New York

Nautical Dreams. Rosie Assoulin SS22

| Design & Culture by Ed

Rosie Assoulin is back. Well, not that she was actually absent – her delicious wine project, Vivanterre, keeps on growing, and her clothing line continuously keeps on delivering the wittiest eveningwear in New York – but spring-summer 2022 line-up is the first full-blown collection coming from the designer since the pandemic has started. Assoulin hasn’t shown a new collection since the eeriest March of 2020. That brilliant autumn-winter 2020 collection made it to Paris, but she and her husband Max, the brand’s CEO, made the wise choice to stay in New York as the virus descended on Europe. Eighteen months later, she was back in Paris working double-duty: taking IRL appointments in a courtyard showroom and Zooming with editors. She and her husband have been busy on the business side of things, too: In May, they formed a partnership with HIM Co. to scale the label in Europe and Asia. The most noticeable change for spring 2022 was the expansion into vegan leather shoes, like a preppy new sneaker, and new unisex sweaters intarsia’d with the brand’s graphic logo. What stands out most is the collection’s surprising anchor motif – a timeless symbol. Several looks feature bandeau tops hand-knitted in the curvy shape of an anchor, while a crisp white dress had one cut away at the ribcage. Other pieces came in watercolor anchor prints or with beaded fishing lures dangling from the sleeves; in a subtler twist, a white cotton gown had an oversized sailor collar fanning down the back. These summer-perfect pieces felt light and charming, delicate yet quirky, polished but with plenty of humor. There’s always a story behind Rosie’s curiosities, too: the sailing idea came from her kids’ favorite book, Amos and Boris. It got her thinking about going on a far-flung, care-free adventure again. The looks that captured that feeling best had a DIY feeling about them, in that you could twist and style them multiple ways. An ivory evening coat was cut with sashes in the front, to be left loose or tied in a bow, while a glittery one-shouldered gown was shown over black trousers, Assoulin’s signature twist on black tie. Other looks got more inventive: for instance, the skirt of that white cotton gown could be removed to become a shorter day dress. A shimmery coral bustier dress came with an attached matching shirt, inspired by the best-selling “one thousand ways” sweater Assoulin launched last year, which merged a cable-knit camisole and shrug. As for the dress, you could wear the shirt open, tie the sleeves around your waist or loop them around your shoulders, or remove the shirt entirely. It’s at least five looks in one. As the pandemic situation seems to calm down, smaller labels start to gradually re-emerge. Rosie Assoulin takes us on a dreamy sea cruise – I’m hopping in!

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

New York. Khaite SS22

| Design & Culture by Ed

Khaite’s spring-summer 2022 show was incompatible with Instagram, from the intentional lack of photographers to the (also intentional) dim, hazy lighting. This was Cate Holstein‘s intention. Set in the bowels of a Lower East Side apartment building, there were wild green vines climbing up the walls, tumbling from the rafters, and snaking across the floor, as if we’d descended into an overgrown, long-forgotten basement. It was something of a metaphor for New York’s resilience and regeneration, and echoed a collection designed for the equally resilient New York woman. Much of Holstein’s focus this season was on the touch and feel of the clothes – and not just in the materials but how a garment might alternately embrace or liberate the wearer. Gigi Hadid’s opening look was a luminous ivory satin coat lightly filled with down, “like your duvet cover, but more elevated,” said Holstein at a preview. “I think it’s still important to be gentle to ourselves,” she added. A crinkled organza bubble dress would be almost weightless on the body, while a new hand-stitched satin harness might feel satisfyingly snug over a T-shirt. A chrome sequined mini was deliberately heavy, she noted, “to ground you.” These are details that can’t be captured in two dimensions, but make all the difference IRL. “I think we’ve really established the brand’s character, so now it’s about pushing our materials and construction techniques,” said the designer. Holstein pointed out a ruched sequined dress in glittering pale gold, styled here with an oversized chocolate bomber. The effect was of a woman heading to a glitzy party – maybe her first since lockdown – and on her way out the door, she throws on her everyday jacket, not a fancy evening coat. Why fuss when you can be comfortable? Now more than ever, she’s less inclined toward prescriptive full looks and deeply curious to see how each customer puts their own unique spin on a Khaite piece.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Club, Dance, Party, Club. Tom Ford SS22

