Disruption. Thomas Tait SS15

September 17, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Brutalistic venue. Loud music. Nipples. Plastic. Stripes. Provocative. Georges Rousse. Minimal, but abstract. The star is born. Thomas Tait, the latest treasure of London showed a striking collection, under the wings of LVMH. And it’s totally something you didn’t see before (well, only if you saw the older collections by Tait). “I work so hard on the clothes inside and out, and most of the time it does boil down to a straight up runway image and people only get a fraction of the story.” Thomas Tait might me slightly similar to Gareth Pugh- also a Brit doing extravagant fashion. But what I love more about Tait is the fact that his clothes are wearable. The leather geometrical cut-out skirts, satin tops, transparency… who cares about the nipple? We live in the times, where being scared of your own nipple is funny. Transparent dresses were worn with metallic stilettos that morphed into nude tights, and ran alongside block coloured leather jackets with only one sleeve. I also loved the stripe episode! It was sexy but pretty “ugly”. Just like the colours, which were eye catchy, but for most very unattractive. This collection just says one thing: whatever. Whatever people say, Thomas Tait is Thomas Tait. And that counts for now. Love that vibe.

In The Garden. Erdem SS15

September 17, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Oh, what a show was that Erdem! It was breath-taking. On Moralioglu’s mood board, we had pictures of Katharine Hepburn in The African Queen, a proper woman “going bush,” unhinged by the jungle. That was the set today: dull, dark, slightly sinister. And that was also the scenario. Except that the woman Erdem had in mind was Victorian biologist and botanical artist Marianne North, who traveled the world and defined her profession to the point where there is a gallery dedicated to her at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, outside London. With amazing, Valentino-like tapestery and embroideries, the plasters of palm leaves, roses and other plants simply grew out from the dresses. Erdem compared that to “trapping something wild.” And it was the wildness of nature, rather than its order, that truly absorbed him in this collection. And all of that magical beauty was styled with simple, boyish broques. And that’s the essential Erdem look. Feminine, but with a masculine touch. Art by Stephen Eichhorn.

I See Colours. Roksanda SS15

September 16, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

I am obsessed with Roksanda’s SS15! It’s so bold, vibrant, colourful! Simply amazing. Roksanda Ilincic overdid herself this year, creating her first store in London, changing the label’s name into Roksanda and making her brand a real thing. For summer, as you might already see through my enthusiasm, we’ve got geometry and colourful radiance. Lilac, mint, rose, sherbet, fire orange, and royal blue all had somewhat of a neon tint. This contributed to the collection’s sporty edge, which was enhanced by matching flat sandals and geometric heels designed in collaboration with Nicholas Kirkwood. Also of note were Ilincic’s closing looks: sheer organza dresses embellished with squiggly lines that were one part Jackson Pollock, one part Silly String. Ilincic referred to the velvety embroidery as “eyelashes.” It evoked pipe cleaners. But either way, the result was marvelous. Art by Patrick Caulfield.

Duality. 3.1. Philip Lim SS15

September 10, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Philip Lim’s SS15 was radiant and energetic, making it a go-to for Summer city jungle. It was a mix of boudoir lace and sleek forms with the cool girl shorts and sandal, Even the bath-robe belt gave the collection a intimate feeling of mornings-in-bed. The delicate modeules which visually “moved” around the body of the models felt lazy and very relaxing… It would be just a dream to wake up in these clothes, and then go to the city (without changing your outfit)! This collection is all about duality, and it simply feels perfect for lazy weekendzz… zzzzzzz…

Cultural Fashion

August 31, 2014August 31, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Fashion and culture always had a power, if joint together. So no wonder why the artsy trend for fall’14 are so strong- we’ve got Bauhaus architecture, we’ve got Russian films and we’ve got dadaism- an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century. Many claim Dada began in Zurich, Switzerland in 1916, spreading to Berlin shortly thereafter but the height of New York Dada was the year before, in 1915. One of the most famous dada artist is Hannah Höch. The collage art movent which had a lot of grey, khaki and solemn colours, got spotted at Celine, Carven and Haider Ackermann this season.

Weimar was another artistic movement, but this time coming from Germany. With Bauhaus at it’s roots, Weimar was popular for it’s geometrical forms, strong colours and minimalism. The rectangular pockets from Givenchy are totally Weimar, isn’t it? And these Jacquemus coats and bold, Thomas Tait dresses…

Bauhaus! art school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term Bauhaus – literally “house of construction” – was understood as meaning “School of Building”. It’s most famous graduate? Mies Van Der Rohe. But nowaday, it’s Prada, Balenciaga, Alexander Wang, Dior and Acne, who does the symetrical silhouttes and metallic “constructions” in their designs (best example- that Prada wedge).

If talking of cinema, Miuccia Prada learnt by hard all the scens of The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. This German movie from 1972 has an all-female cast and is set in the home of the protagonist, Petra von Kant (Berliner fashion designer). It follows the changing dynamics in her relationships with the other women. It’s very sensual, and the clothes and mood perfectly match into Prada’s AW14.

The Place of Meeting Can’t be Changed is a Russian movie, which has it’s plot happening in 1945, Moscow. The fashion here strongly reflects Nicolas Ghesquiere’s debutant Louis Vuitton collection. The higlighted collars, masculine jackets, v cuts, floral prints and tweed are all very, very 40’s.

Aah, Marlene Dietrich! The famous singer and actress, all-time fashion icon! Her flawless gowns and love to non-chalant fur is strongly visible in the moodboards of such designers like Jason Wu, Rodebjer and Ports 1961. In other words, lady-like, chic and effortless.