Eclectic Girl. Gucci Resort’16

June 5, 2015June 5, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Yesterday’s Gucci show was not only a surprise due to its appearance in New York. It was intriguing. And Alessandro Michele knows that. The new designer, who left the sex-drived Tom Ford and Euro-sleek Frida Gianini behind, makes Gucci a brand, which is rather all about eclecticism and vintage. The word “eclectic” came up constantly when Michele was talking about the collection backstage. He also talked of “love” fuelling the collection, which incidentally appeared on a sweater in French –”aveugle par l’amour”. So hippie and optimistic, which is what Michele’s vibe is all about. “I’m inspired by a lot of things – from the street, antiques, vintage wardrobes. It’s impossible to explain the exact point of inspiration. It’s about being free to love, free to express, free to show who you are through the way you dress,” said Michele. “Luxury means that you show the way you dress with eccentricity. It’s almost like a new kind of jetset – instead of roaming around the world, you’re roaming with your clothes.” As you see, even the approach to luxury, which is up to now an essence of the brand, has changed.

But coming back to the venue matter. Gucci chose a gallery space in New York’s Chelsea, furnished with Persian rugs. As a remix of orchestral soundtracks started up, the garage doors to the gallery were raised up and the models walked in from the street, where outside Glen Luchford was shooting a film. And the street is certainly where Michele sees his eclectic cast existing. No wonder why the clothes might (or even should) remind you of Williamsburg’s thrift shops and Milanese flea markets, where the clothes are all about kitschy embroidery and cheesy patterns. But in case of Alessandro Michele and his mesmerizing Gucci affair, it was all about hand-made embellishments (the snake!), gold glitter on the shoes, soft lace and imperial Astrakhan jackets.

Although the collection might seem to have many overkilling details, I am happy Michele is in the game. I am a bit fed up with all that “ugly chic” and minimalism which is practically everywhere. I felt a lack of beauty, romance and that 70’s freedom in fashion for a while. However, the new Gucci delivers that in a very proud, brave way. Interesting how the retailers are going to deal with all that sheer artistry.

Panama & Spring. Altuzarra Resort’16

June 2, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Joseph Altuzarra has his ups and downs. This time, it is definitely an up. For Resort 2016, the New York-based designer offered his women a heat-wave of bold shirts and beach-worthy skirts. That’s definitely essential to mention what he had put on his lovely dresses – stitches with swags of beads strung in the style of the Kuna tribe in Panama. Each string showed a different order of beads, but when they were arrayed next to each other creating a graphic pattern. “A black-and-white woven leather coat with color-blocked, chevron suede pockets required an equally astounding amount of handwork.” Altuzarra explained that it was the result of a branding project with the French art director Thomas Lenthal in which they stacked all the letters of A-L-T-U-Z-A-R-R-A into squares, creating a new dimension for the logomania trend.

Although it might be to early to tell, but the bags seem to be already the must-haves of Resort 2016 (note: we will see them really not soon in stores). They have that sophisticated luxury touch, combined with leather fringes. And the shoes, appliqued with feathers, were there too to make the entire collection be even more interesting than usual at Altuzarra.

Ryan Roche

May 29, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Ryan Roche is the go-to label if speaking of luxe knitwear. Her fabulous AW15 look-book is filled with a perfect amount of fleecy cardigans, fluffy dresses, warm socks and cloudy v-cut sweaters. Roche works predominantly in a palette of pinks lovely enough to seduce even the most pink-resistant people, with an eye for wearable, tonal dressing. The New York-based designer perfectly masters the “chic-everywhere-I-am” look – Ryan’s knitted piece could be worn with grace by a fashion journalist just like by a rural loving woman. Ryan Roche is the name, which should rather be added to the list of new favourites!

The Rag & Bone Dance

May 19, 2015May 22, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Lil Buck and Mikhail Baryshnikov walk into a bar… and Rag & Bone begins the party. The epic AW15 collection by this brand for men is a blast of energy and dance!

Wear The Dream

May 16, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

I used to think that I am the only one, who yawns when sees Elie Saab’s boring evening gowns. Many designer who do evening-wear think that an excessive amount of Swarovski and flesh-exposing-cuts is just it. But thankfully, Rosie Assoulin is the woman to say a loud “NO” to that. The New York-based designer creates dresses which are mostly categorised as “evenining” ones, but surprisingly look as good with white sneakers as with heels. By looking at the latest, AW15 collection by Rosie, it’s easy to conclude, that these simply cut, boldly-coloured dresses look at their best with sweatpants and yes, even with hoodies. Her clothes are like cameleons – they fit into nearly each occasion. The stand-out pieces are definitely the signature cropped tops worn over white shirts, corduroy pants and of course, the dreamy maxi-gowns. Somehow, with Assoulin, the statement “wear the dream” becomes real.