Joan of Arc. Blumarine AW23

February 24, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

For autumn-winter 2023, Nicolas Brognano reinterpreted the Helmut Newton-esque Blumarine girl through the lens of courageous Joan Of Arc. No sugary hues in sight – rather badass heroines in leathers, shearlings and form-fitting jerseys. Dusting off Luc Besson’s movie The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, shot in 1999 and starring Milla Jovovich in the epic role of the pucelle d’Orléans, made Brognano feel “transfixed“. Some models even had similar bowl-cuts à la Jovovich. The designer introduced liquid, sexy shine of slinky silver armor, steering Blumarine towards eroticism, intensity, and danger. Tight-fitting draped minidresses were cut in silver or gold metallic jersey, elongated into leggings covering the curved heels of sharp-pointed shoes. Floor-sweeping shearling greatcoats looked imposing, almost majestic, while slender see-through tunics in metallic net suggested a sort of monastic sexiness. Chunky buckles abounded; knickerbockers were tucked into high-heeled laced shearling boots. Evening options included a rather spectacular bustier gown in flame-red georgette with asymmetrical frayed-hem skirts. It’s good to see that Brognano is exiting his Y2k-inspired comfort zone.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Recycling Beauty. Prada AW23

February 24, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Finally, my heart skipped a beat for the first time this fashion month. Prada‘s autumn-winter 2023 collection – entitled “Recycling Beauty” – was a strikingly powerful take on simplicity and the idea of uniform, with a twist of much-needed optimism. Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons have reached full synthesis, as this collection takes the unmistakable Prada look to a new dimension. The white lily pin, folded origami style from humble cotton, that came with Prada’s invitation looked like hope for the future. That notion seemed to be confirmed backstage, where Miuccia and Raf talked about the act of caring. “Mainly what I care about now is to give importance to what is modest, to value modest jobs, simple jobs, and not only extreme beauty or glamour,” Prada said. Nurses’ whites got a thorough consideration, transformed into long-line shirt dresses complete with short trains, and a trio of capes could’ve been lifted off a World War II era recruitment poster for the army nurse corps. Military uniforms proved ripe for elevation by reinterpretation, too. Parkas – never seen such gracious and refined interpretation of this type of jacket – came with elegant Watteau backs or were puffed into couture-like cocoons. Army shirts and ties tucked into high-fitting tapered trousers looked definitive; the pants are apt to make women who’ve embraced the full-leg shape on so many other runways seriously rethink their closets. On the skirt front, there was much more variety: minis, pencils, and voluminous swing 1950s skirts all made appearances, some accentuated with more of those origami fabric flowers. This was the flipside of the concept, Simons explained backstage: turning the embellishments you see on wedding dresses, which are another sort of uniform of care, into everyday attire. The simple crewneck sweaters in camel and charcoal gray they were paired with were effective partners in that regard. The shirtless blazers with detachable dickey-style collars and the pillowy white down-stuffed puffers and miniskirts were evolutions of ideas they proposed in their menswear show a month ago. There too the project was to enhance reality, rather than to indulge in runway theatrics. This persuasive, deeply moving collection provided much food for thought, and a heaping serving of new things to want to wear.

Collages by Edward Kanarecki.
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Enlightenment. Max Mara AW23

