Stranger By The Lake. Prada SS26

June 27, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Mini-lengths and hairy legs. Peggy Guggenheim-inspired hats. Wallpaper prints and oversized florals you can spot on sciuras’ dresses in the Italian buses. Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’ latest menswear collection feels like a vibe shift: instead of regality and sophistication, or a sharp take on the Prada uniform, a collection so straightforwardly joyful it’s nearly suspicious.

Nothing conceptual: more of an instinctual approach to summer dressing. Even fashion’s biggest brains need a season off, a mind-vacanza of sorts. “This has been the easiest collection I have ever done”, said Simons. Signora added: “Everything worked with everything.” There’s just something absolutely irresistible about a vintage-y t-shirt (with a seductive “Last Swim” print – the romantic thriller of “Stranger By The Lake” comes to my mind immediately), paired with cropped, aged leather jacket and tailored pants in colour-block shade. Or a simple, chic, all-white look. One of the boys looked both naïve and cool in a mini-length shirt-tunic, styled with a red raffia hat and a pair of flip-flops.

I can totally picture new Prada menswear on myself. All of it.

ED’s SELECTION:

Prada Men’s Re-Nylon Snap-Front Jacket

Prada Men’s Shuffle Leather Double-Monk Strap Mules

Prada Men’s Sartorial Linen Pants

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Royal Lightness. Loro Piana AW25

April 17, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Season after season, Loro Piana channels a style so mature, refined and understated, that one wonders whether the (largely anonymous) creative team behind it is pursuing some sort of perfection. It might actually be in reach of the Piedmont-based brand with the yarns and fibers they source, and the sumptuous cashmere apparel that ends up in their boutiques. Loro Piana isn’t doing fashion; rather, the label gives its clients elegant solutions. The autumn-winter 2025 collection has plenty of them, for both women and men, but this time around with a horseback sensibility – seen through an aristocrat’s lens. That prince – or princess – isn’t scared of getting their hands dirty while planting tulips or hunting truffles. Patterned intarsia knit sweaters, gaucho pants, rustic workwear jackets (well, the name does come across quite absurd noting Loro Piana’s clients largely non-worker status), thick flannel shirts, rubber boots ready for muddy walks… the list of essentials goes on and on. The womenswear is regal, but with laid-back moments (like the oversized tweed suit in ochre). The menswear vibrates with dandy-ish flamboyance, refreshingly queer-ish. It’s worth noting that this season the brand debuted a yarn-slash-fabric called “Royal Lightness“, a new blend of silk and cashmere. Reportedly, it feels otherworldly in touch.

ED’s SELECTION:

Loro Piana Happy Day Large Leather-trimmed Felt Tote

Loro Piana Cashmere Sweater

Loro Piana Silk-jersey Head Scarf

Loro Piana Elise Quilted Silk-cloqué Midi Skirt

Loro Piana Cropped Quilted Silk-cloqué Jacket

Loro Piana Francis Tasseled Leather Loafers

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Break The Routine. Bally AW25

March 2, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Simone Bellotti‘s collection for Bally was the perfect finale of Milan Fashion Week, being the best show of the last past days, shoulder to shoulder with Prada. Just like Miuccia and Raf, Simone does highly intelligent fashion – a rare talent. The autumn-winter 2025 show was titled elusively: “Leistung Aufführung” – two German words that both translate to “performance,” but carry distinct meanings. Leistung refers to performance in the sense of work, measured by productivity and achievements, while Aufführung signifies performance as a form of self-expression on stage. Hence the collection’s inspiration: 1970s photographs of Swiss performer Luciano Castelli, with his face heavily made up, dressed in shimmering sequined drag. In the collection, Castelli’s influence translated not only into shimmering berets and sequined make-up, but a striking play between structure and fluidity. Simone’s Bally is above all pure precision of cut; formal tailored coats and severe black leather dresses are regulars, but this time around they went through an expressive treatment, disrupted by wild burst of fur erupting at the back, or peeking out from the rigid crinoline of a peplum top. Those unexpected contrasts felt also very Dada, very Zürich’s Cabaret Voltaire. The bags, reminiscing giant bells that you can all over Swiss landscape, hit all the right spots. “I crave discipline, but breaking the routine is liberating,” Bellotti reflected. The industry rumor has it that this is the designer’s last collection for Bally, a triumph before his arrival to… Gucci. I’m here for it.

ED’s SELECTION:

BALLY Patent-leather Ballet Flats

BALLY Leather Mini Skirt

BALLY Brushed-wool Coat

BALLY Pathy Studded Leather Loafers

BALLY Belle Large Leather Tote

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Pina. Ferragamo AW25

March 2, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

For a second season in a row, Ferragamo‘s Maximilian Davis is inspired with contemporary dance. Pina Bausch was an in-your-face reference for autumn-winter 2025, just looking at the petal strewn runway (a nod to one of her most famous stagings, “Nelken“). Ballerina’s bodysuits from last collection got replaced with thicker jerseys, semi-sheer shifts and airy drapes. Two densely fringed mesh dresses near the end were hung with carnation-like florals. Some of the oversized tailored outerwear (the collection’s standout moments) echoed the masculine garments that Bausch was sometimes photographed wearing. It all seemed right. But in the end, something’s still missing in Maximilian’s vision for the Italian house.

ED’s SELECTION:

Ferragamo Star Leather-trimmed Leopard-print Calf Hair Tote

Ferragamo Gyoia Bow-embellished Patent-leather Pumps

Ferragamo Layered Ribbed Jersey Top

Ferragamo Padded Shell Bomber Jacket

Ferragamo Hug Medium Leather-trimmed Raffia Tote

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Milano Modernism. Tod’s AW25

March 1, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Matteo Tamburini very steadily transforms Tod’s into one of the most interesting brands to observe (and buy into) in Milan. The autumn-winter 2025 show took place at PAC, the Contemporary Art Pavilion, designed in the 1950s in a modernist style. It was the perfect backdrop for the line-up that blended charismatic minimalism with the warmth of the brand’s craftsmanship know-how. “I wanted to emphasize the feel of the hand and make the surfaces eloquent,” the designer mused, explaining that he drew inspiration from the textural works of Italian artists like Carla Accardi and Lucio Fontana. Outerwear stood out in particular, with coats that were elongated, often cinched at the waist or accented with half-belts at the back. Another highlight was the slender mocha knit worn over a earthy-hued, silk pencil skirt, accessorized with a pair of olive-green gloves. Very chic, very Milano.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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