What’s Hot (20.9.24)

September 20, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Prada Denim Trucker Jacket

Margot McKinney 18K Gold Multi-Stone Opal Drop Earrings

Puppets & Puppets Banana Leather Top-Handle Bag

Styled Show. Puppets & Puppets SS25

September 17, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Puppets & Puppets‘ Carly Mark left New York – a rather hostile city for emerging brands – for London, a place that’s resilient and way more supporting for creatives that think outside the box. There’s also an element of strangeness about Mark’s fashion (and accessories). The feeling of unexpectedness was delivered by the deliberately blunt clothes that were just… clothes. Boxy t-shirts, navy crewneck sweaters, skinny black jeans, plain lingerie sets and faux-fur trimmed hoodies. All that was styled with indie-sleazy fedoras (very girlfriend of an Arctic Monkeys member in the late 2000s), big sunglasses and gloves. Was Mark’s intention here an elaborate trolling exercise? Not quite.

Rather than think of a fashion presentation solely as a forum for presenting new designs, she sought to evaluate its merit as a conceptual and artistic medium. Her decision to present what she called “a styled show rather than a fashion show” was an exercise in distancing herself from a sense of obligation to create producible garments. Working alongside stylist Taylor Thoroski, looks leaned into Mark’s familiar style vernacular, drawing upon her own dress habits. “Something I’ve learned over the years is that the things that I put down the runway are stronger, in my opinion, when they’re in line with me,” she said. “I’ve been very into not having pants on in the past. So we were like, ‘OK, let’s keep going there.’ And I’ve been wearing really simple jeans,” she says, pointing down to a slim-fit H&M pair she was wearing. And that’s so refreshing to hear in 2024.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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What’s Hot (22.3.24)

March 22, 2024March 16, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Not Just A Lady. Puppets & Puppets AW24

February 14, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s so sad to hear that this was Puppets & Puppets‘ final collection in New York. Carly Mark is moving to London, and plans to shape her business around accessories. Unfortunately, of all the fashion capitals, New York is the least merciful towards emerging brands. And it’s a double-pity, because the autumn-winter 2024 collection was one of the finest works by Mark to date. Reducing all things superfluous and focusing on garment-making, the line-up offered some of the most brilliant ideas of this fashion week. There were lots and lots of tights, and that’s what the artist-turned-designer likes to wear when she’s in an Little Edie mood, just as she dons a hoodie and T-shirt when she feels like a basement lord. There was something seemingly haphazard about the lineup, which featured lots of wrapping and twisting and things tied on, while models clutched at their get-ups. This wasn’t to keep the clothes on, explained Mark backstage, but a gesture borrowed from fittings. Clutching one’s heart is also an instinctual movement made when things go south. Many of the patterns took the form of spirals; perhaps a metaphor for unraveling. Veils suggested an element of religion, which, if you think about it, has a twisted logic. For the time being, Mark is, in effect, becoming a fashion nun, in the sense that she’s abstaining from clothes making. Along with the more revealing looks were those that were almost proper. “Lady is a word we’ve actually been using a lot in the office,” said Mark. “When anything feels a bit lady, we fuck it up a little bit. But I think swans are an interesting conversation because Capote, in a way, was the puppet master to these refined women – or at least tried to be. I am really interested in not letting that happen to me. I am the puppet master. I am in control of my life and myself and the decisions I make. So if anything, I’m both Capote and the swan.” Looking forward to see what this exciting designer does next.