For this festive season, Isabel Marant, the eternal Parisienne, offers a capsule of 1980s-centric chic, suspended somewhere between Saint-Germain and Manhattan, with extra sheen and shine. Her carefree and bohemian style is reflected by refined LBDs, metallic scuffed ankle boots and timeless leathers. “For me, fashion is about enjoying life,” she explains. “It has to be positive. It’s a release of energy to people, putting bad vibes behind.” Your New Year’s Eve look, splashed in Marant’s sequins, will definitely attract good vibes for 2024!
Frame, the Los Angeles-based fashion house, has released the third drop of its collaboration with the Ritz Paris Hotel, and it couldn’t be chicer. And right on festive time! Erik Torstensson, co-founder of Frame, has previously worked the Ritz logo into baseball caps, sweatshirts and sneakers. Now, for the third iteration, the collection has moved into ready-to-wear, with bombers, blazers and wide-leg pants. The hotelier’s well-known crest can also be seen on cashmere cardigans and sweaters, pajama sets, swim and other items.
“Everybody comes to the Ritz“… here are my favorite pieces from the capsule which you can shop now before the Christmas holidays begin!
Lamine Badian Kouyaté’s well-known wizardry with pantyhose dates to the 1990s. For spring-summer 2024, the designer revived the signature red-stitched nylon tops with which he first made his name. Cut into a sleeved bandeau that can be worn Flashdance style, or pieced into a minidress with elongated sleeves, these stretchy Xuly.Bët wonders had a second-skin fit that goes with Kouyaté’s body-conscious and body-celebratory dressing. Their flexibility also spoke more broadly to the designer’s generous and innovative approach to fashion, which is influenced by his experiences with second hand clothes in Mali, and can now also be framed within current discussions about sustainability. Also back in action were Kouyaté’s sporty jackets and tops made using upcycled American football jerseys. Some looks were styled with vintage basketball shorts, whose bagginess provided a nice contrast to the tight fits of leggings and micro minis. The gold-on-denim pieces – some modeled by the designer’s son – were part of a collaboration between Xuly.Bët and artist Smaïl Kanouté. Kouyaté used Kanouté prints on pieces worn in a performance of “Yasuke (The Black Samurai),” which is about bringing together diverse traditions, choreographed by Kanouté. Kouyaté still believes in the power of fashion to evoke joy; he also thinks it can be used as a platform for change.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!
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There’s nothing as (heart)warming as cashmere knitwear. Barrie, one of Scotland’s oldest knitwear manufacturer and since 2012 a Chanel Métiers d’Art house, elevates that credo like no other brand. Conceived by artistic director Augustin Dol-Maillot, Barrie collections bring together creativity, heritage and the most thorough attention to detail. For autumn-winter 2023, the brand looks at the painterly Scottish landscapes for inspiration, as scenic as the regional weather can be challenging. Classic earthy shades are clashed with bright tones and pops of colour (that red used in the knee-socks and bonnets!) and a hint of sparkle are the key elements of the current season. The warmth of colours and textures applied in the knits provide a wardrobe for both, a Parisienne with her well-worn vintage 2.55 handbag, and an avid mushroom hunter who just loves a stylish forest gear.
Mark your calendars, as Barrie is dropping its capsule collection co-designed with Sofia Coppola on the 2nd of November… I’ve seen its preview, it’s really something to add to your festive wish-list! Here’s Margaret Qualley teasing the collection:
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram! By the way, did you know that I’ve started a newsletter called Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!
Some things don’t change, like Hedi Slimane‘s Celine. Not many designers keep on pushing their (very skinny) agenda so stubbornly. The spring-summer 2024 collection, presented off-schedule as a short film, showcases the Tomboy line-up at La Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. One of the city’s oldest cultural institutions, it serves as a library that houses the French royal collections since the end of the Middle Ages. But the Celine girls aren’t here to study – rather, they are on their way to another indie sleaze-coded party. Set to Too Much Love by LCD Soundsystem, the collection opens with a model reading a leatherbound book stamped with the gold Celine logo. Clad in a skinny black suit, the ensemble is a reminder of what Slimane does best – sharp androgynous tailoring. Then, a matching leopard print jacket and mini anchored segue to cutoffs and a leather jacket, both paired with tough boots are prime examples of this as is a pair of plaid boxers, worn with fuzzy-lined suede boots. It’s California by way of Paris, especially when you factor in the track suits and caps. The combination has proved to be irresistible to the brand’s clients (I know, I’m shocked too…). For evening, Slimane offers long dresses worn with blazers and knee high boots, as well as mini dresses in sparkly gold and liquid-y silver. It’s hard to seek any fashion novelty at Hedi’s Celine. This designer’s force of persuasion lies in attitude, styling, and his endless glorification – even fetishization – of youth.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram! By the way, did you know that I’ve started a newsletter called Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!
