Anthony Vaccarello served a collection that just couldn’t go wrong: 1980s-inspired tailoring and outerwear, checked. Bella Hadid in le smoking, checked. Pinches of Yves’ 1976 Ballets russes collection, checked. The Saint Laurent woman is a walking nostalgia. Especially, when she’s cosplaying Nan Kempner in brocade evening looks. It’s easy to fall in love with what Vaccarello does – he knows fashion theatrics, and certainly knows hot to sell big-time sensuality. But I always wonder if this good-looking time-machine (or irresistible time-trap) makes sense in our contemporary times?
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!
Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!
Vaquera opened Paris Fashion Week with bonkers attitude – but one that is also commercially viable. “We’re still very punk in our roots,” said Bryn Taubensee, “but we’re asking ourselves, how can we also make it easy for people to understand and wear, and easy enough for us to survive?” Patric DiCaprio, the other half of Vaquera’s heart, put it more bluntly: “Shooting ourselves in the foot isn’t really where we see the future for our lives and this brand.” That’s why the spring-summer 2025 collection is all about Vaquera essentials – black bubble miniskirt with built-in bike shorts, bullet-bra tops and jersey tees with logos – with a provocateur twist. The XXL faux-fur coat is a joyous delight, just like the puffy ball-skirt in a kitschy, vintage-y chain print, styled with a monumental cloud-shaped. But there’s nothing whimsy about Vaquera, even their eveningwear as the New York-based duo styles it with over-sized rugby shirts and well-worn trainers.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!
Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!
In my opinion, the silent revolution going on at Bally is the most exciting phenomenon in Milan. Simone Bellotti’s vision of the brand very smartly – and with lots of wit – references Switzerland, the homeland of Bally. On the spring-summer 2025 moodboard, he had an eclectic mix of imagery, but one portrait stood out, that of Hugo Ball, the sound-poetry author and founder of the Dada movement in 1916 Zürich. Surrounding Ball’s image were photos of rustic, oddly-shaped cowbells, rusted shoehorns, and Man Ray’s artwork The Gift – a flat iron with thumbtacks glued along its sole. What captivated Bellotti about Ball’s portrait was the striking costume: a tall cylindrical hat and a metallic cone-shaped cape, with a stiff high collar framing his face. “I like its simple precision,” Bellotti remarked. Bellotti revisited the mountain-like, sloped-shoulder silhouette throughout the collection, integrating it into the necklines of coats and blazers. In some ensembles, this shape was paired with curved lines inspired by cowbells, reinterpreted as rounded miniskirts – some of which were lifted at the front to reveal matching culottes beneath. The concept was great, but the effect looked ill-fitting most of the time. Still, there was a standout piece: a burgundy leather coat featuring a sloped collar and shoulders, with a cinched waist that flared into a poufy pannier skirt (very Prada autumn-winter 2009).
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!
Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!
Design & Culture by Ed 