Once the debut see-now-buy-now Phoebe Philo collection got launched yesterday at 4 pm, it felt like an eureka moment. Even now, writing this post, I feel unbashed joy that Philo, after over five years of absence from the fashion industry (and fashion circus), finally materialized the brand that was indefinitely teased and teased and edged every single Philophile of this world. Much was already said during yesterday’s collective euphoria, and I agree 100% with Cathy Horyn’s words: it’s the kind of movement that people have been waiting for. The first drop – entitled “A1” – is a mix of uncontrived images by Talia Chetrit depicting powerful women of all ages, and a look-book that is the perfect balance of feminine and masculine notions – something Philo mastered to perfection at Céline, and seems to push to another level at her namesake brand. Phoebe isn’t a designer who is looking at references, she rather gravitates towards moods that are more visual than verbal. If “A1” is a mood, then it’s a punch of witty and very intriguing energy. The contrast of bulky leathers and fluid-like silhouettes informs a closet of a woman that doesn’t give an F about trends and “cores”. She just wants clothes that don’t categorize her as either a “minimalist” or “maximalist”. The collection, consisting also of fluffy shearling coats (modelled by Daria Werbowy, the eternal Philo muse since her Chloé days), supremely cut “Milanese” pants, hand-combed skirts and dresses, chic scarf tops, over-sized t-shirt tunics and phenomenal cargos, is like a launchpad for the designer’s further experiments and novel iterations of the modern woman. Accessories-wise, the drop offers wardrobe building blocks: absolutely timeless, XXL totes, heels and pumps with a retro feel, and some off-kilter jewellery: the now-viral “MUM” necklace and “Dahlia” brooch. Most of the collection is sold-out so far, even though the prices can come across as out-of-this-world expensive. But with Philo and her loyalty to uncompromising quality, I have an impression that they are to some extent honest comparing to other luxury brands. I’m already dying to see where Phoebe and her label are heading next. I haven’t been that thrilled with a fashion moment for a long while.
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There’s nothing as (heart)warming as cashmere knitwear. Barrie, one of Scotland’s oldest knitwear manufacturer and since 2012 a Chanel Métiers d’Art house, elevates that credo like no other brand. Conceived by artistic director Augustin Dol-Maillot, Barrie collections bring together creativity, heritage and the most thorough attention to detail. For autumn-winter 2023, the brand looks at the painterly Scottish landscapes for inspiration, as scenic as the regional weather can be challenging. Classic earthy shades are clashed with bright tones and pops of colour (that red used in the knee-socks and bonnets!) and a hint of sparkle are the key elements of the current season. The warmth of colours and textures applied in the knits provide a wardrobe for both, a Parisienne with her well-worn vintage 2.55 handbag, and an avid mushroom hunter who just loves a stylish forest gear.
Mark your calendars, as Barrie is dropping its capsule collection co-designed with Sofia Coppola on the 2nd of November… I’ve seen its preview, it’s really something to add to your festive wish-list! Here’s Margaret Qualley teasing the collection:
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram! By the way, did you know that I’ve started a newsletter called Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!
While other designers in New York get nostalgic about the 1990s, 70s, or 20s, Piotrek Panszczyk looked back a couple of thousand years, BC, for his latest Area ready-to-wear and couture collection. He’d been “thinking about prehistoric times and how pelts and bones were kind of the first things humans had to build an identity around. It started with this idea of the primal instinct that through the centuries morphed into desire, and then eventually a kind of excess and the life cycle of luxury.” The unsettling ambience of the fashion show, plus the inventive, at points bizarre “bone-y” silhouettes, eventually delivered one of the strongest and intriguing collections coming from the label in the last seasons. The idea was cleverly developed: there were “fur pelt” coats made from fur-printed denim in a variety of colors that delivered runway drama, fur-print, low-slung jeans, and a mini dress with bulbous little godets that spoke to Panszczyk’s commitment to offering real-world alternatives to fantasy. The collection’s highlight: models in big-shouldered jackets or slinky jersey pieces punctuated by beastly rips, the gold-embellished bones of their attackers still elegantly attached to their clothes.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram! By the way, did you know that I’ve started a newsletter called Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!
