PFW

The Art of Sensual Tailoring. Haider Ackermann SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

Haider Ackermann‘s spring-summer 2020 was about combining sensuality with tailoring – a sort of art that the designer mastered to perfection. The waist was a big focus of his new season line-up. Men and women both got midriff-spanning leather belts, and other times Ackermann knotted a jacket at the hips with a casual flourish. It looked especially compelling in the case of a jacket lined in vintage kimono silk. But if anything, this was a less androgynous collection than usual, due to the work the designer did with plissé bands of color, wrapping and twisting them around female torsos in a style reminiscent of Madame Grès. The tops, that are actual ribbons of fabric, are daring, just as the jumpsuits with the bumster-low cut-out detail in back. Bella Hadid and Adut Akech’s plissé bandeau dresses are highlights. The women’s and men’s show featured as well an ensemble first worn by Timothée Chalamet at the Venice Film Festival: a dove gray lapel-less suit in technical nylon with a flash of aqua blue at the hem. The belted tuxedo in the same pale shade with a liquid silk top underneath Chalamet wore not a while ago also appeared on the runway, styled in a slightly different way. Ackermann never disapoints.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

The Daughter of a Bourgeois. Celine SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

Last season, Hedi Slimane‘s Celine was about the Parisian, bourgeois woman. For spring-summer 2020, it’s about her daughter, who wears nothing else but denim, dreams of Woodstock and eventually takes part in street protests. But still, she’s bourgeois, no matter how she tries to rebel. Slimane doesn’t overstrain himself. His collection is again a 1:1 version of Celine’s 1970s archives, with a bit more of slouchiness and the presence of Yves Saint Laurent turbans (and, oops, it seems that Anthony Vaccarello pulled them off as well at Saint Laurent – the two brands are dangerously the same this season). While fashion drowns in nostalgia, there are designers who interpret the past in a fresh way – take Marc Jacobs or Paco Rabanne‘s Julien Dossena for SS20. In case of Hedi, noting how masterful he is in rebranding and shaking things up in the most of frustrating ways, it’s laziness. And confidence that anything will sell. Well. It will. Those denim culottes, fur coats and peasant dresses are destined to sell well, because they are easy, undemanding and chic. And, comparing to Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent, not so revealing. One more thing. Here’s to the Philophiles: there are parallers between Phoebe Philo’s Céline and Hedi Slimane’s Celine. Actually, Philo was really good at the bourgeois style, even though nobody noticed that at the time. Her swan song collection is the best example. But while Phoebe’s take on Parisian bourgeois aesthetic was modern, comfortable, unobvious and less strict, Hedi is literal. And there’s nothing noble about doing things in a literal way.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Ninalicious. Nina Ricci SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

Packages of “Ninalicious” bubble gum were gifted to guests at Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh’s Nina Ricci show. This was a light-hearted nod to their new season silhouette, a floating dress in airy cloque (and in bubble-gum pink, of course) It’s their second season at the label, and they stir things up by taking the historical maison in an unexpected direction. For them Nina Ricci isn’t just about safe, lady-like dressing. The spring-summer 2020 line-up had humour and a quirky kind of youthfulness. Just look at the brightly colored buckets that functioned as bags and hats (these are great!). The designers said they were inspired by a summertime trip to the beach with their nephews and that they were after a sense of nostalgia. The joyous colour palette pleases the eye, just as the peplum tops and XXL ruffle dresses. But in general the collection lacks a stricter edit. The sharp tailoring doesn’t work with the overall softness of the line-up. Some of the silhouette look too exaggerated (take the opening look’s white top with unnecessary, big shoulder pads). Also, I feel like Botter and Herrebrugh still haven’t established their Nina Ricci look. Maybe it’s too early and they need time. Still, big thumbs up for their optymistic thinking.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Aristocratic. Loewe SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

“Aristocratic” is one of the words Jonathan Anderson used to describe his spring-summer 2020 Loewe collection. Indeed, there was something very royal about the earthy parachute coat-dress, multi-layered lace collars and the sublime, white night-gowns. Historical dressing was the key for Jonathan this season, and he conveyed that idea like no one else. Anderson isn’t new in putting craft and handwork at the heart of Loewe, and this time he pushed extremes of craftsmanship luxury to ethereal heights. For the collection, he moved into the realms of “a different kind of craft, which is ultimately historical,” he said. “I looked at the 16th and 17th centuries, where the craft was in the tiniest thing . . . where you had to rely on precision.” Chantilly, guipure, and marguerite lace; drawn threadwork; sprigged voile shapes. There’s romance, and there’s impressive, hand-made process behind all those details. Here’s another aspect of the collection: Loewe is a Spanish house. The aristocratic Spanish-ness is present as well in the collection, even in the pannier-hip dresses he sent out. It’s a shape that goes in line with Spanish cultural significance (think Velázquez’s 1656 Las Meninas portrait of the Spanish royal family). All his revivals of lace and linen fit into that context too. The marvelous fabrics were depicted in the paintings of Goya and Zurbarán, all exhibited at Madrid’s Prado Museum. Summing up, this collection is a feast for the eyes.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

When It Gets Hot. Isabel Marant SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

After reviewing Rick Owens’ latest collection, looking at Isabel Marant might feel like being abruptly taken back to Earth. But the consistence of Marant has its charms, even if her eternal Parisian woman escapes the city. Spring-summer 2020’s beach-life girl (and boy) look forever appealing while wearing sleeveless knits, slouchy denim pants and vintage-y, washed cotton jackets with big, confident shoulders. Loosely-fit jumpsuits and festival boots are another highlights. In the end, when summer gets stinking hot, this is what you really want to wear (well, maybe the leather overall – this can wait until next September).

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.