June 18, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s the first time in a while, when Pitti Uomo feels exciting. This season, the fashion editors and buyers have seen Gosha Rubchinskiy take on Italian culture; the same day, Raf Simons presented one of his most defining collections in his career. The standing fashion show for spring-summer 2017 was a special occasion – it was a nod to Robert Mapplethorpe, a controvertial American, who was known for his unconventional black-and-white photography. During his lifetime, the photographer shot such extraordinary characters as Patti Smith or Andy Warhol, but also, he was famous for his highly BDSM polaroids, flower still-lives (often compared to erect phallus) and nudes of female wrestlers.

The photographer, who began the cult of erotic photography in the 70s, was the main, well-visible and fully acknowledged reference point for Raf this season. Rather than simply putting famous Mapplethorpe photographs as prints on tops, Simons challenged himself to make his inspiration something much more profound. “Every boy is a representation of a piece of work” – this is how the designer described the models, with dark, curly hair and skinny black pants. Some looked like the original characters taken out of Mapplethorpe’s polaroids, wearing leather biker caps and voluminous, white shirts. Oh yes, the shirts. The over-sized silhouettes reassembled white walls of a gallery, perfectly exposing these defiant and somewhat deviant visuals. Debbie Harry, with a stern face, looked at you from under a cropped V-neck sweater; a penis photo on a striped t-shirt wasn’t a surprise, keeping in mind Robert’s late obsessions. Wherever you turned, you could sense respect for the photographer, coming from Raf’s heart. The focus was on the clothes – the images weren’t shouting, leaving space for the pieces to speak for themselves. It’s not a one-season-only type of collaboration between an artist (specifically, Mapplethorpe Foundation) and a fashion designer. It’s a collection, where everything is about the rebellious attitude, with a very clear, labelled reference. Other designers should take a note from Simons on how to name their inspirations, in order not to become accidental copycats.

A Bigger Splash

May 22, 2016March 13, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

We are all OBSCENE!

I’ve been waiting for A Bigger Splash since last September, and just yesterday I had a chance to see it in the cinema. But the waiting was honestly worth it, as I can openly say that I’m obsessed with it even more than I were few months ago. Luca Guadagnino‘s sultry, Italian sun-bathed thriller, starring Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, Matthias Schoenaerts and Lily McMenamy, is a masterpiece. Visually, musically, artistically.

On an idyllic island of Pantelleria, Marianne Lane, a rock-star (played by the one and only Swinton), cures herself from a temporary voice loss and is all in sensual, compassionate relationship with Paul (Schoenaerts). Lying naked on the off-beat beach all day, the couple’s fantasy escape is interrupted by a spontanous visit of chaotic, impulsive Harry (played by Fiennes), Marianne’s music producer and old, drug-fuelled love. He arrives to the island with a shocking surprise: his “newly-discovered” daughter, Penelope (Dakota Johnson), who is a reflection of a melancholic lolita-teenager. The atmosphere gets stinking hot, as jealousy, untamed love and temperamental desire start to ooze in the relations between these equally vivid characters. Dancing to Rolling Stone’s Emotional Rescue, Harry is getting on everybody’s nerves, simultaneously inducing Marianne to fall in love with him, again. On the other side of the terracotta tiled pool, we’ve got Paul, a level-headed, loyal lover to Lane; but then, there is Penelope, whose coquettish behaviour and nasty attitude towards the others will make everything even more complicated…

A Bigger Splash is a remake of French thriller La Piscine, which is iconic due to star power of Alain Delon, Romy Schneider and Jane Birkin – however, the plot has many reinterpreted, unpredictable twists. As Guadignino believes that fashion plays a major role in his films (!), the frivolous dresses, alluring skirts and sequined jumpsuits a la Ziggy Stardust, designed by Raf Simons during his tenure at Dior, fulfill the meaningful body language of Marianne. Also, the soundtrack of A Bigger Splash was curated in the dynamic, sexy rhyme of this (already) cult film – from rock’n’roll Nevada Wild tracks to operatic Popol Vuh, the play with sound is mind-blowing in here, too.

I rarely (almost never) write about films on my blog – but I just couldn’t hold back from sharing my excitement with Luca’s film. Although it tells about pain and misunderstanding, obscenity and looking into the past, it’s an aesthetically beautiful nod to gestures, touch, sense and unconventional love. Should I even recommend it? Go for it, without consideration.

Photographs above: Giulio Ghirardi examines the exquisite costumes and props, which helped bulid the elusive seductiveness of A Bigger Splash.

Men’s – Nightmares and Dreams. Raf Simons AW16

January 21, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Autumn-winter 2016 is the first collection delivered by Raf Simons since his abrupt departure from Dior. And the anticipation was equal to the success of this collection, which feels like a remix of Simons’ best styles combined with the newest ideas coming straight from his genius mind. David Lynch was the primary point of the collection – the director behind Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet appealed to Raf’s eerie vision from the very beginning – and this collection, shown in a labyrinth venue and presented by disturbingly looking models, had a specific, nightmare-like feeling. Tattered and abbreviated high-school jerseys (the American youth from Detroit and Tulsa has always fascinated the designer) were over-sized and hung out of the deconstructed pea-coats and vests. Moreover, the show invitation mentioned the Elm Street, too – so no wonder why the neon-orange knit made me instantly think of the infamous serial killer from this horror.

To highlight AW16’s sinister, yet elusive mood, Simons called the collection Nightmares and Dreams. “I always like creating beautiful things,” he said, “but it’s interesting when something’s weird, something’s dark. Something goes wrong.” Like the XXL duvet jackets, which the designer openly compared to Martin Margiela’s most iconic creation. Margiela is an important person for Raf and for his career – in reality, it was a Margiela (anti)fashion show that triggered Simons’ interest in entering the fashion industry. “But it was more about how I felt—something so meaningful, so totally from the heart that show, that collection.” Other pieces that caught the standing audience drool over were the Boy Scout uniforms, skinny trousers and layered, white shirts which were tacked under the elongated sweaters in a messy way.

It’s good to see that such a unique talent like Raf Simons hasn’t changed even a bit after a much more corporate brand like Dior – this enigmatic collection represents the identity of this Belgian designer and his creative independence. It feels like Paris re-welcomes Raf Simons with a loud applause after his womenswear affair, even though he had started his men’s fashion in the early 90’s.