Burberry‘s garments and accessories are inextricably linked with the phenomenon of “Britishness.” These timeless classics are woven into a British identity that is constantly evolving and ever-changing, like fashion. “Burberry has been a British institution since its inception in 1856” – says Naomi Campbell, who has regularly been the face of the historic brand’s advertising campaigns over the years. “By wearing Burberry, I feel that I am representing my country. I believe that British style always leads the trends. We Brits don’t just wear it, we live it,” she explains. The last two decades, through various creative directors and their visions, have established Burberry as a heritage brand , which remains at the forefront of fashion and its associated culture.
However, the aforementioned Britishness is a flexible and multifaceted concept. Perhaps because this phenomenon is full of paradoxes, and consists of opposites that mutually attract each other and organically coexist. The history of imperialism and the controversial Brexit are associated with the term Britishness as much as the beige trench coat, rainy weather and ironic sense of humor of the English. British society is made up of people who wear all sorts of uniforms, yet are true rebels. What they have in common is a multi-generational love of Burberry.
The brand naturally communicates many expressive signs of a collective, internationally understood notion of Britishness. In the 18th century, France saw a fashion trend perceived as British – it was called Anglomania, and the clothes associated with it were simple, well-tailored, often made of linen and wool, without unnecessary ornamentation. Ideas of functionality and utility are central to the British way of life, hence perhaps the reason why, a century after the Anglomania phenomenon, rainproof outerwear by Thomas Burberry made of luxurious but eminently practical fabrics has become a symbol of Britishness around the world.
Burberry’s Britishness also encompasses distinctive clichés – like the fashion brand’s focus on weather resistance. Burberry’s clothes and accessories are designed for the British rains, which last year-round, and ironically refer to the famous British propensity to discuss just the weather. Words like “democratic” and “egalitarian” come up when it comes to the British clothing discourse – and when it comes to Burberry. After all, the design of Burberry’ s iconic trench was taken from the world of uniforms. This is, of course, related to the idea of practicality. The brand’s clothing is inspired by workwear: it might as well be a tailored suit as a handmade fisherman’s sweater. Burberry trench epitomizes this kind of pragmatism: every element of it was created with maximum comfort in mind as a reaction to everyday life. Another of the brand’s main hallmarks is, of course, the globally recognized Burberry check, a streetwear uniform since the early 1980s. It was then that the iconic grille became a representation of affluence as well as youthful aspirations. It had a similar significance in the mid-1990s, when, representing Britishness, it became a symbol of the Cool Britannia movement and a favorite of such homegrown cultural figures as Liam Gallagher of the Britpop band Oasis.
Burberry appeared on the map of true high fashion thanks to Christopher Bailey, who for 17 years presented the brand’s show collections during London Fashion Week. Over this period of time, Burberry became synonymous with contemporary fashion that allowed itself to experiment within the safe confines of the lexicon of the aforementioned Britishness. From 2018 to 2022, Riccardo Tisci, the Italian designer who resurrected the Parisian fashion house Givenchy, tried to pull Burberry out of its stylistic comfort zone – which did not always end in commercial success. For him, working at Burberry was an exploration of the concept of national identity and its ever-changing nature (especially in the context of Brexit). “Here we have monarchy, art, elegance, perfection. And we also have that other, darker side: punk. That’s the beauty of Britain: incredible diversity,” the Italian designer concluded in an interview about his role at Burberry. British rebels continue to inspire: if in the mid-20th century the perception of Burberry largely leaned towards the style of dandies and aristocrats, today the brand is taking the aesthetics of British anarchy as far as possible. Tisci’s collections were created under the influence of the style of punks and mods, as well as casuals – the youth of the 1980s who wore Burberry in a non-conformist, rebellious way.
