Galliano at Margiela

January 3, 2015January 6, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Guys, that’s happening. John Galliano is taking over Maison Martin Margiela, and presents his first Haute Couture collection this month. Firstly, this combination felt a bit awkward to everybody – Margiela was always known for “minimalism”. But that’s just a fashion stereotype. No. Maison Martin Margiela has never been a minimal label. It’s dramatic, bold, edgy, different. The fact that real Martin Margiela never gave any interview and he is totally anonymous up to today, doesn’t mean that the label is minimalistic. Just look at their past artisanal collections – they are full of couture embroideries, one-of-a-kind textiles (for example tapestry based on La Femme du Roi by Paul Gauguin (1896) or draping made from two hanging textile prints of Mira Lunar, designed by Verner Panton) and fantastic jewellery. Maison Martin Margiela also brought a lot of unexpected accessories to their ready-to-wear – transparent plexi clutches with artificial roses inside or the famous tabi boots, which look like a horse hoof.

I am writing about this, to prove you one thing – reflecting on John Galliano’s collections in the past for Dior, his style should be perfect for Maison Martin Margiela. The fact, that he got drunk and started to say cruel things about Jews in one of Parisian caffees few years ago made him lose his own namesake label and Dior. Everybody showed Galliano their back, and from the first place everybody fell in love with Raf Simons. But forgetting the political matter which was strongly emphasized by LVMH (nobody’s sure whever these guys simply didn’t frame John into this “scandal”. Maybe they simply wanted to get rid of him?)- fashion world felt dull after Galliano’s departure. And the word minimal really matches Raf Simons – yes, his dresses are up till now the most sleepy of all during Haute Couture week in Paris.

But now, Renzo Rosso group, which owns Margiela, took over John Galliano. And hopefully, the fashion world is going to cheer up again, with this man. While waiting to see Maison Martin Margiela Haute Couture SS15 by John Galliano in few days, have a look at he biggest Dior / Galliano couture moments and last season’s Margiela / Matthieu Blazy show.

Calm Down

December 28, 2014December 28, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Dries Van Noten is man, that knows what women want, and that’s not so common nowadays. His collections are always so clear, so feminine and beautiful… for SS11, for example, we had a blast of hand-painted florals; for AW12, Dries brought oriental mood to his chic silhouettes; for SS15, he made the models (and clothes) calm down and sit down on a hand-made carpet from Buenos Aires. Known for great styling skills, he was the first to make a woolen sweater, striped shirt and feather-appliqued midi skirt look so good. Forgetting about being shiny on the New Year eve- maybe one of those outfits will inspire you?

Simone Rocha / Advent 2014

December 13, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

December 13: What I like about Simone Rocha, the London-based female deisigner, is her ironic romance kept in her clothes- a pearl-applied dress might seem to be naive, but in relity it shows a lot of body; the florals she intensively used in her SS15 weren’t just florals you imagine- that was a strong connection to her Korean grandmothers way of dressing and Irish parents conceptual style. This girl got secrets…

Turtlenecks. Baja East Pre-Fall’15

December 12, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

“We cover our women and guys throughout the day, but they’ve also been asking how they can do Baja East for evening,” said cofounder John Targon. The answer? “Relaxed cocktail.” Targon and Scott Studenberg have built Baja East around the idea of unisexual dressing—clothes that work well, but differently, on both men and women. Their knitwear lends itself nicely to the concept, looking fluid-like and wrapped all around the body. Pre-Fall’s pale pink ribbed cotton baja is not only Baja East signature, but also the conection to 2014’s main think- normcore.A silk-lined, spangly Lurex wrap skirt, paired with an oversize chunky cashmere sweater, is a no-brainer for women, but an interesting challenge for the daring man who trust the brand. But what really clearly works both ways is the brand’s fabrications. A Japanese silk crepe, used on a simple snap-front skirt and a pair of side-pocket harem pants, felt good enough to sleep in. And the turtlenecks are going to give you warmth everywhere.

Vintage. Creatures of The Wind Pre-Fall 2015

December 10, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Creatures of The Wind always produce collections which are nostalgic, but in a nice, fresh way. For pre-fall 2015, boys of CoTW brought a cool air of vintage- grandma’s fur coat, fabrics brought from Asian countries, warm wool caftans that used to be your dad’s bath robe- all of that felt beautiful and very deep. Although many things in this collection seem to be very different, I bet nothing was random for the designers. Definitely, the most heart-breaking piece of this collection is the long sequined skirt with those blue elements- India, Myanmar? Or maybe something totally different? Surely that’s a long, warm story to tell. Simply, interpret this collection the way you want to.