Metrosexual. Luar AW24

February 16, 2024February 16, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Raul Lopez’ Luar shows have become highlights, just as Marc Jacobs’ or Raf Simons’ Calvin Klein shows were back in New York Fashion Week’s history. Autumn-winter 2024 is one of those definitely, not only because Beyoncé was in attendance. This collection was a witty play around the clichéd term “metrosexual” (the last time I’ve heard it in a serious conversion was in 2012, and I live in Poland where such topics always arrive delayed). According to a dictionary definition, he’s a “single young man living in a metropolis in close proximity to the best gyms, shops, and social spaces, with a vast disposable income spent mostly on himself”. A metrosexual is a “well-manicured man whose sexuality is often immaterial – though he’s presumably heterosexual – who is well groomed, well-mannered, and has good style”.

“They’re back, and it comes in cycles,” said Lopez, pointing at images of Elizabethan and Victorian era men in brocades, makeup, and wigs, as well as men in the late ’70s with tight knits and blow-dried hair. “There are different generations of the metrosexual, and now we are in the era of the stray (straight gay),” the designer concluded. The collection in itself was an anthology of the metrosexual from the perspective of a queer man. This season, Luar clothes can be really flamboyant, but can also turn very masc at the same time. This dichotomy was on display on the runway as Lopez offered opulent zebra devoré prints in shirting (a riff on Tom Ford, an iconic metrosexual), glossy leather tailoring in the designer’s signature hefty proportions, and his recurrent hulking shoulder treatment on everything from cardigans to denim jackets. There were tight jeans paired with tighter tees (the uniform of the Dominican metrosexual, he said) that highlighted the models’ builds. A run of extra large jackets with the aforementioned bold shoulders and rounded sleeves, Lopez’s play on Elizabethan male attire, dwindled the body. The one-two punch provided by the Luar designer was the combination of a knockout collection paired with thought-provoking hypotheses about our culture. Forget the “strays,” metros, queers, straights, and everything in between. This fashion week, he christened the “Luarsexual,” and by asking the right questions about American culture and welcoming one of its biggest icons into his space, Lopez himself cemented his place as a key figure in American fashion today.

Here are couple of Luar classics you can shop right now!

ED’s SELECTION:

Diamond Tech Pinstripe Dress

Diamond Boulder Shoulder Pullover

Hybrid Tech Zip-Cuff Trousers

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Safe From Harm. Willy Chavarría AW24

February 11, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Willy Chavarría‘s fashion show was so far the strongest moment of this New York Fashion Week. It started with a film, titled Safe from Harm, played on a screen behind a long table covered in a white lace tablecloth and filled with altar and votive candles like an offering. Directed by Chavarría, the film told a story of support and safety. As a diverse array of characters moved from space to space in an old house, working out, cooking, dressing up, letting emotions out, and comforting one another, it was a family affair. As the film came to a close, models emerged on the runway, seemingly stepping straight off the screen. This was a much-needed moment of action amidst all the overly minimalist, dead-serious shows in New York. For autumn-winter 2024, Chavarría expanded his sartorial vocabulary, borrowing from the particular glamour of the 1980s British upper crust, especially through his use of luxe plaid and houndstooth wools which he contrasted with leather jackets and biker details. The way the designer executed his signature jacket with an extra-wide shoulder worn with a houndstooth pussy bow blouse is just sublime. Highlights of the collection: black and white lace veils worn under caps and styled with either a black, over-sized coat or an all-white tracksuit. Chavarría subverts the codes of Catholic imagination like no other contemporary designer. As the models reached the end of the runway, they arranged themselves behind the aforementioned table, like an updated version of The Last Supper, with Chavarría himself taking the final position in the middle after the finale bow. After the applause died down and the models exited the runway, there was a sudden silence, and everyone remained in their seats, as if expecting an encore. Then, a second round of rapturous applause erupted. The reign of Willy Chavarría is really just getting started.

