Modern Femininity. Area SS16

September 11, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

I feel proud to see a Polish accent in New York. AREA is the brainchild of Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk – a brand, which changes the meaning of femininity. Their signature Braille-effect textiles made over-sized ruffles, elongated sleeves and glamorous gowns look lady-like, but not totally. It had a lot to do with the 70’s glamorama – the make-up, the hair, the whole “eponymous” bling. But from the other side, AREA makes it specific femininity look alien. Is it because of the embossed texture? Or the over-the-knee leg covers? And then, we’ve got the pilgrim shoes with buckles that are a totally diffrent story. It seems to me, that AREA has a lot to say… and I am really interested how will it evolve!

Every Woman. Rachel Comey SS16

September 11, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Rachel Comey is a female fashion designer who designs for woman. It’s tempting to say, that she is Phoebe Philo of New York. Although her very wearable clothes are more affordable, her philosophy is very close to woman’s perfect wardrobe. And rather than having a classical model casting, the “models” of the show were diverse, different-age women. All of these “models” were dancers from the Robbins Childs company, with which Comey collaborated on a video presentation for Resort 2016. They were dresses in easy silhouettes, that suited their various sizes and shapes; slouchy cotton blazers, baggy dresses with flesh-exposing cuts, signature culottes and the wooden wedges were the highlights – however, the distressed denim won everybody’s heart. The mini-dress with a Corbusier-inspired pattern and high-waisted, over-sized pants will definitely sell first when they hit the stores in New York.

Diana Vreeland. Marc Jacobs AW15

February 20, 2015February 20, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

“The eye has to travel” is a quote that always felt close to me. Who said it? Diana Vreeland, the queen of fashion from the 20th century. Fortunately, this quote is also important to Marc Jacobs – his AW15 collection definitely proves it. With a stormy temper, the models walked down the gloomy runway wearing Victorian gowns, Night Porter inspired sheer dresses, pilgrim shoes, art nouveau prints on flared skirts – you’ve got a feeling that you’re filtering a gorgeous Vogue edition which is guest edited by Marc. And Katie Grand, of course!

“She was a genius,” Jacobs said of the legendary Vogue editor, Diana, backstage. “She got the whole fashion thing: being decisive, being so excitable, and then being as passionate and dismissive about the very same thing the next day.” Jacobs read her Memos book while he was working on the Fall collection; the surprise is that he hasn’t made a muse of Vreeland before. “I felt like that’s what fashion is,” he continued, “that complete addiction, obsession, that I’ve-got-to-have-it need until I basically wouldn’t be caught dead in it.” The darkness changed into monochrome and bold red; the textiles were opulent and rich. As it’s the last show of New York Fashion Week, Marc Jacobs gave us a delicious dessert, leaving the best for the end.

Tribal Attack. Proenza Schouler AW15

February 20, 2015February 20, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

I think Proenza Schouler discovered TOO many fields for AW15. Fish net tights. Tribal embroidery (feathers, some kind of jungle decoration which came out of nowhere) . Flesh-exposure (Helmut Lang’s calling!). It wouldn’t be a Proenza Schouler collection without the complex textile processes that make their pieces so special and so synthetic. Backstage, they called it their most technical collection yet – as they described sections of “chiffon needle-punched over over and again to create a stiffened fabric used on the tailoring and the tweed that was made out of strips of fabrics, that were especially woven for the purpose”. Even without knowing the ins and outs of all the fabrications, it was obvious that what pulsed through was pure innovation. But innovation doesn’t always mean a good collection. I prefer when the collection has a fluent line, even if it’s is called abstract, sophisticated or mindful. In this collection, Jack and Lazaro lost this fluency which they always mastered in previous collections. Plus, I can’t forgive the fish-net tights. But, look! They debuted with menswear! There is only one look for men, but. Although, I don’t feel this specific collection, I am truly interested where Proenza Schouler is heading in the future,

Effortless Luxury. Michael Kors AW15

February 19, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Michael Kors knows that simple luxury is the best. This fall, he didn’t surprise us (when did he?), but this doesn’t mean that the collection was a bore – it had a lot of interesting features I personally thought were “cool” – definitely, the fox fur worn by Natasha Poly above. Ground-breaking. Then, the vintage-like doctor bags. The voluminous midi skirts made out of wool (warm classic). More? Well, the collection itself is built of wearable, normKORS basics. The collection might be SO GOOD right now, but next year we are going to forget whether this combination of clothing and styling was presented last year or two years ago. This is a very neutral look at fashion, Michael.