Female Contrast. Hillier Bartley AW16

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Tom Ford might have just started his new retail model – but Hillier Bartley isn’t new in this topic. Entering September, it’s the perfect (and most practical) time to think of refreshing your autumn wardrobe. Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley are here to help, in time, with their see-now, buy-now collection. The British duo has already built a ‘set’ of signatures: banana pants which  do look flattering; top-notch suiting in Savile Row manner; feminine dresses with chic tassell-scarves. Also, Hillier Bartley is recognized for its Anglomania attire: at a first glance, the idea is based on the wardrobe of an English-aristocrat, who belongs to an gentlemen’s club. But then, the elegance blurs with Bowie-esque, out-of-this-world knack. With that said, don’t forget Hillier Bartley is a womenswear label, filled with women’s clothes created by women.

For autumn-winter 2016, the designers went for flea-market cool, which is so timeless and eternally relevant in London. One of the coats virtually looks like a re-cut and re-shaped Persian rug. A satin robe is worn as an evening dress according to the designers, with a pair of moccasins. Icy blue, velvet suit with a black, ribbed turtleneck underneath is a total-look worth investing. The intricately embroidered gown is a cherry on the cake – I’m obsessed with the way the oriental motif contrasts with the entire collection filled with feather elements, leopard spots and romantic, Fleetwood Mac flair. Oh, and the bags line (Hillier’s part) is blooming. From ‘Bunny’ clutches to collar-box bags with lilac tassels, the range is wide and… yummy.

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Empowering. Tom Ford AW16

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Fashion month kicks it off, and we’re all ready for the next marathon of womenswear. But surprisingly, New York Fashion Week starts with a first industry ‘paradox’. It’s September, and throughout the years we’ve got used to the fact that we start reflecting on the next summer wardrobe at the very beginning of the cold season. Tom Ford does the opposite, presenting autumn-winter 2016 collection, instead of spring-summer 2017 (which you will see a lot during the upcoming weeks). But he isn’t an exception – this new model of selling, so see-it-now and buy-it-now logic, is already in the process at Burberry or Thakoon. But why is Tom Ford, and the others, making it even more complicated, if we already have all those pre-collections and capsules? Well, in fact they want to make it all easier for us all, even though the transition moment is HARD.

Here’s why. Tom Ford presented his AW16 collection yesterday in the evening during a celebrity-filled dinner (Tom Hanks, Julianne Moore, Uma Thurman to name a few), and today, a majority of those clothes hit the on-line stores and boutiques world-wide. Looking behind-the-scenes, the international buyers ordered the collection months ago, Tom Ford factory had its time to produce the one-of-a-kind pieces, and the customers are really into buying those velvet skirts and sequined turtlenecks, because they feel so “relevant”. They just saw it on the internet and their heavily-Instagrammed feed. As easy as that – virtually, the sales boom. Logistically, everyone is appealed to this new deal, which will MAYBE slow down the pace of the industry.

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But Tom Ford’s newest collection isn’t a sensation just because of its new, business strategy. This glamorous outing of diverse models (featuring 90s stars like Amber Valletta and todays newcomers) wearing feminine silhouettes and gorgeous accessories, is one of Ford’s best for a long, long time. Belted corsets on seductive leather jackets and slim pencil skirts. Ornamental, gold necklaces contrasted with elegant, tweed dresses, while over-the-knee boots made the models look even taller and badass. Mica Arganaraz and Lineisy Monero walked down the runway in colourful fur coats; Grace Hartzel, in her all-black outfit, looked like a rock’n’roll chick with whom you can’t argue. It sounds like a collection oozing with sex-appeal, a typical thing for Tom’s past, provocative Gucci-era. But in fact, it was much more mature, and it celebrated this specific type of killer woman, who enters the room and makes people drop. Guys in velvet blazers and duvet jackets looked nothing but harmless next to those girls. Ford definitely has a toast to a very good start of the fashion month, and his brands’ future of the revolutionary retail model.

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Autumn Dibs from A Détacher

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I’m not suggesting that this look from A Détacher‘s brilliant autumn-winter 2016 show is perfectly fit for yak pastures. But it looks so, so autumnal. It says “hello October forest walks,” or “November evenings are welcome” to me. First, have a glance at the layering. A beige, V-cut sweater under a brown blazer seems easy – but looking down, we’ve got those knitted pants with a buttoned, cardigan-like trompe l’oeil idea. Second, the way Mona Kowalska considers wearing a wool beanie (or rather two wool beanies). She’s like your mum – she wants to keep you extra warm this season, so you want catch a cold.

East. Ania Kuczyńska AW16

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Ania Kuczyńska is Poland’s most recognizable designer for a reason. After years of working in the industry, her signature style is distinct. Her fashion is consistent, and that’s why she’s leading in Polish fashion game. Aware of her ‘trademark’ pieces, like her take on the little black dress, or Warsaw’s street-style favourite Shanghai totes, Kuczyńska’s eponymous attitude is beloved by her intellectual customers. But don’t think she’s resting on laurels.

The newest autumn-winter 2016 look-book (presented off the schedule), entitled ‘East’, might be dubbed as one of her most refined collections to date. At the first glance it’s very stern, definitely moving away from girlie sweetness which we know so well from Ania’s past collections. Mostly kept in black, with contrasting denim accents, the collection glances at the craftsmanship of the past. With nods to traditional ‘dress-code’ of Polish noblemen from 16th-17th century, AW16 is a contemporary look on elegance of historic silhouettes.  Some of the names of new season’s items – for example ‘Baikal’ for a bomber jacket – make it visible that the collection is rooted in Slavic references, which aren’t too cartoonish or literal. The designer’s vision is always open for interpretation, leaving some mystery for the viewer. I, for instance, feel a connection between those incredible black coats and turtlenecks, and Paweł Pawlikowski’s masterpiece, Ida – a story of a nun who discovers her Jewish origins, and seeks the truth about her family. The black-and-white aura of this film goes hand in hand with Kuczyńska’s  elusive woman.

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