Colour. Calvin Klein Resort 2019

July 20, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

Raf Simons’ resort 2019 collection for Calvin Klein 205W93NYC feels like a remix. It’s a smooth continuation from the line’s remarkable autumn-winter 2018 collection (note the fireman jackets and heavy knits), a reminder of the designer’s classics for the brand (polished cowboy boots) and a start of something totally new. Colour blocking! The clingy, maxi-length knitted dresses in bold yellow, pink or blue are feminine, but not banal (and are an echo of Simons’ work for Jil Sander, which makes this addition even more special for the fans). That major play of colours jumped into menswear as well. Other than that, we’ve got America’s most renowned university logos, all over varsity jackets, handbags and pockets of blazers. Personally, I think that’s the weakest point of the collection, but the one that will sell best. Still, it’s consistent to Raf’s thorough examination of the Americana theme he moves every season, in various aspects. Pre-collections are not main collections, so you know, Raf couldn’t go too far. But it’s a proper balance of commercial and daring.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

That’s a Party. Miu Miu Resort 2019

July 11, 2018July 11, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

Back from Italy and back to the journal. Now it’s the time to catch up on all the shows that took place during the end of June / beginning of July couture week in Paris. Miu Miu is first up, and it’s not even couture (although it had more flow and fantasy than some of the biggest haute players – Dior and Chanel, I’m looking at you).

Oh boy, we didn’t have a show like this for a while! Miuccia Prada‘s fashion spectacle was staged in the lobby of The Regina Hotel, and you surely know thanks to Instagram and all that Uma Thurman, Stranger Thing’s Sadie Sink, Chloë Sevigny and Gwendoline Christie all walked the show. But there was Naomi Campbell and Rowan Blanchard too, as well as Miu Miu’s classic pack of models, from Adwoa Aboah to Lily Nova. With Madonna’s sensual Justify My Love as the soundtrack, the collection featured everything that’s glamour: feathers, coat-dresses, leopard spots, chic fluffy flip-flops. But the presence of Roman Polański in the front row suggested also another, darker plot twist behind the collection. Rosemary’s Baby seemed to be written all over the line-up, noting the sheer nursery dresses and Lucan Gillespie’s very Mia Farrow haircut (done spontaneously, just before the show). The collection, in overall, is refined and mysterious, but joyous and carefree. Aren’t those Miu Miu’s all-time credentials?

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Royal. Erdem Resort 2019

June 15, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

What a collection! Erdem Moralıoğlu‘s resort 2019 collection is about chic royalty at its best. So, what an Erdem woman might want to take from this season? Brocade bustier dress with detachable balloon sleeves (and that pearl necklace), for sure. All those chiffon pieces and feather moments. Not forgetting about the loveliest floral gowns with velvet inserts. Well, I guess the contemporary Marie Antoinette would take it all, without a second thought!

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Re-Invention. Salvatore Ferragamo Resort 2019

June 14, 2018June 14, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s the second season of Salvatore Ferragamo‘s re-invention for Paul Andrew and Guillaume Meilland. The two designers managed to wipe off the dust of the Italian house already back in their brilliant debut collection. Now, the question is – will they thrive? And, will the client return to Ferragamo after the year of oblivion? Well, since Phoebe Philo exited Céline and the customer who wants that kind of luxury won’t stay for Hedi Slimane, they can turn to Andrew and Meilland (as well as to Lemaire and Hermes, but why not give a try to an Italian brand?). Knitwear is offered in the most high quality yarns, meanwhile shirting looks, well, like tailorship perfection. Archival prints were used for plissé silk, and the label’s signature Gancio motif was woven on canvas jacquard. Smart integrity between the past, and now. But, wait – the shoes! That’s Paul’s job mainly. Those burgundy boots in eel skin are gorgeous. “The shoes really dictate a lot at Ferragamo; here they have their own special voice” is how he summed up the footwear line. I think there’s bright future for Ferragamo with these guys.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Joy. Rosie Assoulin SS19

June 12, 2018June 12, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

The fashion week calendar gets blurrier and blurrier with designers like Rosie Assoulin, who has presented her resort 2019 and spring-summer 2019 as one, fluent collection, long ahead of the usual schedule. The designer is planning to make two collections a year, keeping it at her pace – so, forget any ‘see now, buy now’ strategies here, or other confusing business tricks. For Assoulin, it’s the time that matters: to design and to produce her garments. And that’s quite visible, when you take a moment to look at the clothes.

For instance, a coat hand-painted with watercolours; intricately beaded midi-skirts. Note the pin-striped suits. As Vogue reports, “instead of engineering a print, each pinstripe was actually a space-dyed yarn that almost shimmered”. Indeed, not that simple as it seems. Not forgetting about the fantastic jug bags, one of Rosie’s well-known signatures among the New Yorkers. This time they come in even bolder colours. What makes Rosie Assoulin’s brand so distinctive is the joy and humour that are inseparable from the clothes. And what else could highlight that this season? The presentation’s venue, Raquel’s Dream House. It’s Raquel Cayre’s space, where the design lover exhibits some of the most iconic pieces – Masanori Umeda’s Tawaraya ring sits, Shiro Kuramata’s famously fragile Glass Chair and Ettore Sottsass’s Ultrafragola mirror, to name a few. A set that matches Assoulin’s arty gowns, skirts and outerwear just perfectly.