French Charm. Lemaire AW17

March 7, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

If you’re reading my blog from time to time, you might surely know how much I love Lemaire. So you can imagine how happy I was, when I visited the brand’s showroom on Le Marais for the first time, just a few days after Christophe Lemaire‘s and Sarah-Linh Tran‘s autumn-winter 2017 fashion show.

But before I will start drooling over the pieces I’ve seen in the showroom, let’s take a look at the collection. Inspired with 40s sport chic garments and Chinese uniforms, the duo had a balance of soft and austere on their mind. But the inspirations behind the collection served just as small concepts, ideas – Lemaire is never over-referential, but rather stays true to its minimal aesthetic. Corduroy tailoring, manish volumes, curved sleeves, distorted silhouttes and all of that kept mostly in flesh tones and classic black. Occasionaly, white see-through stockings peeked out; eclectic jewellery, hand-made in a Parisian atelier, brought charm; pony-hair heels defined understated cool. Lemaire and Tran always pay attention to the clothes’ quality, that’s why all the knits felt even fleecier than usual. I can’t forget to mention the denim pants. The cognac-brown tote. The shirt with XXL sleeves. I need. To. Stop.

Lemaire AW17

Women’s Love. Dries Van Noten AW17

March 6, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Autumn-winter 2017 was Dries Van Noten‘s 100th show. And just as he did at this season’s menswear, the designer was reflecting on the past, future, and most of all – the contemporary. Malgosia Bela, Nadia Auermann, Hanne Gaby, Mica Arganaraz, Carolyn Murphy, Debra Shaw and many, many more catwalk icons, veterans and today’s favourites walked the show. Some of them were present in Van Noten’s first show back in the late 80s, which is quite impressive. The collection is naturally one of the season’s biggest highlights, although it wasn’t about any statement piece. Masculine coats and over-sized denim pants were like the second skin of the models with experience (and a powerful gaze in their eyes). They made simple clothes look elusive. The designer showed off a remix of his forever-great prints on midi-length dresses and frivolous skirts, reminding everyone that he’s especially talented with colour palette and textile combinations. Lovely boas, big blazers and perfectly tailored shirts: there’s no doubt why throughout those 100 collections, women believed in Dries. And they will do so throughout the next 100 collections, that’s sure.

While others fall into mega-companies and stakes, Van Noten’s Antwerp-based label is independent. When I entered his cozy boutique on Saint Germain yesterday, it was crowded – and those weren’t tourists, who took photos of the ornamental interior, but women trying on dresses and shoes. Something I haven’t seen at all the same day at Balenciaga or Lanvin on the other side of Seine, even though these brands are currently “it”.

The secret of Dries? Maybe the fact he doesn’t play secrets; he doesn’t create packs of model-friends to propel sales; he doesn’t want to be in the spotlight that much. It’s about the clothes and his relation with devoted clients.

Come As You Are. Courrèges AW17

March 6, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant of Courrèges resigned from doing a typical fashion show and simply invited their friends to wear this season’s clothes. The way they wanted, with no stylists. Vinyl miniskirts paired with models’ own vintage tees and Nike shoes; lilac mini-dress in patent leather over a motocross shirt; a logo cabas bag and dirty Vans, as easy as that. Andre Courrèges designed and presented clothes for women of his times – Meyer and Vaillant are doing the same, with success. “It’s come as you are“, one of the designers concluded.

Royals are Fly. Y/Project AW17

March 2, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Marie Antoinette and today’s rappers – at a first glance, nothing in common. But if you look at their shared love for over-the-top fashion, you might get the point behind Glenn Martens‘ autumn-winter 2017 collection at Y/Project. Big fur coats; leather hoodies with shearling inserts; lace-trimmed sweatpants; ball skirts styled with rhinestone embellished gladiator sandals. A clash between royalty and streetwear? Martens would rather call it as finding the mid-point between those two bold universes. A desire for looking, hmm, fly (although I doubt Antoinette would be use this word for her style).

Yves is Pleased. Saint Laurent AW17

March 2, 2017March 2, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Anthony Vaccarello‘s debut collection for Saint Laurent, which we’ve all seen back in September, was a safe entrance to the house with sultry “party girl” look. However, his autumn-winter 2017 is so much more and it’s incredible in every aspect. First, the attachable sleeves-gloves hybrids, which were all about mega volume. Then, the highly covetable over-the-knee boots, whether in patent leather or heavily embellished. Cognac leather made everything, from the evening gowns to mini-dresses, look sexy, but far from vulgar. And when you’ve already thought that Vaccarello nailed it – the cable-knit sweater-dress (of course embellished with thousand rhinestones) was there, stealing the spotlight. In this collection, one can distinguish some of Anthony’s signatures, that we’ve already seen at his now-closed namesake brand. Faded denim, lots of leather, sharp silhouettes. But the designer managed to praise Yves Saint Laurent, without being too referential. The collection was inspired with YSL parties from the 80s – Vaccarello’s favourite period – and one specific look, which was slightly revamped. A black dress embroidered with a purple flower and green leaves was a 2.0 version of the same dress Yves did in the past, done in collaboration with Lessage. It was fantastic, just like the rest of the collection.