Attitude. Celine SS24

October 22, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Some things don’t change, like Hedi Slimane‘s Celine. Not many designers keep on pushing their (very skinny) agenda so stubbornly. The spring-summer 2024 collection, presented off-schedule as a short film, showcases the Tomboy line-up at La Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. One of the city’s oldest cultural institutions, it serves as a library that houses the French royal collections since the end of the Middle Ages. But the Celine girls aren’t here to study – rather, they are on their way to another indie sleaze-coded party. Set to Too Much Love by LCD Soundsystem, the collection opens with a model reading a leatherbound book stamped with the gold Celine logo. Clad in a skinny black suit, the ensemble is a reminder of what Slimane does best – sharp androgynous tailoring. Then, a matching leopard print jacket and mini anchored segue to cutoffs and a leather jacket, both paired with tough boots are prime examples of this as is a pair of plaid boxers, worn with fuzzy-lined suede boots. It’s California by way of Paris, especially when you factor in the track suits and caps. The combination has proved to be irresistible to the brand’s clients (I know, I’m shocked too…). For evening, Slimane offers long dresses worn with blazers and knee high boots, as well as mini dresses in sparkly gold and liquid-y silver. It’s hard to seek any fashion novelty at Hedi’s Celine. This designer’s force of persuasion lies in attitude, styling, and his endless glorification – even fetishization – of youth.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram! By the way, did you know that I’ve started a newsletter called Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!

Twisted Nostalgia. LRS SS24

July 30, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

At the age of 18, Raul Solis packed his bags and moved from the West Coast to New York. His coming of age coincided with the rise of the Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and the Rapture, who played at small venues to beer-fueled crowds at the time. For LRS‘s spring-summer 2024, Solis indulged in what he called “twisted nostalgia” by referencing the early 2000s and its early ’60s teddy-boy roots in a collection that was indie – without the sleaze – both in aesthetics and origin. It’s no small feat to keep a self-owned business afloat. Elements of the collection – the melted Mickey Mouse figures, a pair of pants made from old American flags – speak to the world we’re living in today, one where the dream coexists with nightmares. The crystal blood drops on slim-cut pants and jackets reference the struggle but not in a macabre way. But LRS also offers more relatable, day-to-day pieces. The designer cut a striped turtleneck to expose just the right slice of midriff and accessorized a pair of low-cut rocker pants with an extra-big belt buckle and a trailing skinny scarf. A mini kilt looked anything but uniform, and wide-cut jeans were made to rave. All of these pieces conveyed a narrative without being tricky.

Teenage Madness. DsQuared2 AW23

January 14, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

I just love it when DsQuared2 goes naughty, sleazy, hot and unapologetically DsQuared2. While other brands are trying to desperately capture the Y2k style, Dean and Dan Caten don’t have tii force it – they simply have it in their blood. And with styling help of Haley Wollens, they delivered a great show on the first day of men’s Milan Fashion Week. “Teenage madness!” shrieked the Caten twins in unison backstage before the show. “We’re looking back to look forward, thinking of what we’ve done in the past, and the energy of the Dsquared2 rebels,” they said. “We’re celebrating what we were already pushing a long time ago – being yourself, being individual, and the freedom of feeling comfortable in your own skin. No judgment.” The Dsquared2 posse of teenagers flaunted a string of characters straight from the Catens’ dorm room years: the geek, the goth, the starlet, the emo, the femme, all in their own broken-up/put-back-together-again finery. The dorm room in question was actually meticulously reproduced as the catwalk’s backdrop, furnished with all the cool paraphernalia which has populated the teenage years of every generation, from X to Y to Z and everything in between. Describing the zillion combinations the twins were able to concoct would, in fact, be madness. To very partially summarize, Western fringed jackets, Canadian outerwear, crystal-studded destroyed denim, cowboy leather jockstraps, ultra-low slung cargos, exposed boxers, teddy bear bombers, lace panties and see-through camisoles were put into their fashion percolator, spit out and re-assembled into beautifully body-revealing crazy ensembles. “Playing with girl things, playing with boy things, nothing is hotter than a hot guy in girly panties!” they enthused. “So we kind of went there. Openness! Playfulness! Courage! And no judgment.”

