Woman To Respect. Versace AW18

February 24, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

Colour, Gianni prints, 80s sexiness – this couldn’t be more Versace. After her major spring-summer 2018 tribute collection, something has opened up for Donatella Versace. She seems to feel even more freed. And finally happy, against all the odds the designer met after her brother’s murder. Versace of today is her success, undoubtedly. She understands that the brand’s cult should be embraced – that’s why the Medusa and the brand’s logo are wherever you look. She makes the word VER-SA-CE sound like a vision of delightful, hedonistic and extrenely Italian dolce vita. But at the same time, she smartly injects her style into the house codes. I adore the contemporary sportiness to what she does lately – the eveningwear is glamorous, but comfortable; vintage-y animal spots and Clueless checks land on puffer jackets. Even though I can’t say I’m an ultimate fan of Versace aesthetics, I’m a fan of Donatella. She’s a woman to respect, and love.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Strenght, Colour, Woman. Prada AW18

February 23, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

As Miuccia Prada told the editors after her autumn-winter 2018 fashion show, she wishes “for the strength of women going out in the violence. My dream is for women to be able to go out in the street and not be afraid. I wanted to have the freedom exaggerated.” Indeed, staged in the still unfinished tower extension of the Fondazione Prada, the venue’s mood (lit with neon signs) felt powerfully cosmopolitan. The colours of the collection’s sequined mini-dresses, Pocono-nylon track pants, rubber boots and corporate jackets were equally joyous. While Prada continues to remix her archives (the brand’s fan will notice many, many references to her past collections…), she keeps it feminine this time around with tulle shawls wrapped around the neck. Utilitarian, but soft. Intelligent.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Identity. Gucci AW18

February 22, 2018February 22, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

After reading Susannah Frankel’s massive feature on Alessandro Michele in the latest issue of Another, there’s no wonder why Gucci‘s creative director is… the way he is. His mother worked in film industry and was the 50s, Hollywood loving female; his father was a free-spirited, as Michele says, shaman. Such clash of identities had to result in a single mind, as wildly creative as of Alessandro. The autumn-winter 2018 collection is an overdrive of explosive surprises, that convey a message: we all have an identity, whether formed by our surroundings, culture or interests.

The venue looked like a cosmic surgery room, with an operation table standing in the middle. Was it a metaphor that Dr. Alessandro (and Gucci) are here to shape your, who knows, expression? If yes, then it’s quite a struggle to decide which aspect of the collection should we start with. Maybe the models, who carried their heads (!), snakes and baby dragons? Make-up – if you still can call it that shallow way – that consisted of Frida Kahlo uni-brows and cyclop eyes? Or even Pussy Riot balaclavas, manga-inspired prints and velvet burqas? Still, the collection was not only true to Alessandro’s extremely eclectic style, but his Gucci-fiyed reality. Gucci logo is everywhere, from the silk scarf tops to the buttons a tweed jacket. Welcome to the Gucci ‘pluriverse’, where there’s no place for trends, conformity or lethal routine.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s / Identity. Prada AW18

January 16, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

Identity is what Miuccia Prada considers and rethinks the most this season. Well, a house like Prada can boast with a huge number of ‘codes’. But one of the most distinct is the “Pocone” nylon (a modified material that was previously used in packaging industry), which was introduced by her back in 1984 as a line of bags. They were best-sellers in the 80s, and they seem to be hitting the stores by storm with similar success in 2018, noting the current customer tendency for everything that’s nostalgic. This specific nylon was the key material in the opening, all-black looks. From pillow-y coats to bucket hats, it’s a conversation between utility and contemporary dressing. Not only was “Pocone” a Prada reference in this Prada show. Prada’s now-closed sister line, Prada Sport, made a catchy comeback as zippers and labels in signature, bold red. Also, note the prints – feeling a déjà vu? Monkeys, lipsticks, flames, bananas, Hawaii florals, beaches… those are all prints from past collections, remixed and re-matched. Models wore ID tags featuring cutout Polaroid head shots clipped to their clothes or bags – that brought a exaggerated, corporate feeling that perfectly matched the very industrial venue, so the “Prada Warehouse” of its Fondazione on the outskirts of Milan. A bit elegant, a bit geek – that’s what men’s autumn-winter and women’s pre-fall 2018 really is about, with a dose of Miuccia’s sophistication.

Collages by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s / Uni Boy. MSGM AW18

January 15, 2018January 15, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

If boys in Milan dress to uni like this, then I think I’m moving in. “We did an extensive casting in all the Milanese universities and we picked up great new faces,” Massimo Giorgetti said backstage before his MSGM autumn-winter 2018 show. It was staged in Milan’s historic Università Statale – no surprise, noting the presence of the very academic models. The ideas behind the season’s prints and attitude was, in a way, a field investigation. “While researching for the collection we scouted for new logos, and we found the best inspiration on school desks or on bathroom walls, scrawled with a web of layered graffiti,” the designer noted. There were the off-duty hoodies styled with more dandy-ish, checked pants; vintage-y knits and college jackets, made in duvet. It’s for the book-loving and for the night-out goers at the same time. “Less street, more chic, almost ‘bravo ragazzo’ (good guy)” – in other words, Italian goodness. Rather than going for something too nerdy, Massimo emphasized the youthful optimism, ready for the future.