Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin

July 31, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

If you’re in Berlin and love fashion history (and decorative / applied arts in general!), make sure to visit Kunstgewerbemuseum. The sheer breadth of the collection is impressive, encompassing a wide variety of materials and forms of craftwork, fashion and design from the early Middle Ages to the present day. The collection’s extensive range of costumes and accessories from the 18th to 20th centuries is presented to visitors since the reopening of the museum in 2014 in a newly conceived fashion gallery. Dresses from the 1960s designed by Jean Patou, Christóbal Balenciaga, and Jean Dessès; Mariano Fortuny’s breath-taking Delphos dresses; 18th century panniers and 19th century crinolines… it’s brilliant. Jugendstil and Art Deco are also well represented at the Kunstgewerbemuseum with glassware from Emile Gallé, pieces of furniture by Henry van de Velde and the glass doors of César Klein. The collection comprises famous and influential design classics such as furniture by Bruno Paul, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer as well as tableware from Wilhelm Wagenfeld. And… in the neighbouring building, there’s the exhaustive Gemäldegalerie with paintings from 13th to 18th century, and it’s also worth visiting.

Matthäikirchplatz / Berlin

Photos by Edward Kanarecki.

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This Woman’s Work. Gabriela Hearst Resort 2023

July 30, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

Gabriela Hearst’s resort 2023 collection started with a dream about a woman on a horse. She was a chieftain at the top of a mountain of fire. Hearst, who often taps into her Uruguayan roots, layered these clothes with equestrian touches. There are long leather coats debossed in a swirling pattern of her design finished with whipstitched edges and buttons engraved with the same curving motif, and a new leather bag has been finished with a contrasting leather bottom that she said was meant to evoke the sole of a riding boot. As ever, Hearst emphasized craft. The crochet cashmere dresses and separates – again, in that swirl design – are the work of many women’s hands and many hundreds of hours, she explained. “I like working with other women,” she said. “I think of that Gloria Steinem quote: ‘We are linked, not ranked.’ We all have to start helping each other more.” The patchwork chambray and denim pieces are the result of a new collaboration with Anna Foster of E.L.V. Denim, who sources vintage jeans and reworks them. You’ll notice the curving seams. Materials are Hearst’s other driving passion. Of particular note is the silk of fine tailored outerwear and suits for both women and men, and the substantial, lustrous black silk of a double-breasted tuxedo. An evening number married that silk with a ribbed knit bodice. “That’s not easy to do, to get it to fall right,” she said. The hard work resulted in an effortless, highly elegant dress.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Balance. Jil Sander Resort 2023

July 28, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

The creative dynamic Luke and Lucie Meier have brought to Jil Sander isn’t just a reflection of the two of them sharing art and life, but also an echo of the big-picture conversation about the redefinition of identities around the intersection of masculine and feminine codes. “In our designs there’s always this tension between the masculine and the feminine,” they mused in their studio in Milan. “It’s always there in some form or another.” The husband and wife pair complement each other with the same easy flair that they give their experiments between rigor and plasticity, severity and fluidity. They describe their process as an exercise in “searching and finding that right pull, whether it’s an artisanal gesture breaking something very strict, or something soft being broken by something very rigid and structured. That play is always there.” For resort their search for a point of symmetric repose between opposites played out in what they called “deflating couture,” a turn of phrase defining sculptural, elegant volumes “collapsing” into softer, gentler, fluid shapes. Seen through this lens, their suiting consisted of sharp-cut, narrow-shouldered, and fitted jackets worn over ultra-voluminous trousers, almost like next-generation palazzo pants. The sartorial is a territory the Meiers navigate skillfully, favoring extreme precision in cutting and construction as well as a romantic feel for the handcrafted; a case in point was a sharp-structured, overcoat in a pale mauve, without lapels, fastened with a single hand-blown glass jewel button, and worn over a black tunic with a feminine ruffled collar. The play between fluidity and structure gave the collection character and appeal, and was consistent throughout. An elongated dress of voluminous couture construction was made in delicate white cotton voile, a rather humble material; straight-cut tunics and tops with plunging necklines were given a transformable twist with the addition of turtlenecks or t-shirts in contrasting colors worn underneath. The season’s version of the tuxedo had a similar versatile approach; it was proposed as a fluid combination of a pleated-bib black chemise and a pair of billowy, liquid trousers. You cannot take the sense of rigorous chic out of the Meiers.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Cowboy, Reconstructed. Greg Lauren SS23

July 26, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

Greg Lauren started the spring-summer 2023 collection by thinking about the cowboy: the archetype, the myth, and the real deal. It’s not all boots, denim, and big hats (though there is plenty of that). Instead, his collection, titled “Re-construct”, taps into his muse’s renegade spirit. “There’s something at the core of the idea of the cowboy that resonates with people that has to do with individualism, and the idea of the figure that doesn’t conform and has the courage to draw their own path,” he says. That individualism expresses itself in unexpected ways. The spring 2023 lookbook opens with a pale pink trucker jacket. It’s made from scraps of fabric that were discarded to make last season’s pink tuxedos. Through a process called stitchwork, these teensy bits of fabrics are patched together to make a textile that can be used to make a pink jacket for a cowboy. There’s a nice cyclical energy to that, which Lauren clearly relishes, after all, repurposing pre-loved materials is what put him on the map. The most interesting developments here are the contrasts. Consider baggy cargo pants and a relaxed blazer made out of herringbone fabric, or the many jackets with tails Lauren created this season out of denim, ivory satin, and, spectacularly, leather. Lauren had fun picking apart black- and white-tie dress codoes, playing with ways to make a tuxedo jacket or tails casual through fabrics. Make no mistake, it’s still elegant. The craftiness running through the collection – the continued collaboration with Gee’s Bend quilters, the top made of vintage Cub Scout shirts, the stitch work fair isle sweater – only underscores the designer’s maverick qualities.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Tinged With Sass. Blumarine Resort 2023

July 24, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

Nicola Brognano slightly shifted the Blumarine look for resort 2023, “toning down the bling”. What stayed firmly in place, however, was the Y2K inspo that triggered the attention this brand has been getting lately. Sticking to your guns is always a good move if a designer wants to cut a consistent position in the fashion firmament. That’s what Brognano seems to be consistenly pursuing. The designer, who by his own admission has no affinity for talking about inspirations or references, said that he now has a tougher, less pretty image of the Blumarine woman in his mind. To summarize: her mood as of now is more street than saucy, more femme than Lolita. No surprise though that Brognano’s take on streetwear is tinged with sass. New additions to the Blumarine wardrobe were sexy ribbed tank tops with a refreshed goth logo; cool ultra-cropped sweats with hoodies layered liberally over or under those tank tops; oversized poplin shirts turned into outrageously-mini ruffled dresses; and various iterations of the multi-pocketed cargo pants that have become one of Blumarine’s signatures. They were proposed in liquid satin in a bright shade of turquoise, worn with a matching belted duster, and a barely-there bra showing vast expanses of bare midriff, while in their newest version they came printed with a camo motif that was actually a trompe l’oeil rose. Amping up the collection’s more urban, utilitarian vibe, the ubiquitous cargos morphed into motorcycle pants in pale denim-colored distressed leather, or were worn under maxi crocheted cardis and long slouchy chiffon slipdresses. Brognano offered proof of a versatile approach, and that he has enough nerve to play with Blumarine’s range with confidence.