Menswear

Greatness. Balenciaga AW04

| Design & Culture by Ed

So I’m back in my Nicolas Ghesquière rabbit hole. Maybe it’s just the way Pierpaolo Piccioli’s Balenciaga is giving me no more hope, and as a coping mechanism I’m looking back at the brand’s age of greatness? Just like in the case of Ghesquière’s beautifully bizarre, acid-trippy autumn-winter 2007 collection I covered back in May (also, can someone explain to me how on earth it’s September?), three years earlier he did another masterpiece. READ MY FULL TEXT HERE.

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This Is Menswear! Gabriela Hearst AW26

| Design & Culture by Ed

Thinking about fall dressing is real. Just as real as the dire need for a big, bushy money tree – all thanks to Gabriela Hearst. I’ll be honest: I’ve been kind of uninvested in what the designer has been doing for a while, and I don’t think her decision to show in Paris has necessarily done the brand any favors. But then, completely out of the blue, the brand released its autumn-winter 2026 menswear lookbook, and I lost my mind. Completely. Photographed by Theo Wenner and styled by Tom Guinness, this menswear collection is just insane in its… wholesomeness? It just looks so damn fine. Like clothes you’ll actually want to wear not for years, but for decades. The vibe is as if Tom Sawyer went Uptown. It’s very gentlemanly, with just the right taste for mischief. READ MY FULL TEXT HERE.

ED’s SELECTION:


Gabriela Hearst Men’s Pyke Cashmere Scarf



Gabriela Hearst Men’s Lawrence Cashmere Sweater



Gabriela Hearst Men’s Shearling Teddy Car Coat



Gabriela Hearst Men’s Wells Cashmere Silk Crewneck Sweater



Gabriela Hearst Leather Phone Pouch

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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To Be A Celine Boy. Celine Pre-Fall 2026

| Design & Culture by Ed

Maybe the first week of August doesn’t mean the end of summer (a daily reminder that autumn officially begins on 22 September – some people seem strangely determined to forget what they learned in primary school), but there’s something in the air that makes me yearn for clothes. Actual clothes. Not the barely-there variety.

It’s that point in the season when I’m officially over the endless debate about how short shorts can be. (For the record, I adore my slutty little red satin pair, and I genuinely couldn’t care less what anyone thinks.) I want flannels. I want jackets. I want coats. I want substance!

Ever since it was unveiled back in January, I’ve been thinking about Michael Rider’s delightful pre-fall 2026 collection for Celine, which perfectly sums up how I want to look from the moment the temperature drops below 20 degrees Celsius. Dark indigo denim (a genuine plot twist, considering I’m famously allergic to blue jeans), a Charvet-esque shirt, maybe a tie in some delightfully odd retro print… not to mention the cropped trench and that perfect blue chore jacket. I’m officially getting one. READ MY FULL TEXT HERE.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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A Woman’s Touch. Fendi AW26 Couture

| Design & Culture by Ed

Nobody wants to have that conversation, but Maria Grazia Chiuri’s first haute couture collection for Fendi was very good. Of course, there were fillers – she just has to include those client-pleasers: the unassuming A-line, unwaisted silhouettes that tend to fall at mid-calf or ankle length. But then, at her Rome show at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, there were genuine stunners, like an ivory cloak that looked like lace from a distance, only to reveal intricate flowers crafted from fur, leather, and fabric up close. Or the opening caftan, pieced together in black-and-white chevron stripes and modeled after a dress worn a century ago by Emilie Flöge. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Not Your Man Yet. Givenchy SS27

| Design & Culture by Ed

Sarah Burton‘s menswear debut for Givenchy proves that, in the end, it’s all about how clothes are photographed. Through Juergen Teller’s lens, Don McCullin, Don Letts, and Danny Fox make the collection feel believable and genuinely cool. But the moment you switch to the studio-shot lookbook starring professional (and very young) models, you’re left with a collection that lacks a clear narrative. Yes, the lavishly embroidered MA-1 jackets are stunning. The hourglass-tailored suits are beautiful too. But then come the tracksuits, rugby shirts, florals, and sneakers, which make the overall picture feel scattered rather than cohesive. It’s not as if Givenchy menswear lacks a legacy – we’ve had Ozwald Boateng and, of course, Riccardo Tisci, who turned the line into a genuine commercial force. But after years of neglect and falling into irrelevance, Burton’s debut doesn’t quite give men a compelling reason to drop everything and return to the brand. Hopefully time will heal that wound.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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