Welcome To My Island. Bottega Veneta Resort 2024

November 3, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s been a great week for fashion: we had Phoebe Philo’s big Monday debut, and on Friday a delightful Bottega Veneta resort 2024 collection by Matthieu Blazy. “It’s not about the total look,” the designer summed up the brilliant line-up. “With the team,” he explained, “we talked a lot about what makes individuals special, the pieces they wear and the pieces that tell a story – the pieces, sometimes, that are a bit off, something that feels very personal, what makes you different from others.” What inspired the exercise, Blazy explained, was a trip home to his parents’ place, where he found himself going through his childhood wardrobe. A crab print dress of his sister’s made an impression, as did the “incredible labels” and slightly off proportions of his own old clothes. The crab print dress has been reimagined here as a sweater and matching skirt handknit in shades of turquoise and coral; on an ivory sweater in the same vein a scaly snake twists around the torso, its forked tongue flicking red. As for the oversize label stitched to the back of a tailored vest, it is indeed likely to conjure youthful memories for all who sees it. Blazy’s instinct to create serious fashion out of unserious items feels of a piece with what he’s done on his runways, making jeans, tank tops, and flannel shirts out of the finest leather and in the process turning mundane garments into collector’s items. There is also a dress here whose print features a dancing marionette. The Commedia dell’Arte was another reference this season; Blazy saw parallels between the harlequin costumes of its performers and Bottega Veneta’s own intrecciato motif. A leather coat in mint, burgundy, and white, and a bright yellow and black woven button-down and matching pants are showcases for the label’s striking artisanship and the design team’s embrace of fun. On that note, a large intrecciato tote was constructed with an irregular weave that called to mind TV static or broken pixels. Definitely not just another it-bag, but a wearable artwork to cherish.

As the festive season is slowly but steadily approaching, how about some of Blazy’s Bottega on the wishlist?

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Butterfly. Blumarine Resort 2024

July 25, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

For resort 2024, Blumarine emerges from the armored chrysalis of the Joan D’Arc-themed autumn show and pops out as a butterfly in shining colors. Turquoise. Hot pink. Golden yellow. “The look isn’t as dirty as in the last few seasons,” Nicola Brognano elucidated. The designer said he wanted something more elevated and sensual, “a different energy, more joie de vivre, a more summer feel“. From the label’s archive he excavated a calmer color palette – nudes, pale pink, light blue, white – that he amplified into brighter vibrations. “There are no concepts, just sensations,” he said matter-of-factly. The look was ultrashort, body skimming and slinky, with viscose jersey providing a smooth, liquid surface malleable enough for wrapping, draping, and sash-knotting. Matching the barely-there minidresses’ colors, stretchy leggings that covered the needle heels of strappy sandals elongated the figure into a lean monochrome silhouette. Brognano unearthed a Blumarine lingerie look from years past, steering its once flirty, seductive attitude towards the overtly provocative. A tight-fitting bustier and leggings combo in stretch jersey with lace inserts was the season’s “new suit proposition.” Roses, another of Blumarine’s emblems, were also given the Brognano treatment. More thorny bush than manicured garden, they were laser-cut and appliquéd on a white minidress, or printed on a hot-pink mesh tube dress. The brand’s ubiquitous cargos came in a simplified evening version. In black canvas with a satin intarsia, they signaled a slight shift in the approach to Y2K that put Brognano’s Blumarine on the map in the first place. Asked how he feels about the in-your-face bare-midriff look that has ignited copycats by every high street brand, he was rather adamant. “Y2K? Honestly, I think it’s a bit passé.”

