Provoking Girl. Miu Miu SS16

October 14, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

I can’t believe myself – it’s the last post about the SS16 fashion month! And even though I am kind of sad that the spring-summer 2016 season came to an end, it feels like a perfect time to chill and look back at all the fashion moments that took place in September and at the beginning of October. The marathon of New York, London, Milan and Paris delivered so many gorgeous, amusing, shocking and effy collections, that it’s the perfect time to take a short break and reflect. However, there is never too much of Miu Miu – Miuccia Prada absolutely astonished me this time. The new collection is a bit confusing, but very appealing. The ugliness of the ballerina shoes with Comme des Garcons-like belt buckles and vichy checks are a loud nod to the beauty of ballet and its bad sides. Miuccia gave as some tulle skirts, too, keeping Miu Miu’s spirit girlie, but with a twist. The ruffled, organza aprons in courgette purple, mint green and cherry red looked provoking, when worn with the loosely fit pencil skirts. A Miu Miu collection is not a Miu Miu collection without eclectic wallpaper prints and fur stoles, which appeared to be worn extravagantly around the chest. I also loved the fur “tails” which dangled under the leather jackets and layered shirts. Feminine edginess wins the label this season, saying sweetly “I wear what I want, so don’t bother me“. A great collection that ends another nutritious season!

Information Orgy. Loewe SS16

October 6, 2015August 21, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Loewe was like a wardrobe of an extraordinary lady who lived in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s – you can literally find everything in there, from plexi rain-coats and logo-mania trousers to jewellery souvenirs she brought from her exotic travels and cat-loving prints. In other words, Jonathan Anderson let his imagination take over the reigns this season, creating a collection that feels like a cabinet de curiosites of different ideas, references and objects. The effect? I am appealed to that modernistic eclecticism, but the transparent pieces don’t amuse me. Together with the mirror-cracked dresses and fancy logos, the plastic part makes it all a mishmash, that isn’t fluent. Or maybe it wasn’t intended to be fluent at all? The chaotic manner of the collection was described by the designer as “an orgy of information” – well, it surely had to say a lot about Jonathan’s current obsessions.

Photography by Virginie Khateeb

Arty Uniform. JW Anderson Resort’16

June 11, 2015June 11, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Although J.W. Anderson is recognised as an avant-garde designer, this time the spotlight was stolen by the ruffled shoes. In polished gold, silver and black, the feminised cowboy boots looked peculiar, but from the other side desirable. If talking of the clothes – eclecticism rules. Flower prints, denim, leather, flashy colours and arty embroideries created a pretty chaotic cocktail. Also, a great surprise was seeing ultra-naive polka dots on the dresses – these looked much better at Anderson’s rather than at Dolce & Gabbana. Full of contradictions, the collection had a typically unsettling thing about it – maybe because it was so eccentric in its wearability? Or maybe because it wasn’t planned to be wearable? Jonathan Anderson will never stop making me confused about his fashion.

Eclectic Girl. Gucci Resort’16

June 5, 2015June 5, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Yesterday’s Gucci show was not only a surprise due to its appearance in New York. It was intriguing. And Alessandro Michele knows that. The new designer, who left the sex-drived Tom Ford and Euro-sleek Frida Gianini behind, makes Gucci a brand, which is rather all about eclecticism and vintage. The word “eclectic” came up constantly when Michele was talking about the collection backstage. He also talked of “love” fuelling the collection, which incidentally appeared on a sweater in French –”aveugle par l’amour”. So hippie and optimistic, which is what Michele’s vibe is all about. “I’m inspired by a lot of things – from the street, antiques, vintage wardrobes. It’s impossible to explain the exact point of inspiration. It’s about being free to love, free to express, free to show who you are through the way you dress,” said Michele. “Luxury means that you show the way you dress with eccentricity. It’s almost like a new kind of jetset – instead of roaming around the world, you’re roaming with your clothes.” As you see, even the approach to luxury, which is up to now an essence of the brand, has changed.

But coming back to the venue matter. Gucci chose a gallery space in New York’s Chelsea, furnished with Persian rugs. As a remix of orchestral soundtracks started up, the garage doors to the gallery were raised up and the models walked in from the street, where outside Glen Luchford was shooting a film. And the street is certainly where Michele sees his eclectic cast existing. No wonder why the clothes might (or even should) remind you of Williamsburg’s thrift shops and Milanese flea markets, where the clothes are all about kitschy embroidery and cheesy patterns. But in case of Alessandro Michele and his mesmerizing Gucci affair, it was all about hand-made embellishments (the snake!), gold glitter on the shoes, soft lace and imperial Astrakhan jackets.

Although the collection might seem to have many overkilling details, I am happy Michele is in the game. I am a bit fed up with all that “ugly chic” and minimalism which is practically everywhere. I felt a lack of beauty, romance and that 70’s freedom in fashion for a while. However, the new Gucci delivers that in a very proud, brave way. Interesting how the retailers are going to deal with all that sheer artistry.