Men’s – Irrational Approach. JW Anderson SS25

June 18, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

“Irrational clothing” is how Jonathan Anderson described the idea(s) behind his JW Anderson spring-summer 2025 collection. The sheer number of concepts the designer played with on his runway is a lot to take, especially at menswear Milan Fashion Week where most designers barely deliver one, substantial idea. The wearable collage of adjacently sourced thoughts all set on designing garments that aggravated and stimulated the outer reaches of familiarity. Liner jackets in lushly colored silk and hula-hoop-hemmed, billows-pocketed denim gilets were both delivered in steroid-shot proportions to transform them beyond their conventional categories. “Sometimes it’s about movement and sponginess and being tactile,” offered Anderson of the three inside-out knit mega bomber jackets that followed. Pastel leather supersized blouses that followed a few looks later just looked so delightfully squishy. But there was also a sense of utilitarian toughness, some sort of exaggerated mannishness rooted in historicism. Take the pants in the closing look, musketeer-ishly tucked into vintage military-style boots unlaced up from the shin. Anderson’s disruptively irrational approach to worn façades became even more evident in a series of three two-story cardigans and two taller shifts knit with purposefully homespun craftiness to resemble various English architectural styles. The designer also proposed a not-so-discreet return to the tie in menswear, in XXL sizes, creating a cartoonish caricature of a businessman’s attire. Shirts, jackets, and a coat were affixed with roundly folded supersized silk tags in harlequin colors that resembled deflated balloons. They were lovely and strange. And then, in a very JW manner, another random element that will be a hit: the sweats and knits featuring vintage Guinness advertising. The designer said this was partially because he is Northern Irish and a fan of Guinness and partially because he has always relished that non-fashion brand’s history of radical image making, from the vintage pieces showcased here to Jonathan Glazer’s 1999 surfer advertisement. Now I wonder which of these concepts will reappear – even subtly – in Anderson’s forthcoming collaboration on costumes for Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” starring Daniel Craig, premiering this August in Venice.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Deja Vu. Valentino Resort 2025

June 18, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s a new dawn for Valentino. Gone are the days of Pierpaolo Piccioli’s minimalist sensibility and sharpness of cut. Alessandro Michele’s “surprise” debut collection for resort 2025 is an unabashed return to Valentino Garavani’s 1960s and 1970s opulence and over-the-topness. Is this nostalgia something people really want in 2024? Many wrongfully described the collection as “so Gucci”. The deja vu feeling is valid, but rather it’s “so Alessandro Michele”. But let’s be honest, this line-up could easily pass as any of Michele’s previous collections for the other Italian brand, and you’re really not the only one constantly mistyping Gucci instead of Valentino. More than 170 looks, none really memorable or distinct, is either a result of Michele’s prolificness or his overt maximalism – something I thought he would rethink and refine during his hiatus. When the designer arrived at Gucci, his debut collection – contrived at light speed pace – was a revolution-in-the-making and it shifted the way people dress for seasons ahead. His Valentino debut lacks that radicalness, and feels like a missed opportunity in making a strong point. The dense, thick retromania of this collection makes one feel simply tired.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Men’s – Youthful Optimism. Prada SS25

June 17, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

After a couple of seasons dedicated to tackling problems of our contemporary times, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons maybe aren’t in an entirely optimistic mood, but they are hopeful for the future – and the young generation. The spring-summer 2025 menswear Prada collection was dedicated to the feeling of “just going” with your guts when you’re young and not overthinking it too much. That was reflected in the seemingly pre-loved clothes, crumpled and creased, mismatched and cropped as if a couple of sizes too small. Simons explained: “There are elements that are female, masculine, coming from mom, dad, grandad, grandmother. Maybe things from your memories… and fantasy!”, interjected Prada. Although the designers didn’t want their new season effects look too constricted or contrived, it a bit was the case with the Lego-colored boiler suits (Simons just can’t help but return to them. Maybe he will get it right one day?). But there were also pieces in this collection that truly feel investment-worthy: pony-hair black coat with short sleeves, tops illustrated with graphic artworks by Bernard Buffet, cool wind-jackets in rave tones, slinky cardigans. The first look’s blonde-haired model who opened the door of the show venue’s toy-ish, white house wore a very Milan-coded outfit: a thin, v-neck navy sweater, sartorially-elegant grey pants with pleats and a pair of vintage-y sneakers. How Prada!

Need a Prada wardrobe fix?

ED’s SELECTION:

Men’s Saffiano Leather Logo Triangle Crossbody Bag

Men’s Denim Trucker Jacket

Men’s Silk Bermuda Shorts

Men’s Silk-Cotton Sweater

Men’s Show Nylon Bomber Jacket

Men’s Gingham Poplin Sport Shirt

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Men’s – Life’s A Journey. Moschino SS25

June 16, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Life is an unexpected journey: that’s the morale conveyed by Adrian Appiolaza‘s first menswear show for Moschino. Before he left Argentina for Europe, the designer once held down a job selling insurance. To present a respectable façade to potential clients, his employer obliged him to wear a company-provided suit. He felt like a prisoner of that ill-fitting, sad suit. That formative trauma collided with something once said by Franco Moschino himself: “it’s better to dress as you wish than as you should.” Appiolaza began his spring-summer 2025 story of resilience and traveling through life with ironic takes on corporate attire. A shirt skirt worn with a real shirt but unreal suspenders and a four-button suit teamed with three hats were amongst the first of many cheeky, archival references. The soccer-ball sweater teamed with a tri-starred baseball cap was a salute back to Argentina, while the Italian flag soccer couple – one with an authentic red sauce splattering! – was a gesture to Appiolaza’s new creative home. Franco Moschino’s recurring goose motif returned in prints on skirts and shirting in a hokey, bucolic countrywear duet. The closing looks reminisced something accidental lovers would wear – and get married in – on a nameless island after a ship wreck. The all-white heavy linen suit with a sleeve skirt is a fresh take on groomswear. The models walked their finale around piles of lost luggage that symbolized the tangle of transformational journey narratives. This designer is really on to something with his vision for Moschino.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Sumptuous. Max Mara Resort 2025

June 13, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Of all resort shows presented in farfetched destinations this season, it was the seemingly least fussy of them all that truly made an astounding impression. Ian Griffiths is lately doing wonders at Max Mara, but this collection presented in Venice is his best yet. “It’s a magical place”, said the British designer, “at the crossroad between the East and the West. It’s where luxury was born, Marco Polo was a trading genius who seven centuries ago introduced Western culture to the opulence of the Far East through the Silk Road.” The show was held at Palazzo Ducale, a gothic masterpiece so dreamy that John Ruskin, in his book The Stones of Venice, described it as “the central building of the world.” Models paraded at dusk in the external loggia, against the backdrop of San Marco square. The collection hinted at the Venitian flair for opulence and extravagance in the most sumptuous ways. Silk-tasseled belts cinched voluptuous, sweeping cashmere coats at the waist, caftans and billowing dusters had a breezy presence, and capes were enveloping like tabarri, the traditional cloaks worn by Venitian gentlemen in the 18th century. The silhouette was kept long and lean, or short and leggy; as always with Max Mara, decoration was used sparsely, yet the offering had a more elaborate feel than usual. Then, the finale looks: a billowy cape, a round-shaped cocoon, a layered asymmetrical halter dress, and a dramatic opera coat fit for a Fortuny muse were surmounted by towering matching turbans, courtesy of Stephen Jones. Sensational!