Soigné. Louis Vuitton SS17

October 12, 2016October 12, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Nicolas Ghesquiere chose to show his spring-summer 2017 collection for Louis Vuitton not at the usual location (Fondation Louis Vuitton), but in the brand’s future boutique. Place Vendome store is opening in 2017, but the decision to stage the collection in this raw, yet beautiful space, was a prove that even though Louis Vuitton might go to far-fetched destinations (like Palm Springs or Rio), its spirit stays in Paris.

When Ghesquiere worked at Balenciaga, his connection to the city was reflected in flirty dresses, unconventional elegance and intriguing layers – in other words, his aesthetic was the soigné embodiment of ‘Parisian chic’ myth. Throughout his Louis Vuitton tenure, Nicolas went global, slightly forgetting about his old, good affair with the city of love. However, the newest collection is just it: an elevated wardrobe of timeless pieces with the right dose of French borgeois. Drenched-in-gold jewellery; masculine blazers; Parisian model “off-duty” look feauturing grunge (or not so, with all those embroideries) t-shirts. How good can it be?

The 80’s are continously embraced by editors and stylists of such local magazines as Vogue Paris or Self Service. While the creative director is friends with them, the mood of this decade has been present in every single detail, from the ‘night-out’ make-up to crystal-embellished slit gowns. For a moment I thought that this is what Lanvin should look like now with Bouchra Jarrar – but then, you can perceive Ghesquiere’s hand in those tailored pants and desirable biker jackets. Magnifique!

Heavy Cross

August 24, 2016August 24, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

I’m in love with Frank Ocean’s latest drop, ‘Blond‘, and anything else that has something to do with his newest album. From Tyrone Lebon’s video for ‘Nikes‘ to Wolfgang Tillmans’ über-cool visuals, Ocean is on everyone’s lips this month. Also, is he just about to relaunch the trend for motocross gear? Posing in a pink hoodie and a matching racing helmet, he makes me want to wear a motocross t-shirt so badly. But Frank isn’t the only person who revives racing style. Fashion has always been in love with the biker jacket – Vetements‘ over-sized version, and its success is a proof. Also, take under consideration Louis Vuitton‘s biker-girl dresses and Alexander Wang‘s customised helmet from 2012.

Louis Vuitton Resort’17

Vetements SS16

Alexander Wang SS12

AND, have you heard of Anne-France Dautheville? She’s Chloé‘s autumn-winter 2016 muse, who back in the 70s travelled the world on her motorcycle. Her on-the-go wardrobe, so a maxi floral dress and a leather total-look, was reintepreted in a chic, girlie way by Clare Waight Keller, who is Anne-France’s biggest fan. Although Dautheville doesn’t like to be called a fashion person or anything alike, she’s a true style inspiration. Above all, her look was quite shocking in the past. On the way to Tehran, Anne-France was travelling cross-continent, and a group of men started to drive faster than her. “Ten kilometers later, they stop on the side of the road, and they stop me again. I ask, ‘Is there something you forgot?’ And they say, ‘Well, we were wondering, are you a girl or are you a boy?’” Dautheville tells T Magazine.

In other words – full throttle!

Rio. Louis Vuitton Resort’17

May 29, 2016June 2, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

All eyes are on Southern America in fashion industry, lately. A few weeks ago we had Chanel nailing frivolous dresses in Cuba; yesterday, Nicolas Ghesquiere presented one of his best collection to date for Louis Vuitton, in Rio De Janeiro. For resort 2017, the house chose another vacay-fit destination with an arty edge – after Monaco and Palm Springs, Brazil was the next stop for Nicolas during his Vuitton journey. Staged in futuristic Niterói Museum of Contemporary Arts, the utopian construction was designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the 90s. The erratic structure of the museum perfectly matched the modern attitude of Ghesquiere’s newest creation.

The concrete runway, surrounded by water, was as spiral as the high-tech cuts on the dresses; sporty windcheater coats and studded, “deconstructed” dresses oozed with athletic vigour and breezy softness. But even during his far-fetched travels, Ghesquiere always stays the same guy from Paris. The collection was filled with colour and flesh-exposing details, yes, but Parisian elegance was present in these cool, black pants, corset-tops and ecru blazers. Unconsciously (or not), the designer brough some old, good ideas back from his cult Balenciaga-era. If you look through Ghesquiere’s Balenciaga time-line, and then see his latest Vuitton outing, the defiant, yet very feminine aura is alive. I missed it for the last few seasons, and now I’m very happy it’s back in form of unconventional flats and layered looks.

