New York

Garment Care Season. Vaquera Pre-Fall 2019

| Design & Culture by Ed

Vaquera’s Patric DiCaprio, Claire Sullivan, and Bryn Taubensee are New York’s young avant-grade of fashion. But even the biggest enfants terrible need to grow up someday: here’s the first pre-collection coming from them. For Pre-Fall 2019, Vaquera’s designers remade some of their brightest ideas into a capsule of clothes and accessories at prices their younger fans can truly appreciate. They designed fewer than a dozen silhouettes, some of them recognizable from past shows, and limited themselves to just three materials: a cotton poplin, a dark-rinse denim and a sweatshirt fabric (look at the distorted, white track suit – it’s genius!). Smart move. Vaquera called this their “Garment Care season”: they introduced dry cleaning slips and printed the back of hoodies with a Vaquera dry cleaners logo. The collection’s sock bag with its coin-purse clasp is a nod in the direction of Martin Margiela, who did same with a leather glove two decades ago. Fun tailoring and even crazier shirting might be a harder sell, but then, Vaquera doesn’t want to lose its arty edginess it became renowned for in the city.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Their Classics. Proenza Schouler Pre-Fall 2019

| Design & Culture by Ed

For many brands, a pre-collection isn’t just the season with the longest shelf life. It’s also the right moment to remind its classics; brand codes; signature pieces – whatever you call it. Proenza Schouler‘s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez are aware of that – and they aren’t afraid to repeat themselves, in a healthy, balanced way. Tie-dye print is the label’s long-time friend, and with its major success as a turtleneck last winter, the PS boys brought it back in new colour combinations. Sensual slip-dresses with feminine detailing were especially present in Proenza Schouler’s first collections, more or less a decade ago. Now they are back, styled with big pants and masculine blazers. Spring-summer 2019’s XXL-bag is staying for a longer, too, just as washed denim. Although we’ve seen all that, let’s admit this: the collection looks good. Even very good.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Suit Up. Thom Browne Pre-Fall 2019

| Design & Culture by Ed

Thom Browne‘s pre-fall 2019 collection is quintessentially… Thom Browne. Expect the designer’s subversive take on suiting – whether we’re speaking of an over-sized, wool blazer worn over an equally ‘business’ dress (and a crisp white shirt with a tie, layered underneath) or something more playful, say, duck-print tailored jackets with matching knee-lenght skirts. The look-book as well sees the designer’s signature intarsia techniques: tie stripes meet willows, landscapes and even more geese. Also, really love the shoes, kept in red, white and black. They look as bold as Browne’s upside-down elegance.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Egypt in NYC. Chanel Pre-Fall 2019

| Design & Culture by Ed

Chanel‘s Métiers d’Art shows are the only ones I look at. I love the craftsmanship involved here – it’s different level comparing to the ridiculous ready-to-wear collections, but looks more wearable than in the couture outings. This time, Karl Lagerfeld took his guests to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art to pull off an Ancient Egypt-inspired collection. To be honest, most of the clothes looked hideous and even the beauty of the surrounding tombstones and artifacts couldn’t hide this fact. BUT. Some of the details were impressive. The Amarna-inspired make-up. The gold-painted legs of every model. And the opulent appreciation of jewels and everything that’s shiny – a feature of every Egyptian king and queen. Would today’s Nefertiti dress in a Chanel tweed jacket made out of golden threads? Absolutely yes. But will real Chanel customers be able to wear any of this without looking ‘dressed up’ for a theme party? Who knows.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

American Hustle. Alexander Wang AW19

| Design & Culture by Ed

Alexander Wang presented his autumn-winter 2019 collection months ahead of the rest, just like last season, and here we are – already thinking about outerwear and knits we would love to wear this winter, but which we will get sometime in 2019. Wang’s newest outing is his best to date – it’s badass, it’s cool, it’s New York. It’s Alexander Wang we know, and have missed for a while. This one, the designer said, was a “celebration of the American hustle. We’re taking stereotypes of class and wealth and trying to remix them, giving status symbols a new sensibility.” There was something downtown (safety pins, lots of leather and leopard print) and uptown (tweed suits, tennis sweaters, evening gowns, crisp shirting), clashed and collage-ed. The leather garment bags, carried by models (see Malgosia Bela and Kiki de Willems), were inspired by images of the 80s career types toggling between the office and the health club. I’m not entirely sure of the clothes when put seperately, but the show’s styling was on point – take the towel turbans or the boys’ take on suiting.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.