Everybody Comes To Hollywood. Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2024

December 3, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Balenciaga‘s first-ever fashion show in Los Angeles had it all: the Kardashian-Calabasas flagship style, some Hitchcockian drama with a Lynchian twist, the taste of an Erewhon smoothie and even the H of the Hollywood sign as the backdrop. Demna called LA “my favorite city in the world,” saying, “all my cultural evolution, when I was a teenager growing up in this kind of post-Soviet vacuum, it really came from here, through movies, music – I mean, everything that I kind of absorbed, that later on started to kind of become my fashion references.” There was certainly something surreal about Balenciaga’s gothy black clad guests turning up en masse on a well manicured stretch of Windsor Boulevard in Hancock Park. The collection skewed SoCal, starting with the exercise clothes, gym bags, and souped-up sneakers of the first few looks. The circa Y2K velour jumpsuits and giant high-heeled shearling boots that came next will be familiar to readers of US Magazine, which would’ve been another way the young Demna got his celebrity content.

Back in those pre-social media days, the paparazzi lurked outside hipster coffee-shops. Circa 2023, it’s Erewhon smoothies that the stars are clutching. Timed to yesterday’s event, Balenciaga collaborated with the LA grocer on a juice. Made in part with activated charcoal powder, it’s as black as the stretchy turtleneck and tight jeans worn in the show by Brigitte Nielsen. “I don’t know what’s in it,” Demna said. “I just wanted it to be black.” The designer (officially) rejected the idea that he approached the collection – or LA itself – with irony, but there’s something comically perverse about a paper grocery bag made in leather. The sensational evening clothes were as Hollywood as the rest of the show, but it was easier to read earnestness in their elegance and drama. There was a respectful nod to Cristobal Balenciaga in the grand volumes of a white wedding gown whose funnel neck extended to just below the model’s eyes. Two other dresses conjured post-coital bed sheets tied at the bust, if bed sheets came in patent leather. These were pure Demna.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!

You’re Gonna Like the Way You Look, I Guarantee It. Christopher John Rogers Pre-Fall 2024

October 12, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

By the end of the fashion month circuit, Christopher John Rogers graced us with his gorgeous collection entitled “You’re Gonna Like The Way You Look, I Guarantee It“. He fulfilled the promise: these full-skirted dresses in vivacious colors and prints will make anyone feel satisfied about their look, regardless whether they are a minimalist or maximalist. This New York-based creative represents a niche of womenswear – formed by such designers as Rosie Assoulin, Dries Van Noten, the late Alber Elbaz – which elevates the wearer through femininity that oozes with optimism, balances between dramatic and easy-to-wear, and at the same time radiates with wit and intelligence. The first nine looks from Rogers’ latest line-up, all monochromatic between cream and tan, toy with bubble hems, careful tucking, tailoring and bustier bodices. Silhouettes vary, but maintain a powerful elegance, in @londongirlinnyc manner. Materials range from Japanese nylon, Italian lurex jacquard, silk taffeta and cotton poplin. It’s a very rich-in-layers, wholesome collection. Rogers also proudly brought back his signature motifs, flaunting his knack for color combination via a motley of “cassette stripes” in grass green, deep brown, soft yellow and baby pink. Layered ruffles on a peplum blouse each took on their own shade of flamingo. Prints of circles debuted alongside imagery of a red rose. By the final look, he reverted to monochrome, in an ebony gown, putting the spotlight back on “make and process – that’s what I love most about what I do,” he said.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram! By the way, did you know that I’ve started a newsletter called Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!

Therapy. The Row Pre-Fall 2024

September 29, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

We’re midway of Paris Fashion Week and I’m fashion weak by now. The Row, since moving to Paris, serves as a relaxing intermission. With Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen‘s brand, there’s no hurry, no gimmicks, no bullshit. For pre-fall 2024, the designers delivered simple draping and oversize volumes, luxe layered T-shirt and tank dresses, beach towels thrown casually around the neck (the orange one is so me) and the satin hotel slippers. It’s a fashion detox, done in the unfussy manner of Martin Margiela’s days at Hermès. The tailoring was louche and loungey, with drapey black trousers and a sleeveless funnel neck top worn with a gold bracelet on the upper arm. A cream paisley evening jacket (worn by Małgosia Bela) for the day, pajama pants and a red cashmere robe for the evening. While many designers have tried this season to do pinafores, The Row succeeded in making one a stylish woman would want to wear in black over an oversize white T-shirt. Mostly working in neutrals, they did sprinkle in flashes of cobalt, orange and red, like garnishes on a seaside cocktail. And little extras, like gold toe rings on freshly pedicured feet, and high-crown sun hats added the right notes of whimsy.