Moreover, resort 2017 at Louis Vuitton is an important beauty statement. Forget the rule of “same hair for every model”. It’s all about the personality – from Tamy Glauser’s boyish cut to Natalie Westling’s untamed, ginger curls, Nicolas and Ashley Brokaw (model casting director) prove that Louis Vuitton girl is all about beautiful diversity. I respect them for that every season, honestly.

Collage by me

System Hang. Louis Vuitton AW16

March 15, 2016March 15, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Even Nicolas Ghesquiere needs a break. Although Louis Vuitton‘s creative director look always into the future, and wants to be as fast as his muse, Lightning, the hero of Final Fantasy XIII and face of the house’s most recent campaign, this season it’s distinctly visible that Ghesquiere is having a throwback to his best Balenciaga and Vuitton moments. Not that the collection is bad – quite the opposite, this chic, luxe Tomb Raider girl is Nicolas’ long-term concept, which both excites and sells. But it just feels like the autumn-winter collection doesn’t have this sense of new, which is always conveyed in his collections. How many sweatshirts will we see, or those satin, sporty dresses? And why are the last-season’s patent-leather boots again in the show (well, because they were best-sellers – but I doubt whether Ghesquiere’s aim is to go Valentino’s path and become an accessory-loving, commerce-wise designer)? Believe it or not, but this collection looks usual and quite easy to pull off, and even more banal, when you are Nicolas Ghesquiere. Phoebe Philo can confess she is having a chill – but I doubt Vuitton’s designer, noting the capacity of the brand, can let himself for a system hang.

#2015 – Nicolas Ghesquiere

December 22, 2015December 22, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Nicolas Ghesquiere is praised by many as the designer, who perfectly highlights the quintessence of a 21st century wardrobe of a woman – his absolutely wearable and hi-techn clothes are all about comfort and a kind of refreshing, neo-eclecticism. His year at Louis Vuitton is also a year full of diversity – definitely, Nicolas and his team represent the French maison as a multi-cultural and stereotype-breaking brand through beautiful pink and afro haired models walking their world-wide runways (we have even came across Palm Springs this year for the Resort 2016 collection)! Thanks to Nicolas Ghesquiere, Louis Vuitton has become a label that is more than clothes and a vast range of accessories – now, Louis Vuitton is an open-minded, lifestyle project.

AW15 – Autumn-winter 2014 was about 70’s. Spring-summer 2015 was looking forward to vintage florals and denim. The autumn-winter 2015 collection was “looking into the future”, as Nicolas Ghesquiere stated backstage. And, it really did. Presented at the Louis Vuitton Foundation, the designer’s muse, Freja Beha, walked down the boldly coloured runway in a fluffy, white shearling coat. Then, the model favourites like Lineisy Montero and Fernanda Ly wore abstract peplum tops, satin suites with logo appliqued t-shirts and lace dresses. Kept in a rich colour palette, Ghesquiere’s conceptual take on the winter wardrobe is both über-feminine and simultaneously casual, noting the luxe sweat-pants and lovely tank-tops.

Resort’16 – Nicolas Ghesquiere amazed me during his recent Resort collection. Louis Vuitton‘s is the first collection, in which he shows he is really the boss of the brand. The collection, presented in Palm Springs, California, was a sunny blast of fresh, slightly eccentric fashion. Nicolas showcased the silhouettes, that have never been present in his previous shows for the house and Balenciaga. Long, woman-warrior dresses with embellished gems; high-waisted trousers with harness belts; beautifully laser-cut leather jackets, which reminded me of the Victoriana era, brought the mood of Nicolas’ favourite musician, Grimes. But also, some sexy shorts and crop-tops appeared, giving us the vibe of the real all-American summer. What should I say more? California suits Nicolas Ghesquiere as much as Paris.

SS16 – This season, Nicolas Ghesquiere really did show his refreshing stance at Vuitton – cyber luxury is the best term that reflects the mix of exclusive logo prints and pink-haired model wearing highly hype (whatever this means nowadays) clothes. Nicolas definitely had Japan on his mind this time – the Harajuku girls with manga-inpired robot tiaras and platform sandals make this collection sharp, but with a slight bit of kawaii flavour coming straightly from Tokyo. However, the collection had something more ethnical, too – note the lovely hand-stitched embroideries on suede biker jackets below. Or the feather details on mesh tank-tops and badass gloves. This how you do ethno, Valentino – keep it discreet, but appropriate. But what really hit me this time, is the amazing talent of fusing fashion history that the designer is known for – the Victorian blouses with leather vests and medieval inspired gowns (Resort 2016 continuation) have never, ever looked so modern as in Nicolas’ vision. These shirts, dresses, motorcycle leggings and, yes, jumpsuits (!) are highly in need. Also, I am drooling over these leather, pleated totes – the beauty of these accessories makes them conceptual objects, rather than just “bags”.