Men’s – Gender Fuse. Raf Simons AW15

January 24, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Raf Simons is one of those Belgian designers, that always surprise. And, again, I must admit – Raf is much better at his own label than at Dior. Here he can really experiment, have fun. “Youth on a pedestal.” That was Simons explanation of the staging of his show tonight, with its catwalk raised high above the crowd. The models wore almost-floor-length coats, gilets, that could be really analised by the editors.”I wish there could be 10,000 people here tonight,” Simons said of the warehouse on the outskirts of Paris where he staged his show. “A gathering of people, the way it was in the beginning.” After seeing this collection, I thought of first Helmut Lang collections, and Raf Simons archives. This collection, thanks to it’s gender fusing silhouettes, wild doodles placed on the coats, yellow golfs and crotchets, felt so different. Nostalgic. Youthful. Definitely that’s what Raf wanted to produce this season.

Patti on Ann

October 18, 2014January 5, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Shadows fell on the girl who had recorded Horses. At a time of deep loneliness she received a package from Antwerp—an exquisite white box tied with black ribbon—like a photograph by Robert Mapplethorpe. She set it on her worktable by the window, laid the ribbons aside, and raised the lid. There, beneath layers of immaculate tissue, were three white shirts. She unfolded and spread them in the light, examining every stitch. I understood that I was not alone. When at long last I stepped back upon the stage, the girl of Flanders brushed the dust from my shoulder, adjusted my collar, and laced my boots.

Patti Smith on Ann Demeulemeester.

Rock ‘n Chic. Saint Laurent SS14

October 1, 2013 | Design & Culture by Ed

That was the third Saint Laurent fashion show under the wings of Hedi Slimane, and it was… the best! I am still blown up after this collection that was presented in Grand Palais in Paris yesterday. On the entry, there was a big, LED lights installation that reminded of some abstract piece of art. And then the show begun of course with… Edie Campbell, with gloomy hairstyle and eye make-up. She wore a beautiful V-neck dress in black colour. Sexy and chic. Then the classical Yves Saint Laurent Le Smoking shown in a much more casual way. The collection wasn’t punk itself- it was very chic and elegant, but had a rock ‘n roll twist too. Stripes t-shirts, sequined jackets, sharp hair-cuts, over-large sleeves and lips/fire print on few mini dresses. Hedi definitely got mad with all these grunge boots from Winter, but certainly he did fell in love with socks under stilettos… I think this is one of the coolest trend, while most people are totally on NO when they see this. But in the Saint Laurent edition, it simply looked great. The SS14 collection by Saint laurent was definitely one of my favourite this season!

Bad Gal. Emilio Pucci SS14

September 22, 2013September 22, 2013 | Design & Culture by Ed

Peter Dundas said backstage the Emilio Pucci SS14 show that he was strongly inspired with the hottest musicians of the moment- he lately dressed for scene and day Rita Ora, Rihanna and Beyonce, that are all known for wearing dresses with sexy cuts, coloyrful prints and of course… a nice price tag. But this is not it. Peter Dundas simply copied Balmain and Tom Ford into his collection! Just look- the shiny jackets, printed parkas, luxury sportwear with sequins, super high heels, gowns with silver sleeves… These are just few things that are taken from Oliver Rousteing and Ford’s mind. And that’s pretty rude in fashion world. But… the collection was quite cool. The best thing were these rock ‘n roll hair styles on models and the closing by Malgosia Bela!

Nottingham. Burberry SS14

September 18, 2013November 1, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

“Nottingham, in the U.K.’s Midlands, was once the center of the world’s lace production. Now, there’s a sleeping giant waiting for Christopher Bailey to give it a good poke!” as wrote the Style.com about this very, very good collection of Burberry for SS14. Indeed, the use of British lace in this collection was a right shot from Christopher Bailey- lets say goodbye to sporty jackets, and welcome new Burberry, that is all about feminity and glamour! First of all, Harry Styles of One Direction was there in the front row, so he of course stole all spotlight… but because I don’t like 1D, I more feel like to write about the collection… Kept in pastel colours of pink and blue, beautiful laces mixed with embroideries and geometrical prints brought lots of sex appeal to the collection, and at the same time made it wearable… The look were Edie Campbell wears this blue pastel coat, a white lace dress and blue panties looked adorable! That was definitely one of the strongest collections of the season!