ERL: Made In California

April 25, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

No one does California story-telling like Eli Russell Linnetz. Now, the ERL designer has taken a step further, and dropped a capsule collection entirely produced in the Golden State. Key shearling pieces came from sheared sheep that roam around the ERL studio alongside shearling waste from local farmers. In tandem with the California-made production, the collection leans into quintessential Americana styles – whether it be through denim or something as simple as plaid boxer shorts. I literally lost my mind for the cowboy sweater. The entire wardrobe is laden with jackets, flared bottoms, shin-length shorts, plaid shirts, heavyweight zip-ups with matching sweatpants, pocket tees and accessories. But the clear standout of the collection are the canary yellow shearling pieces that extend to an oversized jacket, bags and standout $28,000 chaps (hot). With its American-influenced aesthetic, the collection still channels the gritty-meets-sensual sentiments the brand is also known for.

The “Made in California” collection is available now online.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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The Girl is Back. Chloé Pre-Fall 2024.

April 22, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

The Chloé girl is so back, baby. Chemena Kamali‘s pre-fall 2024 collection – a prelude to the runway line-up we’ve seen in the end of February – proves that the designer is confident about her vision of the Parisian maison. Kamali knows the history of the brand inside out, and worked there as a Chloé-obsessed junior designer in the noughties under Phoebe Philo’s creative direction, and then again under Clare Waight Keller. Nobody comprehends better than Kamali the spontaneous feeling of it-ness that belongs to the female-centric Chloé philosophy; a power recharged through so many generations since the house was founded in the 1950s by the Jewish-Egyptian emigré Gaby Aghion as a free-spirited ready-to-wear antidote to Parisian haute couture. “I really was thinking a lot about the Chloé wardrobe, what it should consist of, just, quite frankly, why do I want to wear it? What do I think is important to have in terms of essential pieces, things that go well with other silhouettes that you have at home already?” It’s the balance of carefree romance and pragmatism that’s run through the house since Karl Lagerfeld’s tenures in the ’70s, ’80s, and late ’90s; what Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo, and Hannah McGibbon ignited in the aughts; and Kamali’s consciousness of what contemporary women need (she herself is a working mother). Customers will soon come across hot wardrobe staples at Chloé boutiues: a navy gabardine jacket with an elongated “Karl collar“, hanging next to a pair of white jeans with scalloped edges, and a soft navy blouse. Then, there’s an array of perfectly-cut trousers hang with slim cognac leather maxi coats, blazers, and caped “highwaywoman” gabardine trenches. Silk slip dresses elude with hyper-feminine energy, contrasting with utilitarian button-on capes on the raincoats. As for accessories, Kamali offers some of the chicest pieces in the brand’s recent history, instant best-sellers: the spacious “Camera” bag, classic wedges and timeless, suede over-the-knee boots.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Harvest Season. Bevza AW24

April 18, 2024April 18, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Collage by me featuring Bevza AW24 look and works by Maria Prymachenko – Ukrainian folk art painter, who worked in the naïve art style. The Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum, where several works by Prymachenko were held, was burned after a deliberate attack on a museum during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the reported loss of 25 of her works.

It’s over two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, so for her autumn-winter 2024 collection, Svitlana Bevza – formerly Kyiv-based designer – set out to celebrate her motherland’s vibrant culture and history through distinct, soft-minimalist lens. Bevza selected the Ukrainian Institute of America – which specializes in promoting the art, music and culture of Ukraine – for her New York Fashion Week presentation. The collection was centered around Ukraine’s role as one of the world’s largest grain producers. Apron dresses were crafted from eco-leather and outerwear was made from sheepskin; it largely focused on an A-shaped silhouette inspired by a traditional 19th-century Ukrainian coat called a Kozhukh. The Tisto vest – named after the Ukrainian word for dough – sported plaits that echoed the texture of traditional Kosa bread. As for the palette? It was muted with the occasional pop of canary and gold coming through to mirror the lush colors of a healthy harvest. These monochromatic looks were elevated by shapes that were experimental yet considered, edited with geometric collars and belt-scrunched waists. Beautiful, functional and emotionally moving at the same time.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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She’s A Textile Girl. Maryam Nassir Zadeh AW24

April 12, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Maryam Nassir Zadeh has finally dropped her autumn-winter 2024 lookbook, and oh boy, it’s so good. The designer is one of the leading fashion voices of New York, and she certainly doesn’t need the platform of New York Fashion Week to prove that. Nassir Zadeh’s textile-informed (“I’m a textile girl“), tactile approach to her brand is widely copied by up-and-coming brands, but nobody does it so authentically and with such instinctual ease as her. There’s just lots and lots to love in this new collection, from the styling (perfectly matching the look-book’s location, shot somewhere in the South of France) to the clothes and accessories. The pastel pink fringed scarf in either pastel pink, beige or graphite, made from soft suede, will very likely become the label’s top-seller: you can drape it around the neck in many different ways or wear it as a shawl. Styled with new season workwear jackets, the vibe of this pieces is supremely cool. The goovy fringe story continues in skirts of different lengths. Then we’ve got citrus-colored metallic-threaded Indian materials made into charming bra-tops, mini-bags, and boxers. The designer recently visited Rajasthan, so that sun-drenched color palette definitely originates from that experience. Maryam achieves more with less, but she isn’t really after minimalism. She offers playful garments, but not in an adorned way (there are pretty much no superfluous embroideries or embellishments in her work) – it’s more about the way you can nonchalantly style and layer these pieces. The New York-based designer keeps on experimenting with merging womenswear with menswear, and the results are more than inspiring. “I’m putting the men in more feminine things and the women in more masculine things,” she noted. “It’s a full circle moment.”

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Upside Down. Hodakova AW24

April 11, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Ellen Hodakova Larsson indulges in imperfection and inventiveness. This Swede has built a practice of finding treasure where others see trash, echoing ideas of new materialism. She crafts witty, contemporary classics using already-existing materials, many of which carry a patina that only time can impart. Bras, belts, metal trays, a constellation of buttons, waistbands, and underwires have all been through her hands, turning into artisanal garments. Through her work, which often involves turning things over (see the trouser dresses) and inside out (the garments made of lining fabrics), patchworking (this season’s argyles), and accumulating, Hodakova is turning the idea of value upside down. Her bricolage pieces – often rough at the edges and with emphasis on tactility – are related to the designer’s own values and upbringing. A former competitive equestrienne, she was raised on a working farm that, she said, made her “very aware of what things cost, what you can do, how you can grow things yourself – what you can do with nothing in general.” It’s been proven over and over how limitations foster creativity, and that’s reflected in the designer’s autumn-winter 2024 collection. Smart tufted looks referenced the chesterfield sofas the designer grew up with. The attaché case that turned into a dress belonged to her father. Beret shoulders on a top and a top made of molded-metal serving trays flirted with the romance of Paris. The designer has made it a signature to crown every collection with a dress made of one object: this time, prize ribbons replaced the viral spoons and watches of last season.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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