Lets be real. Eckhaus Latta SS17

September 12, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

“Just clothing, in a sense,” Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta said backstage after showing Eckhaus Latta’s spring-summer 2017. With an art school background, Eckhaus Latta fashion, or rather style, is well recognisable – it’s all raw, and kept in a über-cool, DIY kind of way. The clothes, designed by the Los Angeles-based duo, are nothing without the attitude of the person wearing them – a non-model, or a friend, or just a person walking down the street. Denim skirts, deconstructed t-shirts, extremely exaggerated stitchings on pants: Eckhaus Latta isn’t into fooling around with themes and, eww, trends. Although the label used to be much more radical when it made the first steps in the industry, the newest collection is a statement – lets be real.

Lil’Kim Approved. Area SS17

September 11, 2016September 11, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

For spring-summer 2017, Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk of Area searched deep for inspiration in their favourite issues of Vogue, coming from the 1960s and 2000s. Both of these major fashion eras are alive in the new season clothing, full of shiny rhinestones and feminine tulle. At Area, there’s often a stark contrast between what’s “good taste” and what’s kitsch – but in the end, the collections always ooze with glamour. Ahh, the I-used-to-be-cool Lucite accessories flecked with suspended glitter. Big, big rings, hoop earrings, and chopsticks for hair (which, by the way, would be a perfect fit for Samantha Jones). And I nearly forgot about those sunglasses! I mean, they revive every single thing, from Spice Girls to Bubble from Absolutely Fabulous. The look-book, photographed by Charlotte Wales, is full of fluorescent, gleaming flares and ruffled tops. One of the dresses, made of a croc-skin imitating fabric, is strangely sexy with all those cuts and bows. Then, suddenly, we’ve got the Dalmatian print all over the pants. Fun. Who else would have slayed Area’s newest creations? My vote is for Lil’ Kim (of course the old, good 2003 version of her)!

Down to Earth. Rachel Comey SS17

September 10, 2016September 10, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Rachel Comey‘s attitude to fashion has its down-to-earth, modest appeal. After having a look at Tom Ford‘s glamorous outing filled with grown-up celebrities, Comey’s outing is like a brunch with your friends – unpretentious and casual. The show was literally taking place on New York’s Crosby Street, just a few steps from Rachel’s flagship store. Chairs were set up on the sidewalk for guests, and the models, varying in age, size and look – walked down their path as naturally as it’s possible. In her press notes, the designer described the clothes as perfect for “farmer’s market,” or “to pick up the kids” adventure. But those pieces were far, far from boring. The chain skirt styled with a simple, white sweatshirt was outstanding; denim overalls and well-cut pants will sell out right away when they hit the stores. Also, Comey revives her menswear line with rainbow-striped cotton shirts and dad-style coats. Low-budget, but the result is impressive.

P.S. Instead of letting the models faint in the sun, because Kim arrives three hours late, and selling plain-looking trash-clothes to the masses, Kanye West could really take a lesson or two from Comey in “how to keep a fashion brand” subject.

What’s Coming for SS17?

August 18, 2016August 19, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Via @natalia_misbhv

So, what’s coming for the spring-summer 2017 season? New designers debutting at big houses; young labels that will steal the spotlight; beauty cannon redefining moments; grear and bad collections. But, why are we thinking about summer of the next year? Note: first days of September – New York Fashion Week kicks off. And August is about to end soon…

On the 10th of September, Natalia Maczek and her team will hit New York with a first ever, MISBHV presentation. Coming straight from Cracow, Poland, the streetwear brand (adored by my friends here) is known for its über-cool, defiant aesthetic. Think gothic fonts, over-sized everything and strip-tease platforms. You might think it’s a wannabe Vetements – but no, MISBHV was nailing it on the Polish streets long time before the French collective’s fame.

It’s hard being a young and independent fashion designer in Paris, fighting for attention in the crowd of Chanel-s, Balmain-s and Vuitton-s. But still, a wave of young, French designers thrives to convey their vision of fashion. Meet Koché, the creation of Christelle Kocher, the new girl in the schedule and a second-time LVMH finalist .“I’m sharing my Paris with other people,” is how she described her AW16 unusual venue of her fashion – the 18th-century Passage du Prado, which nowadays is adopted by African hairdressers and little mobile phone shops. So, no – it’s not Grand Palais or a Rue Saint Honore showroom. I tell you – keep Koché on your radar.

Sander Lak, the man behind Sies Marjan, is into the 90s, and that might be the reason why his pastel-pink pieces got sold out within the minutes on-line. Although AW16 was his first season, the New York-based designer, takes it easy in the fashion industry. With his experience (he used to work at Dries Van Noten) and colour sensibility, I bet he will pull off another, jaw-dropping outing this season.

London is burning with talents, and Fashion East understands the needs of young individuals. That’s why, the SS17 scheme is really exciting: we’ve got A.V. Robertson, who envisions another dimension of embroidery and embellishment; there’s Matty Bovan, a LVMH prize winner, who worked (together with Robetson) on Marc Jacobs’ prints, and collaborated with Miu Miu on their latest presentation. We will also get to know Mimi Wade and Richard Malone closer during the upcoming London Fashion Week.

Anthony Vaccarello was announced as the new creative director at Saint Laurent, and his debut in Paris will tell, whether he’s able to take a big house under his wings. There are three options – he will go Hedi Slimane’s path, delivering a grunge-y set of clothes; he will do it the way he does it at his namesake label; or, he will literally shock everyone. I hope that the last option becomes true. For now, there’s a lot of Anja Rubik on his Instagram.

Maria Grazia Chiuri is another designer who will soon debut at a major, French maison. Well, in fact she switched Valentino for Dior. Good for Dior.

Boucher Jarrar‘s start at Lanvin isn’t the best. Just take look at her “first” collection, so resort 2017. Sure, pre-collections should be commercial, but… they shouldn’t be that boring Alber Elbaz’ frivolous legacy is erased for good, while Jeanne Lanvin’s quintessence is barely here. Time will show, whether Bouchra’s clean minimalism does any good for Lanvin.

Demna Gvasalia‘s debut at Balenciaga is already behind us – but I can’t wait to see what is he up to for spring-summer 2017.

September, come!

Space Cowboy. Ganni SS17

August 14, 2016January 5, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Ganni‘s take on spring-summer 2017 appeared to be quite outer-space. The show venue was surrounded around a massive installation of red balloons splattered with paint – the effect looked cosmic. Meanwhile, the clothes had a lot to do with space, but rather in a sci-fi context. The collection was entitled ‘Space Cowboy‘, which, as many of the editors and street-style stars expected, ended in a line of covettable, cowboy boots (in python leather, the Ganni way). But the clothes weren’t that literal (expect the t-shirts!) – geometrical culottes styled with ribbed knit top, leg-exposing shorts in python print, floral robe dresses with ruffled sleevs and fringes. A bunch of modern-day essentials that are about to invade contemporaty women’s wardrobes, kept in an exciting, Wild West aesthetic. But if you’re still in search for astronaut accessories, then next summer Ganni will offer big, big shades to protect you from the sun’s heat.