seat at Caffe Trieste, where Francis Ford Coppola wrote the script for The Godfather; that venue, and the whole mood of old San Francsico inspired the collection’s nods to art nouveau. It all started with a few, black leather looks. And then, it was all about the ethereal whites, as if the Rodarte bride had her spectacular escape from a too cheesy wedding. But don’t get me wrong – these weren’t JUST white, wedding dresses. The veils were made of white fish net, the leather chokers and black lipstick gave a cool-goth look – this girl wasn’t looking for “love at first sight”, but for fun…

Knits Please. Ryan Roche AW16

February 17, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

With her autumn-winter 2016, Ryan Roche proves that her label is not only about the best quality knitwear – it also thinks about other wardrobe essentials. But still, the quintessence of the brand is the signature, cable knit cardigan in pale pink colour. It’s here, as every season, and it doesn’t stop to look like the best sweater in the entire world. Although I haven’t seen any of Roche’s designs in life, I bet their woolly texture should be super soft. With a soft spot for cashmere, specifically, the designer delivered a look-book filled with cozy, knitted (of course) maxi-skirts. Moreover, the collection featured a burgundy dress – smells with Victorian era in here – made entirely thanks to the old-school, granny crotchet technique. It’s a smart, yet short escape from Roche’s minimal aesthetics. It’s distinctly visible that the New York-based designer does her best to move away from her knitted comfort zone, by introducing some graceful, lace pants and peach-pink fur jackets. Concluding, your next winter wardrobe is sincerely supplied with Ryan Roche’s AW16 collection, I guess.

Feelings. Eckhaus Latta AW16

February 17, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

If talking of talented millennials, Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta, the lovely couple behind Eckhaus Latta, also top the list of New York’s talented young blood. The nodels (not-models) stormed dynamically along the runway, wearing the brand’s clothes which always feature a raw, unfinished touch. The cast, so the designers’ friends and New York cool kids (India Menuez, for instance) wore Mike’s and Zoe’s garments, which perfectly presented what the designers are best at – Eckhaus’ background in sculpture (note the unidentified folds and slouchy, elongated sleeves) and Latta’s in textile design. The “dresses” had asymmetrical, abstract silhouettes, while the velvetish textile which ornamented the midi-skirts still shines bright in my mind. “We don’t have an elevator pitch for you because I feel like we’ve never approached our collections with traditional ideas of concept or inspiration,” says Eckhaus, “but they become representations of what we’re experiencing at the moment, what we’re feeling.” When seeing Eckhaus Latta’s outings, I always have a feeling that they fittingly reflect the current, New Yorker style among the youth – it’s not easy to define, but it’s very, very personal.