#InstaLOVE – December 2016

December 13, 2016January 6, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

@bfgf

I am an Instagram maniac and I openly confess that I spend too much time on filtering my feed. But it’s irresistible, when you have so many great accounts to follow! If you are ready for a dose of beautifully curated walls, inspiring photos and delightful shots – see my December recommendations!

@larryhofmann / A model, who walked for everybody, from Tom Ford to Dior, taking some truly subversive photographs for off-beat magazines during her free-time. But for Larissa Hofmann that’s not enough. She’s also an artist, who does spilled coffee drawings (literally). The effect? Spontaneous, far from perfect, yet intriguing study of human body. For committed Egon Schiele fans. Full series coming soon, so keep your eye on her Instagram feed.

@virgomood / All things reminiscent of a virgo’s mood. I’m a virgo, so naturally I’m in love with this account.

@bfgf / An art brand inspired with comfort, beauty and humour. Scarves, blankets and pillows, all covered with childish motifs, curvy silhouettes and stereotipically American symbols. With love from Los Angeles. Buy it all here.

9 1/2 Weeks of Style

November 27, 2016June 17, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

9 1/2 Weeks directed by Adrian Lyne is a cult film from the 80s, blurring the lines between refined romance and subtle erotica. Elizabeth McGraw (played by super-bombshell, Kim Basinger) and John Gray (young Mickey Rourke) find each other in New York’s Chinatown, and their relationship becomes a journey of love with ups and downs.

But what really strikes you, when you watch the film, is this something sensual about Elizabeth’s clothing. Her knitted sweater is three sizes too big, but the viewer is appealed by the way her body is hidden. As an assistant of art gallery curator, Liz prefers unconventional for her daily wear: pastel-blue tights, Jane Birkin-like basket and her favourite cocoon trench-coat. When with John, she loves her boyfriend’s businessman wardrobe, and choses to wear tailored blazers with shoulder pads and pin-stripe pants. No wonder why the two shop at Comme Des Garçons-like store (which in fact might be one), filled with Japanese avant-garde garments.

New York fashion scene was going through a lot, and all-black was a statement. For exhibition openings, Elizabeth was likely to be seen in a black mini-dresses with exposed shoulder, wearing dark tights of course. Watching this film, I just can’t stop thinking that fashion hasn’t changed even a bit. From Lemaire‘s slouchy shirt-and-pants chic to Jacquemus over-sized jackets, it’s clear that the spirit of 80s feels relevant up to today. While Anthony Vaccarello’s spring-summer 2017 debut for Saint Laurent is pure 9 1/2 Weeks, really: leather secretary skirts, strip-tease-perfect cocktail dresses, killer heels.

From left: Jacquemus AW16; Saint Laurent SS17; Celine AW14.

From left: Lemaire SS17; Lemaire AW16; Lemaire AW14.

Marine Serre

October 30, 2016October 30, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Lately, Paris is the place where young talents emerge. The fashion industry has already been awestricken by the league of such designers like Simon Porte Jacquemus, Glenn Martens and Demna Gvasalia. But it’s all about boys… and it’s the high time for ladies – and here we’re with Marine Serre, who kicked off her Paris Fashion Week at The Broken Arm.

Always crowdy, and filled with chic Parisians, this store was founded by Guillaume Steinmetz, Anaïs Lafarge, and Romain Joste. Hidden in off-beat Le Marais district, it’s the place where you will meet all the editors during any fashion event in the city (forget touristic Colette…). The Broken Arm sells a well-curated selection of clothes from Raf Simons, Balenciaga, Prada or Jacquemus – but instead of choosing one of them, the owners decided to give the window-display space under Serre’s wings for the entire fashion week.

