Girls (And Willem). Miu Miu SS25

October 3, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Miu Miu‘s spring-summer 2025 collection was a post-post-modern collage of various notions of femininity, seen through the lens of Miuccia Prada‘s absolutely distinct Miu-isms. This girl was certainly interrupted – the Miuccia way, with styling help of Lotta Volkova. To start, there were underthings worn as outer things, such as white cotton slips; some had graphic sequined embroideries. Sporty track separates and cutout bathing suits were also in the mix, along with private-school uniforms 1970s-ish geometric prints lifted from a spring 2005 collection (that’s the thing about Prada: 20 years later, her concepts feel like new). It was a wild juxtaposition of things that don’t belong together yet somehow work together. Western belts and waitress dresses, well-worn shirting and sporty bikini tops… but in the end, there was method to this chaos. And then you had Willem Dafoe closing the show.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Loewe Anthurium Obsession

April 10, 2023April 9, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Ok, spring is in full bloom, summer is around the corner, and I’m obsessed with the Loewe anthurium. It all began with Jonathan Anderson‘s very brilliant spring-summer 2023 fashion show, and now these crazy, sexy flowers are popping in the stores like wild. I love them, Noto (my dachshund puppy!) loves them, you love them. Thanks Loewe for introducing the fashion world to anthurium, the most stylish flower ever.

Here’s a selection of the finest anthurium pieces you can shop right now:

Loewe printed ribbed rtretch-cotton midi dress

Loewe printed stretch-tulle top

Loewe floral-print stretch-mesh maxi dress

Loewe anthurium flower plant charm

Loewe anthurium applique sleeveless dress

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Domenica More Gordon x Arts & Science

December 13, 2020 | Design & Culture by Ed

Sometimes, completely out of the blue, you discover something truly incredible on Instagram and can’t stop thinking about it. Artist Domenica More Gordon adds a special touch every year during Arts & Science‘ holiday season. This year too, her charming works are joining the highly-curated Japanese store (which actually requires separate post!). As a special project for 2020, Arts & Science received her one-of-a-kind handmade embroidered mini-bags from Scotland. Domenica has personally sewn by hand her dogs, birds, and plants on original A&S fabrics combined with her collection of used leather from horse gear. The handsewn features is like a good luck charm – an “amulet” as well as being functional bag to keep small items. The embroidery work unique to Domenica is a must see, the pieces reflect the exact same touch of her illustrations – but this time sewn onto an accessory. In the artist’s words, “I made these bags to contain not just the small essential items of modern life, phones, credit cards and keys, but also the larger and less tangible things like joy, pleasure and happiness. I like to think of them as practical amulets to help fend off the unsettling nature of these times. Making these bags gave me huge pleasure and I hope that they may do the same for you.” The 12 pieces are up for sale as a “blind auction” on Arts & Science on-line store. In addition, the pieces are exhibited at Arts & Science Aoyama until, well, today. One of those bags would be an amazingly charming gift!

Focus On: Petit Kouraj

August 15, 2020 | Design & Culture by Ed

After discovering Petit Kouraj some time ago on Instagram, those bags are still on my mind, so I thought it’s worth sharing! The label – the name translates as “little courage” in Haitian Creole – is the creative child of fashion stylist, Nasrin Jean-Baptiste. Born in London to Haitian immigrants, Jean-Baptiste amassed over a decade’s worth of experience as an international fashion stylist before creating her brand. An innate desire to create something meaningful lead Jean-Baptiste to develop a luxury bag line full of unique personality; both lively and chic – qualities quite uncommon within conventional brands. Following a trip to her native country of Haiti in 2018, she was immediately inspired to do something that frightened her – acting from her core, and with the help of a little courage, Petit Kouraj was born. Based in Brooklyn (and handmade in Haiti in partnership with D.O.T Haiti, women-lead organization which works closely with local artisans to provide opportunities, education and vocation training), each of Petit Kouraj’s bags are lovingly handmade using organic cotton net bags, 100% leather handles and rayon fringe. Each strand of fringe is individually sewn 656 times to create the large bags and 342 times for the mini. It’s a labor of love, and it takes 8-12 hours of manual labour to complete a single bag. Petit Kouraj signature accessories are fun, whimsical stand-alone pieces of wearable art that celebrates love for haute-knitwear and identity. Shop them here! And here are some of my favourites:

All photos courtesy of Petit Couraj.

That Tiny Bag: Medea

August 16, 2018August 12, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

Every so often a label appears out of nowhere that piques my interest. Well, maybe not that out of nowhere. I’ve discovered Medea the moment Petra Collins and Dev Hynes took it to the streets. And what is it precisely? That tiny, little bag. “We always were into bags and would spend money on those instead of clothes, so we thought, why not make a very fine leather bag that is shaped like a shopping bag?”, recall Giulia and Camilla Venturini for Vogue. The twin sisters have the bags crafted from matte calfskin leather in Verona, Italy. The Prima has just launched at Dover Street Market, Opening Ceremony and Selfridges, while the collection is expanding. For now, the bags come in eight colors and four sizes, ranging from micro (big enough for your phone) to an XXL version. The designers are also about to release a collection this September, made in collaboration with an artist. Expect the unexpected from this Milan-based label.