Last season, everyone seemed to be asking the same question over and over again: “What do women want?” Whether designers provided the answers they needed remains unclear. This season, however, another crucial question arises for designers: are their clothes life-affirming? Does wearing this dress or that jacket offer the wearer an emotionally – or even spiritually – uplifting experience?
We’re living in a world where you can literally buy anything – and, amusingly, where anyone can call themselves a “designer.” That’s why those showing at Paris Fashion Week should truly consider: is this pairing essential? Am I contributing something meaningful, something with a genuine point of view, to an already overcrowded table? And perhaps most importantly: will this piece of clothing actually spark joy?
This brings us to the most anticipated debut of the season – among more than a dozen others: Chanel by Matthieu Blazy. This is a collection whose perception entirely depends on how you approach it. If you came expecting a pared-back, 1990s-inspired Chanel in the spirit of Karl Lagerfeld, then you were likely overwhelmed by the tactile exuberance of feathers, beading, and embroidery that Blazy – and the house’s métiers d’art – delivered. If you were hoping for a radical departure from Virginie Viard’s Parisian femininity, you might again be disappointed. That woman is still present – but she now looks far more contemporary, less of a cliché. And if you were a fan of Matthieu’s days at Bottega Veneta: bingo. His Chanel debut stayed within a familiar orbit (pun intended, given the space-inspired show setting), yet it was elevated by the unparalleled craftsmanship that only this house can offer a designer. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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After his triumphant debut in July, Michael Rider returns with his sophomore outing for Celine – easily one of the standout collections of the season. It’s astonishing how effortlessly he navigates the maison’s most prominent style codes: Phoebe Philo’s charismatic, quirk-inflected femininity and Hedi Slimane’s slinky bourgeois sensibility with a rock-and-roll twist. As a result, he delivers a cocktail of life-affirming clothes.
Having served as Philo’s right hand during the Old Céline years, Rider understands what the brand’s clientele loves – and delivers it without resorting to grand gestures or “new era” rhetoric. Yet that doesn’t mean his personal imprint is absent. On the contrary, the well-travelled eclecticism, playful takes on preppiness, menswear-inspired silhouettes with cinched waists and elongated sleeves (very Husbands Paris actually), and his indulgent approach to accessorizing (a tribal-inspired beaded necklace styled with a crisp white shirt is a personal favorite) all bear his unmistakable, joie de vivre signature.
His “smiley” reinterpretation of the Luggage bag has clearly struck a chord – as evidenced by the ever-growing pre-order queue in the Paris boutiques that I witnessed myself. When the clothes will hit the racks, the brand might become LVMH’s big beast.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Design & Culture by Ed 