DAAD Dantone

February 10, 2015June 22, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

The store I admire most in Milan is DAAD Dantone. Why? Whenever I visit this place, I feel closer to the beauty of niche fashion – the seasonless leather jackets, timeless fur vests and simply beautiful clothes, which don’t need a shouting tag attached to it. At DAAD Dantone, you might find pieces by Rick Owens, MA+, If Six Was Nine, Simona Tagliaferri (great knits and scarves up here), Poeme Bohemien, Boris Bidjan Saberi and many other eponymous label you probably have never heard of. But, no worries! You won’t feel overhelmed because the shop-owners will definitely tell you A LOT about the brands and accessories they got here. If talking of the interior, it’s full of concrete, but the amount of light is just perfect. Their perfume corner is well supplied, too – Meo Fusciuni fragrances are here, about which you are going to learn more in few days. So, what should I say more – for your next visit in Milan, add this place to your address list!

Via Santo Spirito 24 / Milan

Bollywood – Milan

February 9, 2015February 9, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

While in Milan, I am visiting various fashion showrooms for a future project, and I really enjoyed Stella Jean’s preview of AW15. The full collection is going to be presented at the end of February, so here is your “exclusive” look at it! As the showroom notes said, Stella Jean brought Bollywood magic of colours, prints and boldness to comfortable, stylish silhouettes. You might think the clothes are kitsch- absolutely no! Although there a lot of Bollywood accents in here, we’ve got a beautiful selection of knitwear, tweed skirts and gorgeous flannel shirts. Also, the spotlight was stolen by the hand-stitched coat and skirt combo, representing amazingly embroidered patterns… by looking over and over again at my photographs, I just can’t wait to see the full collection during Milan fashion week!

Inteview with Abigail Doan

January 5, 2015December 14, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

In late January, I’ve met up with Abigail Doan (@lostinfiber) on Instagram – her moody, calm feed made me feel interested in her specific approach to art. As I learnt later, Abigail is an environmental artist and writer who divides her time between NYC, Eastern Europe, and Tuscany. Her work as a fiber artist offers a unique view into the materials, methods, and life cycle of handmade textiles, slow fashion garments, and related environmental issues. Doan’s most recent curatorial projects include Fete for the Senses as reviewed on Trendtablet, (Re)Fashioning Fiber in NYC, and Fashioning Self and the Environment at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn. And now, specially for Design & Culture by Ed, Abigail agreed for an interview… so here is our little collaboration!

How do you explain or describe your mood and approach to textiles and slow fashion garments?

I am first and foremost an artist expressing aesthetic ideas that share territory with art, design, fashion, and textile traditions. For this reason, I hesitate to categorize objects, as I am attracted to the material exchange between realms and the subtle details that are unexpectedly revealed. Slow for me is basically about cultivating a connection to place as well as an understanding of self in relation to the environment. Immersing ourselves in the art of slow fashion might allow for deeper connections, more efficient flow, as well as identification of softer tools for implementing change. Local wisdom is certainly part of this equation as well as increased sensitivity to the cultural experiences and conditions/talents of people’s globally. (here are her fashion inspirations from her tumblr)

Jalouse Magazine by Alice le Paige

Viktor & Rolf installation 1994

The Row Resort 2015

In three words, describe your work.

Connective, place-based, tactile.

On your Tumblr called Lost in Fiber, you show a lot of beautiful, cozy handmade textiles and artifacts. What is the idea behind posting these images?

I keep several Tumblr archives as a way to demonstrate visually intuitive connections between objects, places, textures, textiles, and sculptural wearables. Lost in Fiber is a new skin on a previous project that explored ideas related to fashioning self and the environment. The site’s featured images are meant to spark the imagination while also archiving ideas relevant to ongoing research and collaborations with others. I often intersperse images of my own work and travels in order to illustrate an overall narrative of creative process and like-mindedness.

While searching your site (and Instagram feed) I noticed not only NYC, but also places like Tuscany and Eastern Europe’s countries. What do they mean to you?

I have my principal studio in NYC but my family and I have ties to Bulgaria and Italy. I decided early on to try to live and work in these places so that my children would also cultivate connections and memories (nostalgia) for these landscapes and their unique histories. I recently returned to NYC after five years of living in Sofia growing a small family foundation that works to cultivate cultural outreach and educational efforts in Bulgaria. This was a tremendously valuable experience for me as it allowed me to further explore slow crafting methodologies in Eastern Europe as well as connecting with artists and designers in these regions who are (re)interpreting traditions and contemporary phenomena in eye-opening ways.

Last, but not the least, you have also another Tumblr called Thracian Threads and as I am Polish, I see a lot of Slavic inspirations behind it. Is it so?

Yes, it is true. Thracian Threads is a stash of images that I started collecting and documenting while living in Bulgaria and traveling to neighboring countries. I decided to focus on the idea of Thrace as a way to get back to some of the core traditions from the region and the rich history of these ancient crossroads, particularly in relation to costuming and the handmade. Thrācia in Latin is derived from thrāssō, meaning to trouble or stir in Ancient Greek. Let’s just say that I want to stir things up a bit – slowly, thoughtfully, and across our perceived time and space borders. This is what my currently project Lost in Fiber 2015 will be all about.

Thank you Abigail for this lovely interview. If you are interested in her art and want to immerse into her mood, check her sites:

abigaildoan.com
abigaildoan.tumblr.com
lostinfiber.tumblr.com
thracianthreads.tumblr.com
abigaildoan.blogspot.com

Galliano at Margiela

January 3, 2015January 6, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Guys, that’s happening. John Galliano is taking over Maison Martin Margiela, and presents his first Haute Couture collection this month. Firstly, this combination felt a bit awkward to everybody – Margiela was always known for “minimalism”. But that’s just a fashion stereotype. No. Maison Martin Margiela has never been a minimal label. It’s dramatic, bold, edgy, different. The fact that real Martin Margiela never gave any interview and he is totally anonymous up to today, doesn’t mean that the label is minimalistic. Just look at their past artisanal collections – they are full of couture embroideries, one-of-a-kind textiles (for example tapestry based on La Femme du Roi by Paul Gauguin (1896) or draping made from two hanging textile prints of Mira Lunar, designed by Verner Panton) and fantastic jewellery. Maison Martin Margiela also brought a lot of unexpected accessories to their ready-to-wear – transparent plexi clutches with artificial roses inside or the famous tabi boots, which look like a horse hoof.

I am writing about this, to prove you one thing – reflecting on John Galliano’s collections in the past for Dior, his style should be perfect for Maison Martin Margiela. The fact, that he got drunk and started to say cruel things about Jews in one of Parisian caffees few years ago made him lose his own namesake label and Dior. Everybody showed Galliano their back, and from the first place everybody fell in love with Raf Simons. But forgetting the political matter which was strongly emphasized by LVMH (nobody’s sure whever these guys simply didn’t frame John into this “scandal”. Maybe they simply wanted to get rid of him?)- fashion world felt dull after Galliano’s departure. And the word minimal really matches Raf Simons – yes, his dresses are up till now the most sleepy of all during Haute Couture week in Paris.

But now, Renzo Rosso group, which owns Margiela, took over John Galliano. And hopefully, the fashion world is going to cheer up again, with this man. While waiting to see Maison Martin Margiela Haute Couture SS15 by John Galliano in few days, have a look at he biggest Dior / Galliano couture moments and last season’s Margiela / Matthieu Blazy show.