Surplus. ERL Resort 2026

November 4, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Of course, if you’ve just watched Kathryn Bigelow’s “House on Dynamite“, looking at ERL’s soldiers might make you feel somewhat uneasy. The fear of nuclear war is, well, omnipresent. But Eli Russell Linnetz’s take on army boys carries the attitude of the infamous 2007 Vogue Italia cover and editorial shot by Steven Meisel, where Agyness Deyn and a troop of golden-retriever-looking fighters undergo a kind of sexual awakening.

Linnetz titled hi resort 2026 collection “Surplus“, referencing the surplus store as a constant presence in “a deep corner of American consciousness.” The designer repurposed surplus stock – pieces he says he’s been collecting for years – and juxtaposed them with his more luxurious interpretations. Think glorious patchworked parkas mixed with camouflage separates, chunky Donegal sweaters, and cool-looking cargos in overdyed fabrics.

The clothes have a lived-in quality – and looking at the lookbook, photographed in Eli Russell’s signature theatrical manner – you can almost smell the sweat and adrenaline that these garments are flavored with.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Heartthrob Appeal. ERL AW25

February 7, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

For ERL‘s autumn-winter 2025, Eli Russell Linnetz dialed down on the usual theatrics, and came up with a collection for the Cooper Kochs of the world. By that I mean the guys with naturally-born, red-carpet-heartthrob swagger that can equally pull off a ready-for-Gstaad ski-look or a Giorgio Armani luncheon in a perfectly-cut jacket and flared denim pants. The ultimate highlight coming from the Venice Beach-based designer? The menswear accessory that’s hopefully having a grand return: the cummerbund. He styled it over a black shirt and oversized pleated pants a black shirt, and finished the look with a cocoon-shaped duvet jacket. I like this new direction at ERL.

ED’s SELECTION:

ERL Zebra-Print Quilted Puffer Jacket

ERL Donegal Polo Sweater

ERL Multi-Logo Intarsia Sweater

ERL Silk-Wool Swirl Knit Hoodie

ERL Bicolor Swirl Hoodie

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Everybody Comes To Hollywood. Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2024

December 3, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Balenciaga‘s first-ever fashion show in Los Angeles had it all: the Kardashian-Calabasas flagship style, some Hitchcockian drama with a Lynchian twist, the taste of an Erewhon smoothie and even the H of the Hollywood sign as the backdrop. Demna called LA “my favorite city in the world,” saying, “all my cultural evolution, when I was a teenager growing up in this kind of post-Soviet vacuum, it really came from here, through movies, music – I mean, everything that I kind of absorbed, that later on started to kind of become my fashion references.” There was certainly something surreal about Balenciaga’s gothy black clad guests turning up en masse on a well manicured stretch of Windsor Boulevard in Hancock Park. The collection skewed SoCal, starting with the exercise clothes, gym bags, and souped-up sneakers of the first few looks. The circa Y2K velour jumpsuits and giant high-heeled shearling boots that came next will be familiar to readers of US Magazine, which would’ve been another way the young Demna got his celebrity content.

Back in those pre-social media days, the paparazzi lurked outside hipster coffee-shops. Circa 2023, it’s Erewhon smoothies that the stars are clutching. Timed to yesterday’s event, Balenciaga collaborated with the LA grocer on a juice. Made in part with activated charcoal powder, it’s as black as the stretchy turtleneck and tight jeans worn in the show by Brigitte Nielsen. “I don’t know what’s in it,” Demna said. “I just wanted it to be black.” The designer (officially) rejected the idea that he approached the collection – or LA itself – with irony, but there’s something comically perverse about a paper grocery bag made in leather. The sensational evening clothes were as Hollywood as the rest of the show, but it was easier to read earnestness in their elegance and drama. There was a respectful nod to Cristobal Balenciaga in the grand volumes of a white wedding gown whose funnel neck extended to just below the model’s eyes. Two other dresses conjured post-coital bed sheets tied at the bust, if bed sheets came in patent leather. These were pure Demna.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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La Ruta del Bacalao. Luis De Javier SS24

November 1, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Luis De Javier, Spanish-born, London-based designer, presented his spring-summer 2024 colection in a space smack in the middle of Hollywood, just above Sunset Boulevard. The designer brought on a new stylist – his mentor, Riccardo Tisci. Judging by these few sentences you can already predict this was a hot fashion moment. Against a techno soundtrack, de Javier presented a collection that has evolved from his previous ones, with a matured sense of proportion and volume. He continued his exploration of political commentary through clothing inspired by Spain’s 1990s hardcore rave movement, La Ruta del Bacalao. Since it was shut down by an oppressive government, the collection imagines a utopia in which the movement would still be alive today. Corseting was the common denominator, as it was in past seasons, communicated in different materials such as leather, canvas, and latex, and layered under and over other pieces. A latex coat with exaggerated shoulders draped fluidly; constructed as a corset or dress, it covered the body as if it were poured over it. The bling came by way of chains and cords draped over jersey dresses, and unlikely materials, such as extra-long ballerina nails, that were reimagined as dramatic fringe on an asymmetrical evening dress. Mixing club kid vibes and Cristobal Balenciaga-inspired could easily go wrong. Tisci’s mentorship lends refinement to de Javier’s vision. Where his past collections had obvious references, this one is more subtle, and what might have previously been rough around the edges now came with the romantic darkness Tisci is known for. Tisci’s touch in the styling was evident as well, via the restrained color palette, the delicate mix of lace and leather, and belts cinched tightly across the bust. The jersey t-shirts worn over the head recalled a nun’s veil, which is in line with the religious references Tisci used during his time at Givenchy. This was a strong, evocative collection, and also a big reminder that fashion needs more of Riccardo Tisci.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Call For Peace. Imitation Of Christ SS24

October 24, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Imitation Of Christ‘s Tara Subkoff created the term “up cycling” in 2000. 23 years later, it is a prevalent – and relevant – phenomenon in the fashion industry. The designer is more than fine with this; she wants others to “imitate” that sustainability-forward practice. With fashion’s ever-returning obsession with grunge and the 90’s, Imitation Of Christ’s spring-summer 2024 collection – which opened this Los Angeles Fashion Week with a dance performance including a blessing in every major world religion – convinces with gorgeous slip-dresses, DIY details and gender-blurring silhouettes. The hand-painted dove on billow-y gowns and utilitarian boiler suits is a fitting call for global peace. The symbol circles back to the spiritual side of Subkoff’s fashion performance, where the harmony of prayers and pujas created a peaceful celebration of all religions practiced alongside one another with respect and tolerance. One of the white dresses bore a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that read “Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding”. As simple as that yet so hard to comprehend for the politics of this world.