AW19

Not Just Flowers. Dries Van Noten AW19

| Design & Culture by Ed

For the autumn-winter 2019 prints, Dries Van Noten and his design team went for a ‘field trip’ to the designer’s garden (and it’s not just any garden – you must witness it in the ‘Dries’ documentary on Netflix!) in order to take photos of flowers. The photos were taken last October, so quite naturally the flowers weren’t all that bloomy and fresh. Still, what attracted the designer the most were their imperfections: black spots, visible diseases, dried petals. Don’t expect basic floral prints, but rather, a strangely romantic, darker take on the very unlikely trend of the A/W season. Turtleneck dresses, satin blazers, robe coats and shirts were adorned with these flowers, while the colour palette was kept in deep greys, lilac and burgundy. Many compare this collection to Prada this season – where flowers were as well the key point – but at Dries Van Noten the effect is much different. Styled with long leather gloves, loosely-fitted pinstripe suits and faux fur stoles in extremely bright orange, the feeling was edgy, chic eccentric, but very feminine in an unmistakable Van Noten manner.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

New Lanvin. Lanvin AW19

| Design & Culture by Ed

Since 2015, Lanvin had a very harsh time. After Alber Elbaz abruptly parted ways with the company, Lanvin went from hands to hands, and it took too many wrong, creative (and marketing) directions. After a number of designers who either didn’t understand what Lanvin should stand for today or were, simply speaking, terrorized by the impatient investors, the historical label seemed to drown deeper and deeper with every season. In all possible aspects. After such a period of mishandling, can a brand still be returned on a right track? Bruno Sialelli might be the last rescue, even though his debut collection felt more like Loewe (where he used to work at the design studio) than Lanvin. Breezy dresses and slouchy pants worn over skirts were printed with medieval motifs; men’s coats had some artisan detailing that felt very ethnic; bags were huge, the shoes were so Phoebe Philo’s Céline (just like the edgy styling that was very, very Célinist to be honest). What suggested it’s Lanvin? The new branding? The JL print (that stands for Jeanne Lanvin, the house’s founder) was all over the shirts, accessories and the runway’s carpet. Still, Bruno could use Lanvin’s archives to inform the collection, and even if he did, the message wasn’t clear enough. Hopefully, Sialelli’s second collection will speak more for itself. But he has a long path to go now.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Hot. Saint Laurent AW19

| Design & Culture by Ed

Is there any sense in searching for a smarter word than ‘hot’, when talking of Anthony Vaccarello‘s autumn-winter 2019 collection for Saint Laurent? Well. It was hot! But not dumb hot. Rather, confident hot. The best look? A broad-shouldered, wool coat with big shoulder pads, on a matchingly blond girl who looked very much like Yves Saint Laurent’s ultimate muse: Betty Catroux. Then, we’ve had clothes that looked like taken out of wardrobes of female spies that kick asses during Cold War thrillers. Dramatic mini-dresses inspired with Yves’ haute couture “Scandal” collection from 1971 and le smokings converted into gowns – gorgeous. The part that could have been omitted? The glowing-in-dark dresses at the end – they kind of undermined the cool, sharp assertiveness of this show. It felt as if Vaccarello and the brand wanted to generate even more Insta-content… but do we really need more? The tailoring was strong enough. And the Catroux coat, of course.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Resurrection. Coperni AW19

| Design & Culture by Ed

Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant‘s Coperni isn’t actually a new brand: it was under hiatus during the designer’s tenure at Courrèges. But now, the boys are back, better than ever. Their autumn-winter 2019 is filled with clothes that seem to be basics that actually should be in everybody’s wardrobe. But when you think of it, who does simple, minimal, comfortable suits in Paris? Something as simple as a little black dress? Or a crisp blue shirt that isn’t elongated or exaggerated in any way? The designers do clothes for real life, so thoroughly considered construction of every single outfit is more than impressive. The airplane-mode-tab leather bag has a shape so classy and eye-catchy that it will surely stir social media, just like Meyer and Vaillant’s model casting (Teddy Quinlivan!) and the @coperni_your_life account that you’ve got to discover for yourself. I can sense success right over her.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Radiation. Marine Serre AW19

| Design & Culture by Ed

It’s Marine Serre’s third runway season, but I really can’t imagine Paris fashion week without her now, when see her incredible, prophetic vision. She named her autumn-winter 2019 collection Radiation and, as the title might suggest, it wasn’t the most optimistic collection.  “It’s after the apocalypse; a group of friends are underground—a community coming together,” Serre said backstage. “It’s a safe zone in which a new world is being created, a future world, and a new way to see fashion.” We’re talking of leather coats and dresses trailing scarves and stripes of fake fur, under which were worn head-to-toe bodysuits covered in signature moon crest print. It’s a sort of armour, maybe even a protection from today’s world that urgently need to take another turn – or else it will be too late. When it comes to sustainability, Serre is always here to take real action: majority of the collection is made from upcycled materials, just as in her previous seasons, and the clothes will be produced in the same way. A few years ago this would have been a no-no for any retailer to order a collection that might come in different colours, because it’s made from already-used textiles. But the growing list of shops that stock Serre’s brand is a sign that things change.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.