Men’s – Luca Guadagnino and Gardening. Fendi SS20

June 19, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

When Luca Guadagnino does something, I just can’t ignore it. The A Bigger Splash, Call Me By Your Name and Suspiria director got invited by Silvia Venturini Fendi to be the guest artist behind Fendi’s spring-summer 2020 collection for men. Fendi and Luca have a long-time relationship: the brand notched associate producer credits on I Am Love, for example, and the two worked on a short film for the label. Guadagnino loves fashion and puts focus on it in his films (remember those Dior by Raf Simons clothes Tilda Swinton wore in A Bigger Splash?). So his vision for the Fendi show felt as if he put his signature, sun-drenched filter on it. Presented in the gorgeous garden of Milan’s Villa Reale, the collection was a nod to gardening and being close to nature. The gardening looks are too pretty to work in, but still, you can fantasize about wearing one of those outfits to check on your carrots: olive-green outerwear with detachable pockets and delightful short-sleeved overall with suede patches, accompanied by clipping baskets, watering cans, and garderning gloves (all with barely visible, Fendi logo). There was a utility vest in botanical-print-organza-clad strips of shearling teamed with a multi-compartment tool bag in leather. Luca and Silvia also came up with soft tailoring with split-hemmed pants arranged around floral-print ties, swimwear teamed with slashed cut-out knits and washed workman’s denim that came sometimes leather-patched. Brilliant.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Getting Better and Better. Bottega Veneta Resort 2020

June 14, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s been 11 months since Daniel Lee‘s arrival to Bottega Veneta, and it seems he’s there for, like, forever. Throughout this short time, the brand received big love from clients, who never bought at Bottega before. And it seems that the success isn’t solely rooted on the absence of Phobe Philo. Lee and his team prove this in the resort 2020 collection, which is sublime in every aspect, from bags to clothes. Leather accessories, whether in the brand’s signature intrecciato weave or not, are so good. Just look at the wrist-slung, tightly knotted bag in blue or orange strips of soft matte leather, or the sandals in fake snake, which featured three and a half encirclements of leather strip that ran upwards (these worked to cinch Lee’s expertly cut wide-leg pants and were complemented by similarly functioning bracelets). Clothes are a delight, as well. Whether we’re speaking of the draped leather dress in orange worn by Maria Carla Boscono or all the trench coats that appeared in the look-book, it’s a dream wardrobe. Minimalism and top knotch craftsmanship aren’t a novelty, but Bottega Veneta and Salvatore Ferragamo get that balance especially well in Italy today. Better start saving…

All collages by Edward Kanarecki.

Elongated and Lean. Jil Sander Resort 2020

May 23, 2019May 23, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

What Lucie and Luke Meier do at Jil Sander is so, so beautifully balanced and considered. Their resort 2020 look-book is one of their best collections to date, and they prove their comprehension of the brand’s heritage in every aspect, from impeccable tailioring to feminimine-slash-minimalist day-wear. “The silhouette is very elongated, very lean,” one of the designers mentioned to the press. “It follows the body line, but then it breaks with a playful gesture, like tying something around the waist, be it a belt, a sweater, or a leather waist bag. Trying to convey a sense of lightness and movement.” Also, I really love the element of nature that reappears in Meier’s collection season-to-season. Raffia-crocheted skirt and straw basket bags are one way to approach plastic-free, eco-friendly fashion. Tie-dye Shibori techniques, used as decorative elements on over-sized cotton shirtdresses, blouses and skirst, are artisan handworks that need no chemicals in production. Big yes to everything this collection delivers.

Collages by Edward Kanarecki.

Positive. Marni Pre-Fall 2019

May 16, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

There’s always something very joyous and positive about Francesco Risso‘s approach to designing collections for Marni. For pre-fall 2019, which starts to hit the stores, he crashed prints and textures without much caution, creating a beautifully chaotic wardrobe for an equally unique personality. The utilitarian elegance of uniforms was translated into elongated dusters, sleek car coats and double-breasted peacoats in thick fabrics like felted and pressed bouclé, padded satin, polished leather, shearlings and ponyskins. Psychedelic brocades and Lurex jacquards were used in one blouse, while Inuit-inspired prints were mixed together in opera coats and skirts with half-plissé side panels. The recurring use of natural materials is a nod to the no-waste, responsible approach the designer emphasizes. I think Marni, with Risso’s folksy aesthic, can take a step forward and start making its collections from upcycled materials, too. And incorporate traditional artisans’ work into each collection. This would be a brilliant example for other Italian brands to follow.