Marine Serre is a French graduate from La Cambre Mode school in Brussels. After fruitful internships at recognised brands (Maison Margiela, Dior, Balenciaga), Serre decided to go her own path. Radical Call for Love is her second season, and it appears to be her break-through moment. The collection, as the designer says, “projects the combination of 19th century Arabic luxurious garments with corporate sportswear branding aesthetics of the 1990s and 2000 into a futurist oriented fashion.” Radical Call for Love is somewhat a visual comment on “urgency and contemporaneity by the tragic events in Paris and Brussels in 2015 and 2016.” The message the designer convyes is presented in metaphorical way, being slightly exposed by Islamic symbols, interestingly transformed into logo-like branding and faux-Nike headbands.

More here.

Europe. Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood SS17

October 6, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood is a love affair between those two designers both in fashion, and in life. It’s the second season where Andreas fully leads the main-line of Westwood’s punk-empire, and it’s madly good. Inspired with European cultures, Kronthaler took a glance at Slavic symbolism, and sent out a model wearing a voluminous, straw garment which might be a dress (or a coat). Heavily ornamented bustier necklines were exaggerated, too, but this time the direction turned to Marie Antoinette times and pre-revolution France. The model in a drifty, multi-coloured frame was an abstract vision of a woman at a typically Dutch market stall. It perceivable that the creative director is intrigued with Old Europe’s contrasts and history – he cleverly delivered those accents in a humorous, very dramatic way. But the collection isn’t only about the past. It smartly moves the topic of feminism (and femininity), so something that still triggers so many intense discussions in few European countries. A jersey dress with trompe l’oeil illustration of naked body, or a violently ripped skirt which exposed spring-summer 2017 swimwear were the most thoughtful, yet catchy looks.

A Bigger Splash

May 22, 2016March 13, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

We are all OBSCENE!

I’ve been waiting for A Bigger Splash since last September, and just yesterday I had a chance to see it in the cinema. But the waiting was honestly worth it, as I can openly say that I’m obsessed with it even more than I were few months ago. Luca Guadagnino‘s sultry, Italian sun-bathed thriller, starring Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, Matthias Schoenaerts and Lily McMenamy, is a masterpiece. Visually, musically, artistically.

On an idyllic island of Pantelleria, Marianne Lane, a rock-star (played by the one and only Swinton), cures herself from a temporary voice loss and is all in sensual, compassionate relationship with Paul (Schoenaerts). Lying naked on the off-beat beach all day, the couple’s fantasy escape is interrupted by a spontanous visit of chaotic, impulsive Harry (played by Fiennes), Marianne’s music producer and old, drug-fuelled love. He arrives to the island with a shocking surprise: his “newly-discovered” daughter, Penelope (Dakota Johnson), who is a reflection of a melancholic lolita-teenager. The atmosphere gets stinking hot, as jealousy, untamed love and temperamental desire start to ooze in the relations between these equally vivid characters. Dancing to Rolling Stone’s Emotional Rescue, Harry is getting on everybody’s nerves, simultaneously inducing Marianne to fall in love with him, again. On the other side of the terracotta tiled pool, we’ve got Paul, a level-headed, loyal lover to Lane; but then, there is Penelope, whose coquettish behaviour and nasty attitude towards the others will make everything even more complicated…

A Bigger Splash is a remake of French thriller La Piscine, which is iconic due to star power of Alain Delon, Romy Schneider and Jane Birkin – however, the plot has many reinterpreted, unpredictable twists. As Guadignino believes that fashion plays a major role in his films (!), the frivolous dresses, alluring skirts and sequined jumpsuits a la Ziggy Stardust, designed by Raf Simons during his tenure at Dior, fulfill the meaningful body language of Marianne. Also, the soundtrack of A Bigger Splash was curated in the dynamic, sexy rhyme of this (already) cult film – from rock’n’roll Nevada Wild tracks to operatic Popol Vuh, the play with sound is mind-blowing in here, too.

I rarely (almost never) write about films on my blog – but I just couldn’t hold back from sharing my excitement with Luca’s film. Although it tells about pain and misunderstanding, obscenity and looking into the past, it’s an aesthetically beautiful nod to gestures, touch, sense and unconventional love. Should I even recommend it? Go for it, without consideration.