Curator Chic. Maryam Nassir Zadeh AW17

February 15, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Guggenheim’s basement. Dev Hynes of Blood Orange playing on the keyboard. That must be Maryam Nassir Zadeh‘s runway collection, situated in New York’s art mecca and under the spell of Dev’s magical rhythms. The location and music matter would score another brand such adequate number of Instagram shout-outs, that nobody would actually care about the clothes.

But even though the scenery was truly captivating, Maryam successfully managed to let her clothes steal the spotlight. Although it’s autumn-winter season, Zadeh’s latest outing felt summer-y with bright shades of peach and minimally sultry body-suits. Checked orange skirt took my mind to a Mediterranean coast, while a long-sleeved sheer top was pure sensuality. But there were fur coats and velvet blouses, too. Maryam thrives, consistently creating the wardrobe of a sophisticated, smartly feminine woman. A specific pack of women, spanning from artists to restaurateurs, adore her. I call Nassir Zadeh’s approach ‘modern-day curator chic’ – it’s elegant, but in a daily manner. It’s comfortable, but not slouchy. Women who wear her clothes curate, whether in their creative careers or private lives.

Up to now, it’s my favourite collection of the season. Brilliant.

All-American Elegance. Brock Collection AW17

February 10, 2017February 10, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

In a few words about Brock Collection, New York’s new go-to luxe brand: it’s designed by husband-and-wife duo, Kristopher Brock and Laura Vassar. With love. Last November, the couple won the CFDA / Vogue Fashion Fund, which enabled them to expand and develop their cozy womenswear label known for great denim and top-notch quality essentials.

About the autumn-winter 2017 line-up – you just feel it’s a collection created by two individuals, who are in a passionate relationship! It’s impossible not to fall in mutual love with those easy fur dresses and shawls, statuesque dresses or fleecy, soft knits. Rustical prints on pencil skirts and belted beige cardigans remind me of early Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan. It’s an all-American, luxurious wardrobe of a woman, who knows what she wants from life. She loves everything about the word ‘comfort’. But Kristopher’s and Laura’s fashion isn’t exactly falling into that well-defined box of New York-based designers, who are pure minimalists and less-is-more fanatics. The new collection is filled with more flirty options, like strap dresses or chic leopard-printed coats. That’s why I listed Ralph above – Brock Collection smartly conveys ageless elegance, but to contemporary times.

#2016 – Jacquemus

December 28, 2016July 22, 2020 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s Paris, and it feels like a breath of fresh air coming along Jacquemus‘ autumn-winter 2016. The city of French fashion is undergoing a wave of youthful talent – and Simon Porte Jacquemus represents that perfectly with his extraordinary, yet wearable garments. “I would like there to be less industry and more poetry” is what he declared backstage, minutes before the show. It was all about a surrealist illusion this season – the dresses floated in the air and spaghetti straps were magically elevated above the shoulders. The exaggerated shoulders, although distinctly reminded the old, good Martin Margiela, introduced us to other arty shapes and geometric cuts – sometimes, they looked even too grotesque, as in case of the “mini-skirt” worn with a pastel-blue turtleneck. But what was the most genuine from the entire collection was the expanded accessory line – block-heeled “rond carré” shoes, asymmetrical gloves in tangerine orange and cute, kidney-shaped bags are the highlights.

Jacquemus frequently mentions his typically French child-hood as a continous inspiration for his collections and spring-summer 2017 is not an exception. But his newest “story”, as he tends to call it, is much more refined. The designer searched deep in Provençal folk culture, and he conveyed the mood of a sun-drenched, care-free French village girl in a brilliant way.

Jacquemus loves the term ‘naive’. There’s always something childish about his collections – for SS17, it’s definitely the setting of his venue: a fake, orange sun glowed at the end of the runway, radiating with summer nostalgia. First element of the show that caught my eye was a range of lovely, straw hats, or chapeau de paille if you prefer French. The dresses with voluminous sleeves and over-sized pinstripe suits are on everybody’s lips for spring, but Simon managed to make them look eternally chic. In fact, the collection isn’t about a new idea or silhouette. Borrowed-from-a-guy shirt, block-heeled shoes, geometrical culottes and sexy cuts are very Jacquemus. I guess that’s the appeal of this collection: it’s focused on weekend-perfect ready-to-wear with an arty twist.

Simon is the designer, who brings joy to the fashion industry – looking at his collections, you can forget about the world for at least a second.

#2016 – Lemaire

December 11, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Christophe Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran are a love couple. Simultaneously, they are two creative minds working under the same roof – Lemaire. It’s a pleasure to see how their designs for women and men evolve from season-to-season, and become quintessential in Parisian wardrobes.

At Lemaire, style is a conversation between feminine silhouettes and masculine forms: there’s a soft, middle point in-between those two universes. Also, it’s a sense of individuality, and attitude. Christophe and Sarah-Linh understand that through nonconforming styling, one-of-a-kind accessories (take the wooden-bags) and even the statement show-closing, which involves models to walk around the venue randomly, in a real-life motion. For spring-summer 2017, the designers proved they aren’t only masters of total-looks; they know what’s clothes-making. Crinkled dress worn over over-sized pants; peculiar volume cognac-brown coats. A dancer’s tank-top, pleated skirt and knitted, dove-grey tights – that’s the most sensual look of the season. If you ask me, I live for such fashion moments.

Christophe Lemaire‘s utterly French outing for his autumn-winter 2016 wasn’t just about models, who presented the clothes. The girls at Lemaire show glanced at the audience in a naturally captivating way – as if they weren’t models, but women who wear Christophe’s seductive dresses, felt wool pants and low-heeled shoes on daily basis. The approach stays always the same, with just a few additions to the line.

Lemaire leaves me wanting more. I want to see even more of it in 2017!

Your wardrobe needs… Lemaire red wool sweater, Lemaire camera bag, Lemaire cropped pants & Lemaire trench coat.

Ritzy. Chanel Pre-Fall’17

December 7, 2016December 7, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Whenever Chanel does a pre-collection presentation, you know every single detail regarding it a month earlier. The press is burning with the show’s fancy, far-fetched location; Instagram feed is all in #chanel. This time, however, Karl Lagerfeld and the legendary French maison decided to slow it down a bit with their PR – or at least, stay at home. And specifically, in the newly re-opened Ritz hotel on Place Vendome, just a few steps away from the brand’s flagship store on rue du Cambon. Although you can’t call this ‘modesty’, going a bit more traditional than usual is simply… reasonable.

In fact, there were three Chanel shows in one day – the first was presented during a chic brunch; the second started at the time of lunch; and the last during a fancy dinner. The guests (everybody from the fashion editors to couture clients) had a way better day than you, that’s for sure. The clothes were excellent comparing to the last few seasons where Karl did literary everything, from a faux women’s protest to a glossy IT room. I guess it’s because Chanel looks best, when worn in real Paris, rather than in non-sense, meaningless venues. The dining rooms of Ritz perfectly matched Lagerfeld’s vision of cosmolitan elegance. Slouchy knitted cardigans and tweed pencil skirts; black tulle dresses styled with deluxe duvet jackets; shoulder pads and layers of pearl necklaces. According to the designer, the collection was an reflection of and ode to “people from all over the world who’ve come to the Ritz. There were hundreds of dinners in the ’20s and ’30s, where women wore incredible things.” But the most intriguing thing about this collection is the lack of the ’60s’, ’70s’ or ’90s’ tags, which are overused by others in the industry. “You cannot tell from the collection what decade it is, and I think that is modern“. Good point.