One Grand Gesture: Carolina Herrera x Elizaveta Porodina

I can’t recall the last time I was so moved by an ad campaign visual coming from a brand. And I would never expect such pleasure to come from Carolina Herrera. To celebrate the label’s autumn-winter 2020 collection, inspired by the works of Spanish Baroque painter Francisco de Zurbarán and the idea of ‘One Grand Gesture’, creative director Wes Gordon collaborated with Russian artist and photographer Elizaveta Porodina to create a portfolio of images shot entirely over Zoom (!!!), capturing ballet dancers around the world in fearless and fabulous movement and color. Elizaveta captured six dancers around the world from their homes and studios throughout the quarantine: Natasha Diamond-Walker, soloist at Martha Graham Dance Company, Ako Kondo, prima ballerina from Melbourne, Misa Kuranaga, principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet, Inès McIntosh, quadrille at Opéra National de Paris, Claudia Monja, the principal dancer of Joburg Ballet, and Wendy Whelan, the associate artistic director of New York City Ballet. “The winter collection was about the idea of One Grand Gesture – a billowing sleeve, the most pigmented color, an unforgettable silhouette. The fine line between drama and restraint. I wanted to further explore this concept with photographer Elizaveta Porodina, whose work I have always admired“, Gordon sums up. Here’s a sublime feast for your eyes and mind after a rather stressful week of uncertainty and frustration…

All photos by Elizaveta Porodina – discover her work here!

The 2010s: Karl and Chanel

CHANEL by KARL

Believe it or not – I can’t! – but we’re heading towards a new millenium. So, how do you choose the most important collections, designers and labels of the decade? The ones that made an actual impact in the 2010s? Well, it’s not an easy task. It all began in September 2009 with New York’s spring-summer 2010 shows and ended when the autumn-winter 2019 haute couture shows wrapped in Paris. Few thousands of shows, by the way. There will be 19 posts (that’s really the only possible minimum!) reminding about the best – and if not the best, then strongly influencing – moments in fashion.

Karl Lagerfeld & Chanel.

2019 saw the farewell to the visionnaire, the most prolific, joyous, assertive and energetic designer the world has known – Karl Lagerfeld. Although Lagerfeld worked on many projects simultaneously, from his namesake label to Fendi, it was his Chanel that always excited the most. This is the brand where he left his most expansive legacy. From the fantastic show venues (Chanel shopping centre, Chanel space-rocket, Chanel aquatic world, Chanel airport, the list seems to be endless) to Metiers d’Art locations (Edinburgh! Dallas! Salzburg! Moscow! New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art!) to the fashion campaigns (always photographed by him) to the label’s timeless, never boring, always consistent aesthetic (even if you haven’t been a fan, you should agree with this)… Karl owned Chanel. While the beat goes on with Virginie Viard, every show still feels as if something’s missing. A great loss. His soul is forever alive in the body of work he has left for generations to cherish.

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Collage by Edward Kanarecki.