Generic. Calvin Klein Collection SS26

September 13, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

New York Fashion Week is here, and I’m confused: why does generic minimalism have to dominate this city so relentlessly? Everyone wants to be the next Halston (or The Row), but in reality, it’s not as simple as it looks. As LEWIS’S wrote, minimalism is “the most difficult aesthetic to achieve” and it “demands the highest precision and a mastery of the fundamentals of design”. Contemporary New York–based designers should print these words out and pin them to their studio walls.

Especially Veronica Leoni, creative director of Calvin Klein Collection. Spring–Summer 2026 marks her sophomore season, and it falters just as much as her debut. What bothers me most is how unedited and unresolved it feels – particularly considering Leoni has the ‘luxury’ of presenting just two runway collections a year, a privilege many designers can only dream of. Her latest offering resembles COS staging runway shows: an exhaustive survey of current trends, watered down and labeled ‘minimal.’ But here’s the issue: COS is an ambitious high-street brand, while Calvin Klein Collection positions itself as a high-luxury label. At those price points, the last thing you want is a diluted mélange of Matthieu Blazy’s Bottega Veneta, Louise Trotter’s Carven, the Meiers’ Jil Sander, and even Maximilian Davis’ Ferragamo.

The only authentic moment on Leoni’s runway was the Canadian tuxedo, worn by a blond male model who could have stepped straight out of a Richard Avedon ad. That look is quintessentially Calvin Klein – but the catch is, you already find that product in the ‘mainstream’ line, where Bad Bunny and Cooper Koch flaunt their jewels. And here we hit another of Leoni’s major problems: the utter disconnect between her collection and what Calvin Klein represents to contemporary, mainstream audiences. Those logo waistbands repurposed into a faux-intrecciato dress and sunglasses do nothing to bridge the gap.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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For Giorgio. Soshiotsuki SS26

September 4, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

The news of Giorgio Armani’s passing is heartbreaking. What lifts my spirit, however, is knowing that his legacy – a body of work spanning five decades – will live on forever, especially in the work of younger generations of designers who have studied Armani since their teens.

*Giorgio Armani photographed by Juergen Teller for System Magazine.*

It must be some astro-numerological coincidence that yesterday Soshi Otsuki won the LVMH Prize. His Tokyo-based label, Soshiotsuki, is rooted in tailoring – one inspired by the sartorial craftsmanship of the 1980s, but filtered through a distinctly Japanese perspective. His suits, elegantly draping the body – always smooth yet refined – would surely make Mr. Armani proud.

In his delightful spring–summer 2026 collection, Otsuki mesmerizes and intrigues with nearly invisible details that make all the difference. For instance, extra fabric is built into the inside placket of a shirt to suggest a tucked-in necktie, which could be hidden or revealed depending on how it was buttoned. Deadstock kimono silk was repurposed into button-up shirts, while 1980s cotton-washi fabric was used for much of the tailoring – recalling the glamour and prosperity of Japan’s Bubble Era, a moment in time the designer enjoys riffing on.

What’s fascinating about Soshiotsuki is that the clothes don’t feel “vintage,” but utterly contemporary – and in a strikingly handsome way. That sensibility resonates with the final collections Giorgio Armani presented in recent Milan Fashion Weeks, which we were fortunate enough to witness.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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She Knows. Maryam Nassir Zadeh AW25

August 9, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Maryam Nassir Zadeh has just released her autumn–winter 2025 lookbook, and it instantly makes you start thinking about September dressing and all its layering-perfect charms. Maryam is one of those instinctive designers who effortlessly create not fleeting trends, but new “ways” of dressing. The New York–based designer offers pieces as simple yet utterly chic as a mini fur scarf – designed for both women and men – tied loosely around the neck and styled nonchalantly with oversized suits or bubblegum-pink blousons. There’s a lot of tying in this collection: from a cummerbund-shaped, bi-color belt cinched over pleated trousers to a strapped bonnet – its silhouette a nostalgic nod to 1920s headwear – Nassir Zadeh treats accessories as objects to play with. Even the fringed-belt-slash-skirt can be worn with ease beneath a teddy-bear jacket and over a pair of warm tights. She just knows.

GET THE LOOK:

Pologeorgis Lamb Shearling Fur Scarf

TOTEME Faux Fur Scarf

Saint Laurent Ribbon Faux Fur Scarf

Gorski Select Lamb Pull-Through Scarf

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Poison Ivy. ERL SS26

July 28, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Eli Russell Linnetz just knows what’s right in the moment. Actually, he creates the moment. Fashion’s current obsession with vintage American prep? ERL did that seasons ago, and created a contemporary playbook dedicated to that trope. Flip-flops? The shoe of the season in the Californian designer’s hands became a whole new statement. Now, Linnetz is ready to explore codes of classical menswear and (poisonous) masculinity. Argyle sweaters, cotton boxers, and grandpa-style knits all got the ERL treatment for spring-summer 2026, with deliberate proportion updates (tapering at the waist, tight at the biceps, and stretched across the chest). The relaxed tailoring could easily be an object of Aldo Fallai’s Giorgio Armani campaigns in the 1980s. But through Linnetz’s lens – literally, because he shoots all the ERL visuals – you can perceive something slightly disturbing, yet absolutely elusive about Christian and Ivy’s, the look-book’s heroes, dynamic. Christian is the king of campus, and Ivy would give anything to be around him – or be him, rather, in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” kind of way. Linnetz’s story follows Ivy as he embeds himself into Christian’s inner circle, with his admiration turning sour and then poisonous, subsequently culminating in an act of violence. Now imagine giving Eli Russell an opportunity to not only design costumes, but also direct a feature film. Cooper Koch could easily be the lead act.

ED’s SELECTION:

ERL Men’s Striped Jersey T-Shirt

ERL Men’s Indiana Baggy Jeans

ERL Cropped Ribbed-knit Cardigan

COS Eva Flip Flops

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Lived-In Quality. Aubero SS26

July 5, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Ending the spring-summer 2026 menswear coverage on a high note: my top favorite (next to Prada) collection of the season coming from Aubero. Why I’m ranking it this high? It’s because it truly resonates with me, wardrobe-wise. The emerging American brand, lead by California-native Julian Louie, and its latest collection are beautifully autobiographical – yet somehow feel like home to an outsider who’s just getting to know Aubero. There’s a highly-appealing, lived-in quality to those over-sized flannel shirts, tailored “cargo” pants, and durable trench coats with delightful signs of patina. And there’s also something irresistibly sensual about the sleeveless, wrinkled-taffeta top-dress with confident open-back. Louie’s work is both nostalgic and forward-looking; his approach to material – “material festish” as he calls it, encapsulated in frayed antique textiles or scraps from past collections under mesh in one-of-a-kind coats or trousers – feels new, not Bode-ish as in case of many other new brands coming from the U.S.. Much of this collection relies on Louie’s mental souvenirs. The skirtlike wraps are a nod to the surfers he would see in Santa Cruz changing by their trucks, a clutched towel on their waists as they slipped out of wetsuits. I’m especially in awe of the all-white look consisting of a voluminous shirt and shorts with shiny finish topped over the lightweight pants. Worn with flip-flops, this look is both seductive and absolutely cool. Looking forward to more of Louie’s work.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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