Men’s – Louis XVI Today. Comme Des Garcons SS16

July 2, 2015January 6, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Rei Kawakubo and Julien d’Ys are a perfect creative couple. She is designing clothes full of intelligent innovation which is in perfect symbiosis with history of fashion. He is the “hair artist” who does mind-blowing head creations. Comme des Garcons for men’s SS16 is an explosive fusion of Louis XVI nostalgia and extravagant modernism. This season, d’Ys created towering neon yellow bouffants, a striking contrast to Kawakubo’s collection of revisited suits – which saw trousers slit down the legs, jackets with their collars removed or silhouette unexpectedly severed, and shirts that hung in tatters. For the hair d’Ys was given free hand by Kawakubo to take the direction he wanted. “I have to have freedom,” he says, speaking after the show. “If somebody said to me ‘OK, I want that’, then I can’t do anything, I can’t! I’m completely frozen because I have to be very free and I have to love the person that I work with.”

Laura

June 14, 2015July 18, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

When you walk into Laura, you have a feeling that you are inside of a spaceship. The sci-fi wall panels (which look like white orchidees) and a Star Trek lamp catches your attention from the very first moment. And then, you realize that the clothes are as extravagant as the interior…. Laura is the only place in Warsaw where you can find the latest Comme des Garcons and Rick Owens. Insane runway dresses, super cool leather jackets, plastic cowboy shoes and many, many more are here. This place should definitely be on the list of Rei Kawakubo fans who enjoy avant-garde!

Mokotowska 21 / Warsaw

Noir Creatures. Yohji Yamamoto AW15

March 10, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

The poet of black, Yohji Yamamoto, pushes the boundary again in his avant-garde world. The dresses weren’t dresses anymore. They were a form of art installations. Like a parachute explosion worn over a black turtleneck. Or a vacuum cleaner overload. There are many interpretations of Yohji’s fall fantasy – one thing’s sure. The more ready-to-wear clothes were great, too. In the black palette, Yohji Yamamoto modifies knitwear, shirts and masculine-inspired silhouettes to form a new dimension. The layering impresses as usual, making the models magically drown in black. Styled with perfect fedoras, the outfits were eccentric and wearable at the same time – even though, some might have been still under construction.

Savage Purity. Rick Owens AW15

March 8, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

After the menswear show, I thought that Rick Owens will go full frontal, too, for women. But he totally took another direction – wild and gold were the keywords of the collection. The models had gold and sliver plated on their faces while hair of different animals jutted out of the savagely tied and layered tunics and dresses. The final effect is strong, I must say – the models looked totally out-of-this world in this type of styling. If talking of the clothes, we’ve got some interesting embroidery and detailing; the colour palette is earthy and surprisingly warm us for Rick’s dark world.

Boudicca’s Tribe. Gareth Pugh AW15

February 23, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Boudicca. England. Brave women. Gareth Pugh celebrates 10 years of his label, and this moment is seriously a highlight. In his AW15, the mad prince of British fashion brings fetish leather, sexy volumes and dark queen silhouettes, which all suggest one thing – the avant-garde British fashion is alive. Thankfully, Gareth Pugh continues Alexander McQueen’s legacy of fashion which got balls. For this specific show, the models had their faces and torso painted with red while the hair was cut in a boyish, home-like way. Fur, plastic, leather, wool were presented in a pretty sharp way, belted and covered with chains. I love this collection not only because its avant-garde and ultra-British, but because it’s not so retail-friendly… and it sums up first 10 years of Gareth’s fashion career.