Woman For Women. Batsheva AW24

February 15, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

A whole fashion show full of women in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond: that’s a meaningful statement. This phenomenal Batsheva outing was opened with Molly Ringwald in a black velvet shift dress and a short hooded cape, her hands held in front of her inside a lace trim muff. Then came Amy Fine Collins in another black velvet shift with a scoop neck and lace trim, a bit like a French maid uniform, but on Fine Collins it was the chicest little dress on this planet. Though Batsheva Hay said she simply wanted to see women like herself on the runway, the effect it had on her clothes was remarkable – not just because of the diversity of their body types but because of the way they carried themselves; the lives they brought to her dresses. It was especially interesting, given that Hay broke onto the scene with little girl-inspired dresses. The intarsia knitted sweater with the word HAG emblazoned on the chest, modeled by one of New York’s OG cool female designers Victoria Bartlett, was another unapologetic F-U towards fashion industry’s ageism. Although many models were friends of Hay, a good number were also street cast and on at least one occasion the designer and her team checked out dance classes. “When I stopped people, the one reaction they all had was like, ‘Why would you ever want me?’, so that actually made it more exciting. Like they don’t even feel visible.” Now we just need the rest of the industry to catch on.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Comfort Zone. Gabriela Hearst AW24

February 15, 2024February 15, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Since Gabriela Hearst is freed from Chloé, you would expect the designer to take a bit more creative risks at her namesake brand. The autumn-winter 2024 collection stays grounded in the comfort zone Hearst has carved for herself for the last few years. Slip-dresses with lace-inserts; chunky, knitted coats; proper leathers. Those are investment garments made with the finest techniques. A growing number of brands in New York do that too. And we already know this version of Gabriela very, very well. I wish the designer challenged herself more.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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The New York Canon. Michael Kors AW24

February 15, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

When Michael Kors comes to work, he really delivers. His autumn-winter 2024 collection is one of his best in years. It’s a real, consistent, and absolutely convincing proposition of how women can dress in 2024, without the ridiculous “quiet luxury” or “power dressing” labels. From the opening skirt-suit to the closing eveningwear, kept in all-black, real power oozed from these looks. All that confidence weaved into these clothes came from a very personal belonging, a black-and-white photo of Kors’ grandparents on their wedding day. “I was always absolutely enraptured with how my grandmother looked in her dress,” the designer said. “There was such simplicity to it, so chic. It’s the height of the ’30s. When my mom passed away over the summer, we were going through everything, and all of a sudden I saw this garment bag, and I opened it up and there it was. It’s the ultimate sleeping beauty story.” The dress was a two-fer, with a modest tunic over a “sensuous, sinewy” bias-cut number, the latter of which proved inspirational. “I started thinking about what endures,” Kors said. On the mood board, his grandmother was surrounded by women of other generations in bias-cut slips: Carole Lombard, Elizabeth Taylor, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell. And for a counterpoint, there was tailoring of the Katharine Hepburn and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy school: strong yet feminine, with sharp shoulders and sculpted waists in Prince of Wales checks, herringbones, and camels. Kors is at his best reworking polished New York classics like this. He doesn’t just know the American sportswear canon, he’s helped shape it these last 40 years. And it shows this season.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Everyday Sublime. Tory Burch AW24

February 14, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

This New York Fashion Week we hear about either designer farewells or big anniversaries. Tory Burch celebrates 20 years in business. But what’s absolutely surprising is that this designer found her design ground just in the last couple of years. For autumn-winter 2024, she aimed to make the “everyday sublime”. Lamp shades, old jackets and even shower caps served as inspiration for Burch, who put texture and silhouette at the center of the collection. It worked, truly sublimely. There were dresses and jackets with sharp silhouettes, metallic fringed coats which were all about texture, bright-colored skirts paired with tight-fitting hoodies, lots of leather and sheer dresses. It was all about “sharp edges, unusual textures, and technical sport details“, she explained. Some of these pieces had been engineered from the inside out, an approach which is usually used in handbag construction. She also left some seams raw-cut, heat-sealed, and bonded to add dimension without weight. “They’re almost like origami,” Burch said of the fabric. It looked sensational. It’s pure pleasure watching Tory bloom as an actual fashion designer.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Not Just A Lady. Puppets & Puppets AW24

February 14, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s so sad to hear that this was Puppets & Puppets‘ final collection in New York. Carly Mark is moving to London, and plans to shape her business around accessories. Unfortunately, of all the fashion capitals, New York is the least merciful towards emerging brands. And it’s a double-pity, because the autumn-winter 2024 collection was one of the finest works by Mark to date. Reducing all things superfluous and focusing on garment-making, the line-up offered some of the most brilliant ideas of this fashion week. There were lots and lots of tights, and that’s what the artist-turned-designer likes to wear when she’s in an Little Edie mood, just as she dons a hoodie and T-shirt when she feels like a basement lord. There was something seemingly haphazard about the lineup, which featured lots of wrapping and twisting and things tied on, while models clutched at their get-ups. This wasn’t to keep the clothes on, explained Mark backstage, but a gesture borrowed from fittings. Clutching one’s heart is also an instinctual movement made when things go south. Many of the patterns took the form of spirals; perhaps a metaphor for unraveling. Veils suggested an element of religion, which, if you think about it, has a twisted logic. For the time being, Mark is, in effect, becoming a fashion nun, in the sense that she’s abstaining from clothes making. Along with the more revealing looks were those that were almost proper. “Lady is a word we’ve actually been using a lot in the office,” said Mark. “When anything feels a bit lady, we fuck it up a little bit. But I think swans are an interesting conversation because Capote, in a way, was the puppet master to these refined women – or at least tried to be. I am really interested in not letting that happen to me. I am the puppet master. I am in control of my life and myself and the decisions I make. So if anything, I’m both Capote and the swan.” Looking forward to see what this exciting designer does next.