February 24, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Who would have thought that in 2023, Max Mara would feel so relevant and desirable. It’s ironic especially since Ian Griffiths looked back a couple of centuries in search for this season’s inspiration. “What’s the relevance of the 18th century to today?” To find the answer, Griffiths engaged his tried and tested creative protocol of fixing upon one historically sidelined but contemporaneously central female creative from the period he was scrutinizing to act as a personification of his thesis. In this case it was Émilie du Châtelet, a burningly intelligent French marquess mathematician who translated Isaac Newton into French – correcting a few of Newton’s errors on the way – and was for years passionately beloved by Voltaire. Griffiths seized upon du Châtelet as emblematic of a period of enlightenment in which female intelligence was increasingly acknowledged by the patriarchy, even as the female wardrobe remained constricting, apotropaic, and controlled. He said: “the fashion at the time was completely not enlightened. So I was imagining how she might have dressed if she had freedom to and how that would translate into today.” That meticulous scene-setting translated into a Max Mara collection that was newly romantic. It either adapted 18th century menswear pieces, like the opening teddy banyan coat, or modernized 18th century womenswear – like look six’s miniaturized pannier skirt in camel brocade with a fishtail detail at the back hem. A long rib knit dress coat and a trio of teddy coats were worn slung over the right shoulder courtesy of an inbuilt strap, which Griffiths said was a contemporary military styling trick, but for men only. Pannier pockets were also used to bolster a double-fronted gray cashmere tunic dress and a black brocade skirt worn over a patent corset belt and a sheer top. Evening pieces came with detachable Watteau backs. Griffifths offered Max Mara versions of contemporary paradigm garments that included a dreamy camel parka, a full length liner coat, and a velvet bomber with frogging. Some models teamed their lug-soled boots with shorts. This was not a wardrobe Émilie du Châtelet would have recognized, but she would, you suspect, have been into it.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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In Search for Bohemian Flair. Etro AW23

February 23, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Marco De Vincenzo made some progress at Etro, but it’s still a long way to go. His menswear collection from January felt like the right direction. The designer, however, chose a different and very questionable approach for his autumn womenswear. He’s mining the archives, and “trying,” he said, “to get to the roots of my research.” That means coming to terms with the label’s heritage of pattern-mixing and boho-dressing, an aesthetic that looks to 1970s bohemia rather than the structured, geometrical precision and the rhythmic repetition of quirky patterns he favors. That’s clear he has a hard time with connecting these two worlds. The designer attempted his luck with lightness of the flou – which he never worked with – letting in some breezy construction of flounced, ruffled dresses, the imaginative clashing of patterns so inherent to Etro’s house-codes. The bohemian flair is, after all, the synonym of the brand. In the new collection, it felt overworked. Especially when styled with the thick plaid shawls. Some of these outfits looked simply… wrong. And not in an ironic way. For De Vincenzo, enhancing the cultivated textile expertise of Etro “is a duty.” To that end, he interspersed airy chiffon numbers with slim-fitted pantsuits featuring elongated tailcoats, cut in rich 18th century brocades, or with slightly oversized boxy jackets or coatdresses made in malleable multicolored knitted textures and featuring lapel-less round-shaped, double-breasted fronts. “I haven’t changed,” he said. “I’m still the one who takes risks and doesn’t compromise.” Hopefully after all the errors, he finds a method to his vision of Etro.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Wild Spirit. Roberto Cavalli AW23

February 23, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Fashion in Milan doesn’t look forward, but resorts to the past in search for inspiration. It’s either about going Y2k-heavy, which gradually becomes quite nauseous, or channeling something more retro. Fausto Puglisi is in the latter camp with his autumn-winter 2023 collection for Roberto Cavalli – and it’s surprisingly good. I can’t remember a decent Cavalli collection since the founder of the brand exited the creative role. Puglisi’s first offerings for the brand were hard to digest, and thankfully he toned it down. The new season vibe is hedonistic, with patchwork leather trimmed in crystals, animalia motifs of many kinds, and piles and piles of faux fur. Denim was another focal point. Jeans are how Cavalli got his start; backstage Puglisi talked about the house founder’s early days, when he tooled around Italy scrounging for denim scraps that he collaged into hippie treasures. They were the inspiration for some of the most hands-on, highly embellished pieces Puglisi has made yet at the label. A pair of bell bottoms were so shredded and shaggy they almost looked like fur, too. A 2022 trip through the American Southwest is still reverberating with Puglisi, and he conjured the aesthetic with tooled leather, silver studding, and turquoise beads. This collection lived up to Roberto Cavalli’s reputation for excess, but in a pleasing way.