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

That Girl. Celine SS23

November 18, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

As usual, don’t expect novelty in Hedi Slimane‘s Celine collection – rather, an attitude. There is literally nothing fashion-forward about the spring-summer 2023, because Slimane rather styles wardrobe classics than reinterprets them. The designer has infused his classic rock and roll DNA into the nautical nature of Saint-Tropez. Yet most of the looks felt more like a look-back at Kate Moss’ Glastonbury style or Anna Delvey’s attire in her New-York-scammer-peak-point era. But the sun-drenched view in the backdrop was pretty. 2022’s fashion won’t free itself from Y2k aesthetic, that’s for sure, and Slimane also celebrates it. Why not – he’s the king of the indie sleaze aesthetic. Best evidence? In the curation of the music for the Saint-Tropez collection, Slimane has tapped his longtime friends, The Libertines, for their song “Music When the Lights Go Out” from their cult-classic album The Libertines that was released in 2004. What about the clothes? In true Hedi fashion, the jeans are skinny and the boots are high. The core of a Slimane collection is solid; rock & roll chic looks run deep in the hand of the designer who pioneered putting underground rock styles on the runway. Yet in the presence of his foundation, Slimane toys around with these two conflicting narratives of the town; relaxing on the beach versus tearing up the dance floor. The spirit of the ocean is present in nautical sweaters, matching pinstripe sets, and a brilliant captain’s hat that features the house monogram. Sailor button closures are seen in trousers and mini shorts, paired with loose gauge oversized knits that are ideal for yachting season. You know how I feel about Hedi Slimane’s Celine: I don’t really care for it, but I’m always curious to see where the designer’s stubbornness goes next.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

Chic Distress. Interior SS23

November 11, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

For spring-summer 2023, Lily Miesmer and Jack Miner presented a lesson in perfect imperfections at Interior, balancing delicate femininity with their signature perverse edge. Barring the occasional pop of red in for of a ripped indie-sleazy t-shirt, the neutral palette puts the focus on the duo’s masterful drapery and eye for sensual fits. Alongside raw-edged slinky netting and covetable suiting, fall in love with amply ruffled going-out tops and a stunning ivory skirt whose full, twirl-worthy volume is cleverly offset by a mud-dipped hem (obsessed). “She probably just has anxiety, and they’re like ‘You’re hysterical, go live in the attic.’” Miesmer said backstage. Distress – both mental and physical – was a driving force in the show, down to the Pixies hit “Where Is My Mind” playing during the finale. True to their ironic take on elegance, Miesmer and Miner found plenty of ways to riff on the staples of Park Avenue princesses: shirt dresses (but with voluminous trains), cozy cashmere knits (but with an unraveling crop), double breasted suits (with raw edges) and ballet flats (but actual ones used by ballerinas, sourced from Miesmer’s favorite dance store). Classic, almost preppy affluence is at the core of Miesmer and Miner’s designs, but this season there was something rotting underneath – and they’d take that as a compliment. “There’s an audacity in destroying the most beautiful cotton fiber, yarn, cashmere, and layers of chiffon and lace,” Miesmer added, referring to how she and Miner took power tools and horse brushes to the textiles to give them the exact right effect. The fun of Interior is how they distort the prissy, the stuffy, and the basic. Their first collection was filled with clothes that would look at home at a dinner party, but since then, Miner and Miesmer have incrementally added a sinister undercurrent. A pink strapless ruched cotton jersey top with a swishy cotton gauze skirt is a prime example. It could have been worn by one of Degas’s models, but the hem is more muted than the top, suggesting frequent wear, and the waistband is folded down. She’s not a prima ballerina; she’s the last one standing in a horror movie.