Jungle by Malwina Konopacka

September 9, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Malwina Konopacka is one of the most promising new-gen talents coming from Poland. She has her own, precise vision of design and art. Or rather, a fresh combination of these two. JUNGLE is the name of new, limited edition of hand-painted ceramic vases made by the Warsaw-based illustrator and designer . The series consists of 20 individual leaf-motif vases, including 2 inspired by the works of Henri Rousseau, and 10 designs with gold elements. The artist continues to explore form, function and pattern, as she initiated with the first series of vases called OKO (The Eye), presented in 2014 (more here). But what makes me really proud as a Pole, is the fact, that Malwina and many other Polish designers will have their major exhibition at EXPO 2015 in Milan!

The JUNGLE collection will be presented at “The Polish Table. La Tavola Polacca” exhibition in the Polish Pavilion at EXPO 2015 in Milan between 13 – 27 September 2015.

Photography by Paulina Pajka

Sophie Buhai

August 25, 2015August 25, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Wearable sculptures by Sophie Buhai are not only timeless, but precious. “There’s a certain woman who wants to buy a jewelry piece as if it were a wearable piece of sculpture, and invest in it. You want quality. You want something that’s beautiful and that’s going to last.” The 34 years old designer and founder of her eponymous label knows what a woman with class wants. Buhai strives to present her collection of cuffs, collars, pendants and rings with a sense of permanence and each of her lovingly sculpted works appeals to a sophisticated clientele.

Sophie Buhai’s jewellery is available at The Line. Photography by Thomas Lohr.

Spiral Around The Body

July 23, 2015July 19, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

A piece of jewellery by her seems to be like a spiral which shapes around the body. Do you remember the set of five golden rings from Nicolas Ghesquière’s final collection for Balenciaga? Did you add them to the on-line store whishlist because you were so in love with them? Well, in reality, you were in love with Charlotte Chesnais already back then. Spending nearly a decade at the house, she appeared to be the main jewellery designer there by coincidence. “Nicolas wanted some pieces for his Les Parisiennes collection, and there was no one at the time doing jewelry in the atelier,” Chesnais recalls. She left Balenciaga just after Ghesquière did. “I had lost my master,” she explains, but not before debuting the “bow” bracelets that have since become an Alexander Wang signature. Later on, Chesnais worked for Julien Dossena at Paco Rabanne (the last season bracelets are also by HER) and designed the chain mail bags. And now, Charlotte Chesnais is here to present herself in the truest form, with her own namesake line. Inspired by the sculptural work of Constantin Brancusi and Alberto Giacometti, her eponymous collection is composed of metal pieces that look as if made of liquid – cuffs coil up the hand; circular earrings orbit the lobes. “Each one is a beautiful object—even just sitting on a table,” she says. “That’s my interpretation of timeless.”

Constantin Brancusi

Balenciaga SS13

HC – Fourrure. Fendi AW15

July 10, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

The last fourrure was presented 90 years ago. Two days ago, Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director of Fendi, showed the world what is the definite fur splendor. As the name fourrure might suggest, it is a haute couture collection which is utterly focused on… fur. Chinchilla, sable and mink were presented in form of long, floor-weeping coats, flesh explosing jumpsuit and amazingly detailed sweaters – and these were not only interesting because of the fact they were made from a fusion of cashmere and fluff, but because they were embellished with huge flowers, of course shaped from fur. The cape worn by Julia Nobis at the end of the show may have been all about feathers “transforming” into a silver-tipped skirt, which set our minds on a cross-species category search. PETA was set at bay during the fashion show – and all your furry fantasies became real.

HC – Eartly Delights. Dior AW15

July 7, 2015July 7, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Eartly Delights – this is how the creative director of Dior, Raf Simons, entitled his haute couture collection. Full of Flemish art references and historic symbols, it is looking far into the future. Here are the three major things worth to know about this truly remarkable collection.

The venue. Raf Simons described the stunning set for Dior’s couture show as part church, part garden, part nightclub in Ibiza. The pointillist-painted panels could have been stained-glass windows or flowers. The purple carpet worked perfectly well as a psychodelic, quite fantastical element. In fact, a hallucinatory vibe penetrated the entire presentation. But the biggest fascination was caused by the pastel shaded melons, which were scattered around the place. Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights clearly appeared in everybody’s mind.

The idea. An ethereal collection but with Simons twist? This collection is just that. “Dior is always a fairy tale, no matter what I’m doing,” Simons said with a laugh, but yesterday’s show had a special magic, which wasn’t moved so intensely by the designer since his arrival to the house. During his backstage moment, Raf also explained the meaning of the title – “Coming out of the austerity of the Second World War, Dior was inspired by something he wasn’t supposed to be inspired by,” he said. “Glamour, excess, too much.” Seventy years later, Raf Simons is coming to the same point: forbidden fruit tastes sweetest. Just like the power of imagination.

The textures. Raf Simons is not only obsessed with today and the past at his namesake brand, but also at Dior. That is why his AW15 couture collection was a fusion of old and new. This is strongly visible in his outerwear – Simons’ dose of his own Belgian heritage into Dior’s referred back to “the Flemish masters and the sculptural drape, the velvety weight that men like Vermeer were able to communicate in paint, their models serenely poised with arms folded” as Tim Blanks translates. A coat/cape hybrid was the result of neoprene, couture embroidery and a fur stole which is all about mixing old with new.