Back To Black. Batsheva Resort 2024

July 21, 2023July 21, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

“I get uncomfortable when there are too many things in the collection that aren’t pieces that I love. So I’ve really tried to make it what I want to wear now.” Meaning: Batsheva Hay has a colour palette of black, white and gray on her mind, and likes to wear variations of dresses in 1950s style. That’s clearly reflected in her resort 2024 offering. In recent seasons Batsheva has been experimenting with various directions she can take her New York-based brand without completely abandoning what has made her successful in the first place. For this season that meant vintage-y silhouettes and barely any printed cotton. “It’s really all about different fabrics,” she said. Highlights included a black velvet long sleeve dress with a white lace-up detail running from bust to shoulder; a streamlined maxi dress with flared sleeves and a slight mockneck in shiny black sequins, and a long ruched body-con velvet dress in a dark wine color (one of three colorful pieces in the collection) with a high neck and a slightly padded shoulder. Hay may be queen of the dress, but she loves a matching set, and she had some great options, including a black high waist a-line skirt and button-down with a “funny firework embroidery” in sequins; a four-button jacket with dramatic ruffled sleeves and a matching maxi skirt in an abstracted floral silk jacquard; and a black taffeta button-down and matching cropped bootcut trousers decorated with all-over rhinestones. Though it skews more serious than her usual offerings, resort still bears her off-beat charm.

A couple of my favourite Batsheva pieces you can shop now:

Batsheva cropped leopard-print cotton-velvet top

Batsheva x Laura Ashley ruffled floral-print cotton-poplin mini dress

Batsheva lace-trimmed pintucked embroidered cotton-poplin mini dress

Batsheva pearl-embellished faille blouse

Commanding. Khaite Resort 2024

July 15, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Khaite resort 2024 fashion collection. Black sheer dress worn over lingerie. Art collage. Anna Ewers model.

Resort is the moment for Catherine Holstein to explore the more laid-back aspect of Khaite, the New York-based brand that keeps on stealing women’s hearts across the world. Super-chunky cashmere hand-knits and impressive sweater dresses clash with fluid sheer evening dresses and billowy ruffles. A stretch jersey henley bodysuit worn with high-waisted leather pants just might be the star of the season; it’s sexy in the offhand way of that virally famous Khaite cashmere bra that Katie Holmes wore a couple of seasons ago. You’ll also find the jeans that are a foundational part of the business – the silhouette of the moment is ’90s-ish, full-legged and relaxed – and an array of leather jackets that are unmistakably cool. A group of silk twill pieces in a souvenir print with depictions of New York City landmarks was a surprise, a charming one. Holstein likes an exaggerated shoulder and a defined waist, or a cropped one, and she experimented with military-style buttons on some styles. The coat silhouettes are oversized and commanding.

And here’s a couple of my favourite Khaite pieces you can catch now:

Khaite crystal-embellished suede tote

Khaite f rayed mid-rise straight-leg jeans

Khaite satin pumps

Out Of Town. Burberry Resort 2024

June 30, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Daniel Lee‘s era at Burberry is taking shape. In his debut, Britishness and the emphasis on the outdoor-wear were the biggest take-aways. In his second collection – resort 2024 – these ideas are further developed. I’m stuck with the same impression as back in February: the offering is good, but… I’m not shook. It seems that Lee’s Burberry will be much safer in fashion-wise terms, comparing to his time at Bottega Veneta. The latest line-up is a mix of “proper” looking clothes with a touch of Philo-isms (Lee worked under Phoebe at Céline; the silk foulard look in swan print is a clear signifier of that) and accessory tricks he mastered to perfection at Bottega (the big, chunky boots are back). The faux-fur trapper hat is still hot, even though we’ve seen it on the runway debut. Probably the most interesting thing about the collection is what the designer did with Prince of Wales check. He morphed it into something sophisticated but just a little weird: traditional at the top, but warping downwards into digital-age waves. Below that, tights that take up the same pattern. And on the feet, a slew of the kind of footwear that engendered fanatical enthusiasm from Lee’s followers at Bottega. The designer talked about establishing “an outdoor and outerwear” feel for this collection. That’s Burberry-central, of course – windswept moors, rain coats, quilted jackets, and all that. Playing around with Burberry checks comes with the territory. The landscape and culture are first nature to this Yorkshire-born designer, meaning he’s no need to ladle on the references with a heavy hand. One of his English country-walk tropes turned into a delightful lattice-work of yellow dandelion flowers printed on dresses in a pattern mimicking a traditional argyle.