In February this year, we met a new chapter of Burberry, under the leadership of Daniel Lee – the British designer who was responsible for the global success of the “New Bottega” phenomenon a few years ago. Unlike Tisci, however, Lee is definitely going for a more settled Burberry image, closer to the image that Bailey so painstakingly promoted (it’s no coincidence that today Bailey acts as a mentor for Lee). Lee’s debut collection for the autumn-winter 2023 season has sparked a debate on social media: is it revealing and innovative enough? In this patchwork of Burberry’s signature checks, blanket coats perfect for nature, cozy knits and airy dresses in a romantic rose pattern, it’s hard to find any real fashion news. But Burberry was never meant to be a fashion concept, but a mainstay of comfortable classics and high quality.
“I think the brand is all about functionality,” Lee told the press after presenting his fall collection. His men’s plaid pants with zippered pockets allude to clothing ideal for walks in Britain’s damp moores, while the women’s kilts have a casual cut reminiscent of picnic blankets. Of course, the collection did not lack wellingtons kept in intense colors. The designer is eminently versed in creating desirable accessories. Kit Butler appeared on the catwalk wearing a hand-knitted trapper’s hat in the shape of a duck head. This sight caused a real sensation on Instagram.
The capacious bags and panniers are fastened with clip-ons in the shape of a “B” (like Burberry), and are decorated with dangling tails of faux fur. This kind of English eccentricity is something Lee plans to develop in his collections in future seasons. Instead of a banal logo with the brand’s name, Lee promotes a somewhat forgotten but iconic Burberry symbol: a medieval knight on horseback. The emblem appeared on white dresses as well as over-size scarves. The brand’s new “flagship” color is also an interesting treatment. It’s all about the shade of deep, vivid blue. After the success of the memorable green colour with which Lee won the hearts of Bottega Veneta customers, will the “Burberry Blue” color become a new hit? Time will tell.
The text was originally written by me for GentleWoman. All images via @burberry, photos by Tyrone Lebon.
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Now that he’s decamped from Paris and relocated to the sunny Hollywood Hills in his home state of California, it’s safe to say that Spencer Phipps has entered his LA era. “I wanted to focus on the core essence of what Phipps represents and I think I can do it better in the US. It makes more sense for the brand from a marketing strategy, a business strategy, and also my own personal life.” To present the autumn-winter 2023 Phipps collection, he chose a quintessential Hollywood location, Big Sky Movie Ranch. If you’ve never heard of this sprawling landscape set deep in Ventura County, you’ve certainly seen it on TV and in the movies; it was used as a set for everything from Little House on the Prairie to Twin Peaks to, most recently, Babylon. If Phipps’s design story were a script, this would be that pivotal scene where the protagonist takes control of the narrative. Over the year that he’s been back, he’s refined the brand identity, drawing on inspiration from its rugged workwear roots; formally introduced denim and underwear, and built out his womenswear. There’s even talk of moving all production from Portugal to LA. He counts these as the progressive steps that align with a commitment to US-based manufacturing and sustainable practices.
Phipps’s work is grounded in reality; he extracts elements of American subcultures—western, grunge, punk – and reimagines them through a contemporary lens modeled on a diverse cast of characters including real cowboys, bikers, and one multi-hyphenate jiu jitsu black belt-magician-guitarist. The designer ties the brand divisions together through cohesive design and layered styling. For the new season, the influence of Richard Avedon’s American West series came across in blanket capes and chap jeans crafted from upcycled leather scraps and vintage denim, whereas grommets and d-rings spoke to the influence of the ’50s teens in Karlheinz Weinberger’s photography. Standout pieces from the new womenswear included long, straight, slouchy jeans and a deadstock pullover anorak paired with a camouflage midi skirt. On the men’s side, there were “butch florals” in the form of camouflage patterns and subtle hieroglyphs representative of the four archetypes of masculinity – the king, warrior, magician, and lover. “We’ve always been doing our own thing and will continue to do so,” he said. “Our voice stood out in the Paris landscape and I believe the same will happen here, but with a bigger community.”
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram! By the way, did you know that I’ve started a newsletter called Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!
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