Need some Willy Chavarría action in your wardrobe?

ED’s SELECTION:

Satin Track Bomber Jacket

Skin of Night Buffalo T-Shirt

Chachi Wide-Leg Jeans

Tie-Neck Cotton Poplin Shirt

Cool Virgin Collab Crewneck Tee

Chachi Oversized Denim Trucker Jacket

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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High School Secrets. ERL AW24

February 7, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

There’s just that special “something” about ERL. For autumn-winter 2024, Eli Russell Linnetz returned to his favorite medium, the theatrical lookbook, and told another twisted story around his favorite theme: Californian adolescence. The context for this one was a Venice Beach high school during the late 1990s, and the designer obviously had great fun relating his characters to costumes and then sublimating those into clothes. The care that goes into his storytelling is highly impressive, but just as gripping are the care and details written into the garments. Linnetz was extra stoked to be showing sherpa-lined cotton-jersey pieces that were LA produced for the first time “because that’s our artisanship.” A carefully frayed California souvenir shirt and a washed-cotton combat chino with slyly referential ERL labeling were both close to ideal examples of their relative forms. A group of punk-y, grunge-y pieces hand-fashioned by Linnetz were genius bits of fantasy, just like the adapted vintage items. The collection ended with The-Virgin-Suicides-esque prom couple. The feeling of nostalgia orchestrated by Linnetz is never just for the aesthetics; it leaves you in a certain, hard-to-describe mood of suspense and uncertainty of what happens next.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Men’s – On Masculinity. Valentino AW24

January 22, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Valentino guests sat on bright blue benches that stood out against the gilded decor. But those expecting a runway awash in cerulean were in for a surprise. Rather than leaning into gender stereotypes, Pierpaolo Piccioli used the color as a starting point for a conversation about masculinity. “This collection is a reflection about men’s identity today without talking about gender, but talking about the way men today can be more gentle, more graceful,” he explained in a preview. “When you break the rules from inside, you can be more subtle and more subversive.” Oversize suits, relaxed outerwear and sweeping coats came in sober shades of black, navy and gray. Piccioli said he wanted his suit jackets, which had no buttons, to feel as comfy as cardigans. Pants were inspired by the suit proportions of the ’40s – cropped and slouchy, yet elegant. Piccioli’s statement was so quiet as to be almost inaudible. This served the collection, as it was a much-needed moment of tranquility after a long menswear fashion month and the haute couture week starting… today. Who makes these crazy schedules?

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Men’s – Overstimulation. Loewe AW24

January 21, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

News. Fake news. Deep fakes. AI. Images. No one interprets the Internet – and contemporary (non)reality – like Loewe‘s Jonathan Anderson. We are bombarded with sensations, information, visuals, screens, all sorts of media, day-to-night. This over-stimulation was the designer’s key point behind the autumn-winter 2024 collection. Anderson reflects on how everything is leveled up today: celebrity culture, social media, pop culture, and art history, all forming one single collage. Fittingly, the collection was also inspired by the collage art of Richard Hawkins, who explores the male body and its representation in various cultural contexts. The new season offering challenges the notion of a uniform or a signature style, and instead presents a range of characters that embody different expressions of masculinity. The clothes combine classic elements of menswear with more casual and edgy pieces, creating a layered, spontaneous, even random looks. Some of the pieces were also attached to each other (like a couple of coats with sticking out layers of colorful shirts), reflecting the collaged reality we live in. The line-up also features Hawkins’ artworks, which are incorporated into the accessories and garments as prints, jacquards, embroideries, and embellishments.

However, what truly stood out in the outing was the runway setting. Hawkins collaborated with Loewe to create a series of 12 video collages that were displayed on large screens in the show venue, a white cube that evoked the stained glass windows of Loewe’s 1960s window designs by José Pérez de Rozas. The videos featured Loewe’s brand ambassadors (from Josh O’Connor to Jamie Dornan) along with elements from Hawkins’ eclectic sources.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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