Colour Palette. Haider Ackermann SS17

October 6, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

January of next year means a big debut during men’s autumn-winter 2017 season: Haider Ackermann was recently named the new creative director of Berluti, one of the leading menswear brands. Ackermann has already got used to a pretty light schedule, with two collections for women, and two for men – how will his new role affect his work at his namesake label? Time will show.

But let’s focus on the present. Haider’s latest collection for women is classically Ackermann, which means sleek, masculine silhouettes, lots of draping and a kind of rebellious, rock & roll attitude. However, spring-summer 2017 differed from the designer’s last few seasons with it’s colour blast. High-waisted pants and jackets in lovely pastel-pink; long, pleated skirts in energetic orange and yellow; a loosely fit suit worn by Iris Strubegger looked tempting in jade-green. It’s not the first, when Haider nails it with his unique colour palette, but this collection is a killer. Just like the spiky hair, resembling punk tomahawks. There was just one thing I was quite unpleasantly surprised to see – the t-shirts with slogans. After a Dior show, which was based on a basic idea of a tee, “Be Your Own Hero“ or “Silent Soldier“ type of signs just didn’t fell right, noting Haider Ackermann’s poet-like aesthetic. The defiant mood is quite perceivable, so why make it even more clear?

A Matter of Feminism. Dior SS17

October 3, 2016October 3, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Today in Poland, thousands of brave women and great men walked down the streets wearing black. They were protesting in solidarity against an anti-abortion law, which is meant to be introduced by the Polish government – in other words, instead of spreading sexual awareness and wider access to contraception, politicians want to utterly limit women’s rights to their bodies in my country. And all of that happens at the same time when Paris Fashion Week is at its full spin. Rarely does a fashion week glamorama relate to reality, and it’s nearly a non-sense to compare those two, completely different universes. But still, Dior‘s spring-summer 2017 burns in my head intensely, noting today’s events.

A few months ago, Maria-Grazia Chiuri, a former designer of Valentino (she worked with Pierpaolo Piccioli, who’s now the head of the brand), was announced as the new creative director of this historic French maison. Yes, you’ve read that correctly: a woman is taking Dior under her wings. Chiuri definitely made history with her appointment, and her step forward highlighted that it’s an ultimate end of a women-less era in fashion… which is, ironically, mostly created for women. Trust me, I was extremely excited about her debut collection. But when I saw the entire show, I felt disgusted. A dummy knew that Maria-Grazia would hit the topic of her own phenomenal appearance in this brand.

In result, she delivered t-shirts with slogans like “we should all be feminists“. How. Banal.

From a position of a female fashion designer, who did Valentino, and now does Dior, being a “feminist” should give an example to millions of people – really, the platform of influence is huge. But in the end, it’s about a t-shirt, which will surely cost approximately 200 euros (or more?). Looking down, we’ve got a meticulously embroidered tulle dress, which will, hah, cost a car. I love fashion, and this industry, but I’m frustrated with the way such important topics as “feminism” is easily printed and tagged around. It’s just about being desperately relevant. It’s like the spring-summer 2015 collection by Chanel, where Karl Largerfeld sent out a line of XS-sized models in couture tweeds to protest in a faux demonstration. In my very personal opinion, coining the term “feminism” can’t be anyhow compared to egalitarian (Valentino and Chanel are far from affordable), or can’t be approached lightly, without a second thought. And while I’m still in the mood of protests and outrage, seeing a fashion collection which is “trying” to be feminist hurts.

Ok, let me chill. Do you want to see real feminism in fashion? Rei Kawakubo at Comme des Garçons. She is the founder of her entire company, and she continues to thrive as an independent owner of it. Phoebe Philo is the embodiment of feminism at Céline, where she creates wearable, everyday clothes for every kind of women. It’s pricey, but a Philo piece is an investment for life. While at Valentino, we’ve got ballerina dresses, tons of embellishments and Dior-logo heels – barely classics. Not that Maria-Grazia Chiuri is a bad designer, or anything like that. I just hope that her tenure at Dior won’t end with a pack of short-sighted slogans.

