The Ranch. Phipps AW23

August 3, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

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.
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Cowboy, Reconstructed. Greg Lauren SS23

July 26, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

Greg Lauren started the spring-summer 2023 collection by thinking about the cowboy: the archetype, the myth, and the real deal. It’s not all boots, denim, and big hats (though there is plenty of that). Instead, his collection, titled “Re-construct”, taps into his muse’s renegade spirit. “There’s something at the core of the idea of the cowboy that resonates with people that has to do with individualism, and the idea of the figure that doesn’t conform and has the courage to draw their own path,” he says. That individualism expresses itself in unexpected ways. The spring 2023 lookbook opens with a pale pink trucker jacket. It’s made from scraps of fabric that were discarded to make last season’s pink tuxedos. Through a process called stitchwork, these teensy bits of fabrics are patched together to make a textile that can be used to make a pink jacket for a cowboy. There’s a nice cyclical energy to that, which Lauren clearly relishes, after all, repurposing pre-loved materials is what put him on the map. The most interesting developments here are the contrasts. Consider baggy cargo pants and a relaxed blazer made out of herringbone fabric, or the many jackets with tails Lauren created this season out of denim, ivory satin, and, spectacularly, leather. Lauren had fun picking apart black- and white-tie dress codoes, playing with ways to make a tuxedo jacket or tails casual through fabrics. Make no mistake, it’s still elegant. The craftiness running through the collection – the continued collaboration with Gee’s Bend quilters, the top made of vintage Cub Scout shirts, the stitch work fair isle sweater – only underscores the designer’s maverick qualities.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Space Cowboy. Ganni SS17

August 14, 2016January 5, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Ganni‘s take on spring-summer 2017 appeared to be quite outer-space. The show venue was surrounded around a massive installation of red balloons splattered with paint – the effect looked cosmic. Meanwhile, the clothes had a lot to do with space, but rather in a sci-fi context. The collection was entitled ‘Space Cowboy‘, which, as many of the editors and street-style stars expected, ended in a line of covettable, cowboy boots (in python leather, the Ganni way). But the clothes weren’t that literal (expect the t-shirts!) – geometrical culottes styled with ribbed knit top, leg-exposing shorts in python print, floral robe dresses with ruffled sleevs and fringes. A bunch of modern-day essentials that are about to invade contemporaty women’s wardrobes, kept in an exciting, Wild West aesthetic. But if you’re still in search for astronaut accessories, then next summer Ganni will offer big, big shades to protect you from the sun’s heat.

Effortless. Creatures of Comfort SS15

September 5, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Yiiiha! Cactis, cowgirls, converse- the all-American Cretures of Comfort SS15 collection was totally cool. With slouch jumpsuits, cozy knits, lovely dresses and perfect Summer robes, this season is one of the best to date, if talking of CoC. Their main meaning is to create stylish, COMFORTABLE clothes with a slightly quircky vibe. With those cowboy hats and cacti motifs, I am simply in love. This effortless-ness is gorgeous. Keep it up, Creatures of Comfort!

Men’s: Cowboy. Versace AW14

January 12, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Versace for AW14 was very rodeo. It was like if Gianni appeared in the middle of Texas. Donatella Versace made one of these collection that aren’t too efforless- but as she said- for free men. Well, I didn’t see any free men wearing red leather trousers, crocodile driving gloves and VERSACE embroidered jacket for a while… The interesting fact was that the models wore those Gianni shirts on brown turtlenecks- that looked good. But the rest… is for you to digest.