Phoebe Philo‘s swan song collection for Céline keeps getting better and better and better with time. Just see the look above. It’s so chic. The seguinned turtleck dress, a pair of voluminous boots in ecru, a vintage-looking back and the trench coat (carried in a such a soigné manner). This entire outfit is perfection.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Jean Touitou‘s A.P.C. is around for more than 30 years, but it surprisingly still feels like a young, niche brand – with dozens of stores worldwide. This season it seemed that the brand’s founder wanted do something a bit more mature and visible than an intimate presentation in the headquarters. He came up with quite big offering for women and men, filled with A.P.C. classics (and not only). The colour splash – featuring joyous shades of yellow and pink – were something new to Touitou’s repertoire. While the label’s collections often focus on the visibility of the clothes, I had an impression that this time styling became the key. The models’ rockabilly hair brought some spice to the tres chic shirtdresses and lovely denim pieces. A.P.C. is in expansion mode, fashion- and business-forward. To be honest, I loved it’s off-the-radar nature and I would really, really hate to see it go the, lets say, Zadig & Voltaire way. Well, I’m sure Touitou won’t be risking his loyal fan-base…
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Glenn Martens took the word ‘chic’ and completely dissected it in his spring-summer 2019 line-up for Y/Project. The term can be understood (or rather misunderstood) in many ways. One of the most common is the ‘Parisian chic’ that became a catchy phrase for high street brands to sell stuff, and a magical spell for influencers (that very likely end up with writing a book on style). But Martens abandoned that sort of path and proposed a totally different sort of chic. It’s lady-like and eccentric, but smoothly relates to his love for silhouette distortion and streetwear. So, we had everything: from denim panties and the over-sized, tie-dyed denim ensemble to a very couture-ish tailored pinstripe dress and emerald-green gown styled with a glamorous feather-like boa. Martens’ chic isn’t neither casual-to-the-bone or conservative. It plays with those two stereotypical notions, shaping something a bit hilarious and totally relevant. Both, a young and elderly person will look equally good in those attention-catching garments. Glenn agrees: chic isn’t one thing. And I think that’s really, really… chic.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
If you know my site for a while, you might have noticed that I never write about all the high street fashion brands and their events / special collections / collaborations. Well, here’s an exception: Camille Bidault Waddington for & Other Stories. When I saw the look-book images from this extraordinary capsule collection on Instagram earlier today, I was so, so pleasantly surprised. I mean, it’s Camille! The same Paris-based Camille, who’s most frequently behind the scenes, working as a stylist for independent magazines like The Gentlewoman, Purple, Holiday or Dazed & Confused. She’s also the woman who adds her final touch to Natacha Ramsay-Levi’s Chloé. And, she occasionally walks the Eckhaus Latta runway in New York. Shortly speaking, if you want the right person to co-operate with on a capsule, Camille is the perfect choice – not some oversponsored, unexperienced, flashy blogger.
Come 6th of September, and you will meet these friends in your nearest & Other Stories stationery store (or on-line): an over-sized trench coat, olive-green dresses and pants fit for autumn layering, pencil skirts with chic slits, beige camisoles with lace inserts, faux python skin pumps… at the first glance, it all looks like a remix of Phoebe Philo’s classics at Céline (Céline with an accent, mind you). But then, CBW wore all that two decades ago, and continues to dress like that today. How down-to-earth of her to share personal style favourites with a wider audience. That’s what I call a collab.
She’s a party girl – that’s quite clear once you look at Anthony Vaccarello‘s pre-fall 2018 look-book for Saint Laurent, and the attitude of the woman he envisions. That transitional wardrobe is meant to be classically YSL, but suited for contemporary times. We’ve got bohemian blouses, velvet Le Smoking blazers, leopard spots all over platform boots, studded leather miniskirts, gold lamé minidress – the list goes on. With the ‘Mick Jagger in Morocco’ look, wearing non-chalantly tied shawls and embroidered vests, Mica Arganaraz and Jamie Bochert are like a match-made-in-heaven for this look-book.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Design & Culture by Ed 