That Woman. Loewe SS17

October 3, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Loewe by Jonathan Anderson isn’t another episode about an up-and-coming designer taking a big, heritage brand under his wings. It’s already the fifth season delivered by this fascinating, Irish designer, and it seems that with every collection, Anderson makes the house feel like his own universe. Jonathan doesn’t only focus on the accessory range, which continuously expands with new additions; he makes the ready-to-wear part an obsession of every fashion editor, and you will surely find the industry insiders storm Loewe’s store (along with Balenciaga) this season, and the next season.

What really makes Anderson’s Loewe so desirable, but at the same time far from mainstream, is the mood. Whenever I see a Loewe model on the runway, I have in mind a picture of middle-aged, Mediterranean raised woman, who lives in a modernist villa filled with contemporary art and biscuit-beige floor-covering. However, it’s not a film still, but rather a realistic vision of Loewe client. That’s why Loewe isn’t a pattern for Zara and H&M – it’s just too sophisticated and too multi-faceted to be copied by someone who doesn’t understand it.

At his namesake brand, Jonathan is known for precision in everything he does. At Loewe, he’s a creative director who, in comparison to other creative directors, actually has control over everything, from the stores’ furniture to perfume package. Thanks to that, Anderson focuses on every single thing, even the tiniest detail like a bag’s texture. “It’s a textured carpet, so we put it on suede, then we flocked it and then we washed it so you get it flat, yet it still feels soft to the hand,” is how he described the leather he decided to use for a new bag silhouette. The collection itself also took a thorough look at extreme workmanship and a sense of craft. “Torn” seams, loosely fitted collars and intriguing closures, among other details, were telling a story of highly sensual, super-organic clothes. Eclectic jewellery, featuring bat necklaces or ikebana-inspired flower bracelets, reassembled souvenirs from luxurious, oriental voyages. There are no themes in Anderson’s collections for Loewe. You can love it, or not.

Draped Ethereal. Rick Owens SS17

October 3, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

After seasons of contemplating on humanity, Rick Owens looks at the brighter side of things for spring-summer 2017. Nina Simone on the show’s soundtrack (the show-note claimed that the designer listens to her everyday in his studio); joyous colour palette dripped in yellow; models wearing voluminous, extravagant silhouettes. Draping is a keyword for Owens’ latest creations, and this season isn’t an exception. Drifty dresses with fantastically sculpted, furry hems at the front stole the spotlight, just like the ethereal closing looks. For the last few pieces, Owens collaborated with Maison Lemarié, a Parisian atelier specialising in work with feathers and plume. The effect? Three, impressively fluid-like capes covered in ostrich feathers. In the dark world of Owens, it’s rare to say something is fairly tale magnificent: for spring-summer 2017, it’s a must.

Future Sex. Paco Rabanne SS17

October 2, 2016October 2, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Syntethic-white neck-pieces suggest an astronaut gear rather than a sexy French look. But Julien Dossena isn’t frightened to put FUTURE SEX on one of his spring-summer 2017 t-shirts for Paco Rabanne. Obsessed with sci-fi since his childhood, the designer consistently links out-of-this-world modernity with strange sex-appeal. In fact, two things Rabanne fused the best in the past. Today’s creative director smoothly draws inspirations from the brand’s archives, re-working iconic chainmail from the 60s into a relevant, light-weighted material for dresses, skirts and pants. But Dossena doesn’t rely on Paco’s signature only, as he’s comfortable with introducing his own, alien-lover tastes to the house codes. Hints of fuchsia peeked out from underneath the white lace dresses in form of chic tights; a black, leather mini-dress reminded us of Julien’s respect for timeless classics. Oh, and the studded flares: would Françoise Hardy take a pair of those in 2016? I know, a fantasy fashion collaboration. Still, highly anticipated.