| Design & Culture by Ed

Tom Ford really delivered this season! The collection was phenomenal – I would even say it’s one of the best outings of this New York Fashion Week. For spring-summer 2022, Ford is ready for the good times to start rolling again. Though there were laidback, athleisure-y shapes, these were not clothes for staying home, or going unnoticed. Quite the opposite: racer back tanks and basketball shorts or track pants were stitched all over in neon sequins: fuchsia and orange or acid green and pool blue. To finish the look: an oversize satin blazer in another bright color and accessories in the form of a crystal studded choker and barrettes, and a towering pair of satin heels. In his thoughtful show notes, Ford observed that LA has changed him, and that Instagram has changed everybody. “Photogenic clothes today by their very nature mean that they are not at all timid… My clothes this season are simple in cut but not in impact.” Then he went on to quote the imminently quotable Diana Vreeland: “I know it’s a lot but is it enough?” No to gowns and tuxedos, but a resounding yes to sparkle, the more the better. In addition to the sequins and satin, there were jean jackets encrusted with gilt chains, leopard spot lamé tailoring, and masses of gold necklaces worn over shirts unbuttoned down to there and knotted at the navel, and lots and lots of metallic ribbed knits. “Mostly,” Ford wrote, “I think that this is a hopeful collection and at a moment when we all need hope. We need that now more than ever.” Envisioning the light at the end of the tunnel, he just amped up the glam factor.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Rituals. Vaquera SS22

| Design & Culture by Ed

Vaquera is growing up, but it keeps on being true to its core identity of one of New York’s most daring and intriguing brands. Where the label had once used real trash bags and duct tape as textile stand-ins, it is now using specially developed fabrics. And spring-summer 2022 saw the first Vaquera handbags – shaped like classical instrument cases including shrunken carriers for a violin, snare drum and flute. “It’s changed everything, as we headed into the pandemic we probably wouldn’t have been able to keep this business open without them. We owe everything to them – it’s been an incredible partnership,” Bryn Taubensee said of Dover Street Market Paris’ September 2020 pledge to help the brand’s development. “I think this brand started with a DIY spirit and now we have this structure with Comme and have come so far with sales,” Patric DiCaprio added. The designers, which recently saw their third counterpart Claire Sullivan depart to work on personal projects, said their overall mood was swayed by notions of “luck and superstition and trying to take control of a situation that’s out of control – the rituals you can do to make yourself feel powerful”. Between the lace tights, leggings with a heart cutout perfectly aligned over the buttocks and ballooning gowns tiered in the formation of a New York City sidewalk trash heap, Vaquera delivers its underground quintessence in a less amateur manner.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Subverted Reality. Puppets & Puppets SS22

| Design & Culture by Ed

Carly Mark‘s spring-summer 2022 collection for Puppets & Puppets indulged in a surreal spookiness – to a level-headed extent. Why were there saucers on the butt of a toile skirt? Why was a gymnastics leotard layered with a button-down? And why did that model have cheese on her head? But things aren’t as madly subverted as in the past collections of the label. Part of this season’s success has to do with Mark’s growing business awareness. She hired a production team and every piece on the runway was production ready; no more one-offs or art projects. Fruit printed denim, trompe l’oeil nude knits, and printed midi-skirts felt like her most salable items ever – even the hoop skirts had a new wearability. Then there were Mark’s kooky accessories. Her first to-market collection of chocolate chip cookie bags and Ferrero Rocher heels sold out on Ssense in few days. This season she’s offering shoppers a choice of Swiss cheese wedges, black-and-white cookie bags, and a cruller purse.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.