PFW

Not Your Man Yet. Givenchy SS27

| Design & Culture by Ed

Sarah Burton‘s menswear debut for Givenchy proves that, in the end, it’s all about how clothes are photographed. Through Juergen Teller’s lens, Don McCullin, Don Letts, and Danny Fox make the collection feel believable and genuinely cool. But the moment you switch to the studio-shot lookbook starring professional (and very young) models, you’re left with a collection that lacks a clear narrative. Yes, the lavishly embroidered MA-1 jackets are stunning. The hourglass-tailored suits are beautiful too. But then come the tracksuits, rugby shirts, florals, and sneakers, which make the overall picture feel scattered rather than cohesive. It’s not as if Givenchy menswear lacks a legacy – we’ve had Ozwald Boateng and, of course, Riccardo Tisci, who turned the line into a genuine commercial force. But after years of neglect and falling into irrelevance, Burton’s debut doesn’t quite give men a compelling reason to drop everything and return to the brand. Hopefully time will heal that wound.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Patina. Magliano SS27

| Design & Culture by Ed

There’s a sense of distressed, dirty chic about Magliano. In a way, patina was Luca Magliano’s guiding obsession for spring-summer 2027 – “the patina of an old picture, of memory.” The garments carry a distinct 1970s flavor; they feel as if they’ve absorbed cigarette smoke and spilled liquor, as if they were worn all night in some old-school club you might still stumble upon on the outskirts of Rome or Milan (or in any of those smaller Italian towns where time moves differently).

The Milan-based designer – now showing in Paris – approaches classic menswear through a queer lens, filtered with irony and just the right amount of distance. A cheetah-print top paired with matching jeans, an ill-fitting four-button suit jacket that feels lifted from another era, a thrifted foulard worn like a sarong, an aged suit collapsing slightly at the shoulders – all of it carries nostalgia with a flicker of something sharper, almost rageful beneath the surface. Wink, wink.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Familiar. Dries Van Noten SS27

| Design & Culture by Ed

There’s a sense of familiarity, reality, and lightness to what Julian Klausner is doing at Dries Van Noten. A devoted student of Papa Dries, he makes the house’s blend of meticulous embroidery and erotically charged, slightly off-kilter – yet never overly weird – elegance feel completely instinctive, almost on auto-pilot. And that’s very much to his advantage: his work should feel like coming home for Dries devotees. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.

ED’s SELECTION:


Dries Van Noten Men’s Destin Mixed Leather Retro Sneakers



Dries Van Noten Men’s Striped Viscose-Blend Shirt



Dries Van Nioten Men’s Suede and Leather Duffel Crossbody Bag



Dries Van Noten Men’s Pine Straight-Fit Flocked Denim Jeans



Dries Van Noten Men’s Overdyed Cupro-Cotton Shirt

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Party Flaneur. Dior SS27

| Design & Culture by Ed

There’s a sense of undone-ness to Jonathan Anderson’s menswear method for Dior that I really like, even if it occasionally makes his vision for the house seem a little erratic. The image of an aristocratic kid in a pyjama suit and torn denim, stumbling back to his inherited château after a long, very fun night, ripping the wire out of a speaker and plugging his phone into it (very Rianne Van Rompaey opening the Louis Vuitton show in Palm Springs… a niche reference, I know) just to keep the party going, is strangely appealing. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Artifice. Saint Laurent SS27

| Design & Culture by Ed

Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent menswear collection seemed to have it all: a perfectly orchestrated front row amid a Paris heatwave, a new kinky shoe with an elongated toe and transparent construction, and a Fujiko Nakaya water-vapor installation as the show’s backdrop. Yet the clothes themselves felt inflated – not with substance, but with artifice.

It increasingly feels as though Vaccarello is repeating the same tropes: exaggerated shoulders on virtually everything, nylon-like windbreakers paired with tailored trousers, and trench coats rendered stuffy for no discernible reason. The flashes of eroticism are there, certainly, but they can’t speak for themselves; they get choked – though not in a sexy way – by relentless overediting.

I remember reading a few years ago that Vaccarello fantasized about doing an all-gold collection but couldn’t find a way to make it look chic. Well, he still hasn’t. The three final looks in slightly antiqued gold fabric failed to make much of an impact. Perhaps too much gold is inevitably tacky after all.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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