Eyes. Area SS24

February 13, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Area‘s Piotrek Panszczyk is a maximalist; when he loves a theme, he goes all the way with it. This see-now-buy-now collection’ the starting point was eyes, which led to cartoon eyes, which led to the simplified shape of a circle inside another circle. “The eyes as a symbol just always speak to us because they connect so many of our favorite art forms like Pop Art in the ’60s or surrealism in the 1920s; from Warhol to Man Ray,” the designer said. The show opened with a simple mini shift dress in white leather with circular leather appliqués at the chest in the shape of eyes. Eye shapes were also cut out from pink leather to create an oversized coat and matching mini skirt in carnation pink, and another in white, which he paired with a high waist slim maxi skirt. Denim is a big category for Area and every season there is a new novel approach to the fabric. This season, he created a Dalmatian jacquard denim that was truly fantastic. The spring-summer 2024 collection has it all: for editorial, a very Balenciaga-esque long veiled-cape dress. And for those who fall in love with that piece, a pair of hot pants, an oversize shirtdress, a corset top, and of course, wide-leg jeans. Panszczyk can also create impact through minimalism. At the end of the show, the concept had been stripped back to its essence: a gold metallic ring with a crystal floating in the middle, floating in a sea of black cotton. It appeared at the center of a simple oversize cotton shirt, at the halter neck of an easy jumpsuit, and also on the breasts of a slim strapless shift.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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New York Chic. Altuzarra AW24

February 12, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Altuzarra celebrates 15 years of business, quite a milestone for even the most thriving fashion brands in New York. Personally, I think this last year was a sensational moment in Joseph Altuzarra‘s career: collection after collection, he delivered line-ups that aren’t only chic, but very, very New York. His autumn-winter 2024 offering ranks very high in the shapeless blur of other collections we’ve seen this week. The designer brought together a group of about 100 guests at his Woolworth Building for a salon-style presentation. His daughter sat on his mother’s lap, and there were no celebrities or influencers in the room – rather editors, journalists and buyers. This already felt like a new direction. “I worked on this collection in a different way,” Altuzarra said at a preview. “It wasn’t as much about stories and much more about pieces that I felt interested in developing.” Like a sweeping mac with a storm flap back lifted directly from his own life. Altuzarra has started showjumping competitively out on Long Island, where he and his husband have a home; later on in the collection, a pair of silk twill sundresses featured abstract prints that looked equestrian in nature. Amidst the pictures of horse girls on the moodboard were Tamara de Lempicka paintings that may have inspired a crystal and lace flapper-ish slip dress. Illustrations of clowns in Pierrot ruffs definitely influenced the frilled collars and cuffs on knits and blouses, which were often topped by more masculine pieces, like a peacoat, or a neatly tailored blazer. This collection takes Altuzarra to a new territory, one he definitely should keep on exploring in the next seasons.

How about a couple of Altuzarra essentials?

ED’s SELECTION:

Sif Pleated Polka-dot Crepe De Chine Maxi Skirt

Booth Cable-knit Turtleneck Sweater

Karina Gathered Satin Midi Skirt

Kitriani Dyed Peplum Jacket with Smocked Waist

Fannie Midi Skirt with Ruffle Trim

Adams Tailored Wool Coat

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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In Her Feelings. Khaite AW24

February 12, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Another season, another Khaite fashion show presented in total darkness. I understand Catherine Holstein likes a mysterious mood, but again, the clothes are barely visible, and the models looked, as Rachel Tashjian wrote in her on-point review, disempowered. The collection had two main running themes: the leathers and the billow-y silhouettes. The bulky shapes of Khaite coats and jackets, with their exaggerated Claude Montana-ish shoulders, generous cowl necklines, and full sleeves evoked the late ’80s and early ’90s, when Holstein would’ve been a young child playing in her mom’s closet. However it was the designer’s newly-found obsession of draping silk gazar the ultimate highlight of this collection. One sculptural top was originally meant to be a dress, but as the model slid into it at the fitting and lifted its hem to put on shoes, Holstein preferred the curving volumes of it bunched up at her hips, and it was reworked at the last minute. “I want women to feel exhilarated when they put on my clothes,” she said. If only that exhilaration was more perceivable in the dead-serious format the Khaite shows are taking.

Now here’s a couple of my Khaite favourites you can scoop…

ED’s SELECTION:

Marcy Crystal-embellished Satin Ballet Flats

Luphia Cashmere T-shirt

Maeve Weekender Large Textured-leather Tote

Romee Open-back Draped Merino Wool Maxi Dress

Maiden Crocheted Flats

Lago Cotton-poplin Shirt

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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True To Yourself. Eckhaus Latta AW24

February 11, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

“We’ve been doing this for 13 years now: what does an Eckhaus Latta show mean for us?” Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta wondered. “Quiet luxury is a term that’s used a lot – and that’s so not what we are – but I like this idea of paring things back towards an idea of minimalism, which for us was just more about, ‘How do we make clothes and work that are concise?’” For autumn-winter 2024, that meant a runway show inside an empty industrial office in Hudson Square, and a sparse musical performance by Loren Kramar, which began with a cover of Lana Del Rey’s “hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have – but I have it.” The first look was a cropped jacket made from laminated felt with an oversized faux-fur collar and cuffs worn with a pencil skirt with spiral seams and cutouts that revealed a little bit of leg. A shaggy coat in a shade of cardboard beige was paired with an easy semi-sheer cotton ribbed tank, and straight leg slouchy jeans in an earthy acid wash. Really, that’s a distinct Eckhaus Latta look in a nutshell. The collection was also sexy without trying very hard – just look at all the sheer dresses and body-wrapping knits, for both women and men. The last three looks featured black organza embroidered with elastic and printed with vintage photos found on eBay, layered over simple white slip dresses. By now the singer had moved on from Lana Del Rey and into a cover of “New York, New York.” The choice of songs felt like a message. While so many people love to declare that New York fashion is over, Eckhaus Latta believe in the city and in the community that has nurtured them throughout the years.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Nothing Superfluous. Proenza Schouler AW24

February 11, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Proenza Schouler delivered a very proper collection; a reasonable proposition of a contemporary wardrobe. For autumn-winter 2024, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez finessed outerwear essentials, took tailoring cues from 90s New York’s finest Helmut Lang (in a definitely more convincing way than Peter Do), and stripped away anything superfluous. “The noise,” McCollough said. “It made us want to focus inward, focus on something a little intimate.” The tailoring was clean and sharp, but not severe. The parkas looked cool. The temptation to cocoon in cozy shearling vests and coats, of which there were many here, is highly relatable, and the Proenza Schouler designers can’t go wrong leaning into that instinct – we all want to feel good in these increasingly weary times.