Beauty Grandeur. Rick Owens SS25

October 3, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

With every season, Rick Owens is reaching new levels of supreme, untamed and convention-breaking beauty. The gothy elegance and high camp of his sensationally blooming aesthetic was built on his fascination with Old Hollywood. Think long narrow skirts with fishtail hems – silhouettes lifted from movies of the 30s – and dramatic volumes. The grandeur of the Palais De Tokyo setting, the evocative hair and makeup, the otherworldliness of his models (the most inclusive casting of the entire season, featuring women of very different body sizes and shapes), the extremity of his elongated, extraterrestrial clothes… just incredible. “I’ve always thought of my life’s mission as kind of balancing out oppressive discrimination and intolerance in the world by proposing a very cheerful perversity – that’s always been my thing,” Owens summed up. We are so lucky to have him.

Speaking of Rick, I met his wife Michele Lamy in Paris. What a woman! What an aura! Beyond. Here she posed for me:

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Impact. The Row Pre-Fall 2025

October 2, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen keep on taking over Paris by storm – a quiet one, but highly impactful. The minimalism they study and channel is reaching unbelievable level of perfection, and nearly every second collection we’ve seen this season is somehow inspired by The Row. Plus, the twins opened their first boutique in town, on the ultra-chic rue de Mont-Thabor, filled with design pearls: dressing-room door by Jean Prouvé that sells on auctions for $101,600, Victor Courtray’s chairs reaching up to $14,000, and Vadim Androusov’s wheat-shaped sconces. The store itself feels like a understated sanctuary, which during Paris Fashion Week was besieged by literally everyone. You could easily spend 30 minutes in the line.

The store opening happened in the same week the Olsens presented their pre-fall 2025 collection. The fashion show had a no-photos policy that some people just couldn’t respect as most industry insiders had a leaked video in their DMs. Lookbook came out a couple of days later, and here’s the thing: the designers are smart about not falling into the hype-trap. They aren’t dramatically voluming up on their creativity just to deliver the clicks; rather, they keep on refining their already-perfect skills in dress-making and tailoring, and also very luxe apparel. Yet there was also a rawer, perhaps more conceptual and lightly experimental edge at work here too; an embrace of where beautiful imperfection could possibly take them. Earthy organza tank, constructed from layers of fabric, over white pants; a gray cocktail dress which looked as though a swathe of raw-edged fabric had been pulled around the body, with a black bodice underneath keeping it in place; and a gorgeous black sheath with a panel which fell in a trail from one shoulder. Sublime.

A couple of The Row pieces I’m thinking about…

ED’s SELECTION:

The Row Depinal Ribbed Cashmere And Mohair-blend Turtleneck Sweater

The Row Lana Leather Point-toe Pumps

The Row Jerome Double-breasted Silk-satin Jacquard Blazer

The Row Patillon Topstitched Wool And Mohair-blend Midi Skirt

The Row Isora Oversized Cotton-poplin Midi Dress

The Row Sofia Mini Leather Shoulder Bag

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Pure & Sincere. Niccolò Pasqualetti SS25

October 2, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s Niccolò Pasqualetti‘s fourth fashion show, and you could sense real, mature confidence oozing in his spring-summer 2025 collection. The line-up orbited around the connotations with water (“something absolutely pure, something sincere“) and explored contradictions, mixing unexpected combinations of artisanal fabrics with a more refined, pared-back silhouette that played with feminine and masculine notions. Think oversized trench coats and sleeveless jackets, viscose blazers paired with translucent trousers; swimsuits were worn under asymmetric tops and evening gowns. Niccolò also experimented with sequins in many forms: large paillettes glimmering like the sun on the ocean’s surface, sometimes merged with feathery fringes, producing an unusual, chimeric texture. Found objects, like shells and various trinkets were attached to floor-sweeping metal chains, and occasionally integrated into the clothing. Pasqualetti is a designer surrounded by a nurturing support system: his collections are styled by Samuel Drira, while lookbooks are shot by Cecile Bortoletti. The spring fashion show was accompanied by the heavenly – and sublimely intoxicating – fragrance by Vilhelm Parfumerie called “Basilico & Fellini“. It all makes sense.

I had the utmost pleasure of attending Pasqualetti’s show – which makes me super happy as I truly appreciated this collection. Here’s a backstage look:

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Dries Without Dries. Dries Van Noten SS25

October 2, 2024October 2, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s still very difficult to comprehend that Dries Van Noten is no longer designing Dries Van Noten. Even though the Belgian designer was in cheerful (and relaxed) attendance at the first studio-designed collection, I find it hard to feel persuaded by the spring-summer 2025 line-up. As Cathy Horyn put it in her review, it’s generic. No narration behind it, just very commercial-looking clothes with no essence or urgency. The collection seemed to check all the boxes what a Dries offering should look like: florals, embroideries, a tension between feminine and masculine. But that’s not enough to make this absolutely important – and needed – brand thrive without its founder at creative helm. A confident mind is needed, ASAP. I would give the job to Jun Takahashi of Undercover – that would be a beyond beautiful match! – or the über-talented, emerging designer Niccolò Pasqualetti.

I shed a tear at the Dries Van Noten boutiques on the Left Bank. I hope these stores will never be rebranded, they are just too charming and 100% Dries!

There’s still time to snap some “real” Dries. Here’s what I would buy…

ED’s DISPATCH:

Dries Van Noten Checked Woven Maxi Dress

Dries Van Noten Gold-tone, Beaded, Crystal And Faux Pearl Choker

Dries Van Noten Metallic Jacquard-crepon Coat

Dries Van Noten Oversized Gathered Satin-twill Jacket

Dries Van Noten Bead-embellished Embroidered Velvet Clutch

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Lightness. Chloé SS25

October 1, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Pardon my review absence for the last couple of days, but I was in Paris for fashion week. I’m catching up now – equipped with a much-needed, refreshed perspective on what’s going on in the industry, IRL. Let’s start with Chloé!

Chemena Kamali is on a roll. It’s her second full season at Chloé, and the way her take on the brand resonates with the industry – and clients who are literally storming the boutiques in Paris! – is a rare thing to see nowadays. Also, comparing to other designers this season, she presented a proper, summer collection that actually felt summer-ish. And just like in her confident debut, Kamali once again showcases her intimate understanding of Chloé’s history. Photos of Karl Lagerfeld designed collections were pinned to the mood board in her studio. Two of her most inspired lifts were the waist shapers of spring 1977 and the lace bloomers of spring 1978. Jackets – in sturdy workwear cotton or soft suede – gave the sensual lightness of these pieces a reality check. It’s good to see flou femininity back on Chloé runway – for some reason, Kamali’s predecessors thought it wasn’t the right thing to channel. But there’s a new sense of strength in these carefree girls and women wearing floral-bouquet-print dresses in cascades of ruffled chiffon.

And speaking of Chloé stores in Paris, here’s what I saw at the rue de Saint-Honore boutique: the perfect marriage between retail and art. Mie Olise Kjærgaard‘s absolutely beautiful paintings are exhibited across the entire space, perfectly matching the current season.