What’s Hot (10.5.23)
Andreas Kronthaler
Family. Andreas Kronthaler Vivienne Westwood AW23
The latest Andreas Kronthaler Vivienne Westwood fashion show was charged with a spectrum of emotions and a beautiful, beautiful homage to the late Dame Vivienne. The sadness of her physical absence was tangible, yet her spirit was conveyed throughout the vivid sense of her creative legacy in her husband’s autumn-winter 2023 collection. And Corra Corré, Westwood’s grandaughter, was the show’s magnificent bride, which made this family affair even more moving. “She left things very clear,” Andreas Kronthaler said backstage. “And she finished a lot of things that she wanted to finish.” He added that the collection she had mentioned in the memorial film shot by her brother Gordon – her latest attempt to bring down capitalism – will be shown in London soon. “But she wanted me to use this one,” he said of the collection shown this Paris Fashion Week: “We worked on it together a bit. I brought her things home mostly and showed her. I thought of her in everything I did, about what were her favorite pieces: full skirts, petticoats, things that reminded me slightly of Buffalo Girls. I remember her first telling about it when we first met, back at the very beginning. In a way it was also about her, coming down from the North and changing the status [of fashion].” The platforms, the minicrini (made more midi), that corsetry, the pirate boots and jerkins, the drunkenly undulating gathering and drape, and the gender-fluid mix-and-matching were all present in a collection that was overwhelmingly crafted from deadstock. The trachten-tinged Tirolian overtones in darkly autumnal brown gilets and some of those full skirts were Kronthaler-originated nuances that have long been assimilated within the broader Westwood canon. More personal touches included the eye make-up that Sara Stockbridge’s tears had smudged, a tribute to Westwood’s own, and the pavé and metal pigs that were widely used as accessories. These referenced a wooden good luck charm that Westwood had acquired many years ago and kept on her mantle. Said Kronthaler: “I do think it’s a very good thing to do, to continue, not stop anything, or make big decisions. Because you need to process things and you need to go through: it’s something which happens to everybody. I thought I was very well prepared. But it’s very strange.”
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Vivienne Westwood Forever
I’m lost for words. Our culture has lost another legend, the ultimate DAME, the truest punk, the Queen of British fashion, one of the most caring souls in this industry, a real activist who never cared about the establishment, the one and only Vivienne Westwood. Thank you for teaching us that fashion can be absolutely something more than just clothes, it can speak volumes and be political. Rest in Peace, Rest in Power. You will forever stay in our hearts, and your work and contribution will keep on inspiring. Deepest condolences to Andreas Kronthaler, her loving life-partner, and her family.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Slatterns and Angels. Andreas Kronthaler Vivienne Westwood SS23
For spring-summer 2023, Andreas Kronthaler was in philosophical form. He reported that until his arrival in Paris a few days ago, he’d not been out of London in more than a year. Instead he had stayed at home and read and designed. The book that hit him hardest was Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne by Katherine Rundell. That text on the great metaphysical poet, who saw lovers’ eyes as hemispheres and clothes as states of mind, helped fire this collection. The ragged tricolored cardigan of look 16 and the soulful accordion on the soundtrack signaled Kronthaler’s enchantment at this Paris return. More broadly we were on an imaginative trip through various characters shaped through clothing. Sibyl Buck was particularly magnificent in her two broad-shoulder, Renaissance-man looks. There were slatterns and angels, monks and harlots, nobles and commoners. The models all wore super-high, Vivienne Westwood-signature platforms that even Donne would have struggled to describe. The only missing element was Westwood herself, whom her husband said was back in London taking part in a wave of protests against the government.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Showtime. Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood AW22
There are a lot of dramatic moments this Paris Fashion Week. Some directly refer to the atrocities going on in our world (Balenciaga), some deliver Old Hollywood glamour through an alien lens (Rick Owens). Andreas Kronthaler isn’t keeping it quiet either. Vivienne Westwood’s life partner and creative right hand delivered a bracingly engaging collection that was loaded with bold character. For this entertaining line-up, the designer said in his show notes that he’d wanted to pay tribute to the world of theater, plus express lightness. He also had worked “to find the muse in me.” One distinctly Andreas touch was the dandy-ish gentleman in the severe checked loden-cut coat – so too were the handsome boys in silky ruched dresses. Caped hoodies and ruche-backed tracksuits provoked the jotting “medieval athleisure” (the clothes alluded to various historical periods, creating a sort of anachronic, wearable puzzle). Crystal-fringed, 1970s-style silver sports shorts, corseted strumpet dress and track pants decorated in a rough-edged harlequin diamond pattern looked cool right away. Usually, Kronthaler’s collections feel as if somebody visited the attic, opened a dusty chest standing there, and played dress-up with all the treasures that were inside. This season it’s no different, but the amusing theatre theme makes it feel less haphazard and more convincing – especially the vintage-y vibe factor of these runway „costumes”. Westwood herself was hauled onstage as the curtain drew back and Kronthaler’s cast took in the lengthy applause. Flowers were thrown and bouquets exchanged. Then, Westwood did some hauling of her own, pulling granddaughter Cora Corré out of the crowd. A lovely family moment.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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