Grandiose. Saint Laurent SS18

September 27, 2017September 27, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

The passing of Pierre Bérge, Yves Saint Laurent’s partner in private and business life, wasn’t meant to be reflected as a mourning in Anthony Vaccarello‘s third collection for Saint Laurent. Rather, the spring-summer 2018 collection was a celebration of the ‘l’amour fou’, the crazy love that the two shared. And that was a show that matches one word: grandiose!

From what should I start? The venue was an open-air platform situated in the most precious viewpoint in the French capital – yes, the twinkling Eiffel Tower was the runway’s backdrop! THAT’S PARIS, and Vaccarello loves to highlight that Saint Laurent is the most Parisian label you can think of, in terms of style and its faces (for Yves that was Catherine Deneuve; for Anthony it’s Charlotte Gainsbourg). Second, the collection with an impression that was just as strong as of the venue. It was divided in three parts, the women’s ready-to-wear, menswear and ‘modern-day’ couture. The first part was very lace-y, very bohème and Courtney Love / Lenny Kravitz-cool. In other words, that’s what you see a Parisienne wear on the streets, no bra, just pure confidence. Menswear was simple and chic. However, the couture-ish part was my favourite. What a contemporary ode to Yves and his memorable appreciation for the ‘custom-made’. Puff skirts and very, very mini-dresses of huge volumes (one of them was so short that the model’s panties were visible – they were elegantly embellished with a rhinestone Eiffel Tower). Use of feathers, that referred to YSL’s autumn-winter 1987 and his costumes for Zizi Jeanmarie, was killer. Can’t get enough of all these boas, feather-y shoulders and thigh-high boots covered in plumage. That was so over-the-top. A fashion moment I anticipated so much, but thought will not happen in this decade. With his best collection up-to-date, Vaccarello really proves that Saint Laurent is the perfect place for him. Bravo.

Collages by Edward Kanarecki.

Sport De Luxe. Koché SS18

September 27, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

L’Église Saint-Merry, one of the most liberally oriented churches in Paris, was the show venue for Koché‘s spring-summer 2018 collection. But that’s not the first time when the brand chooses an extraordinary venue for their show – once it was an old passage, another time a huge city mall. Mostly places that don’t attract these fashionable Parisians, but certainly do breath with the ‘real’ Parisian air. But Koché isn’t just about unusual venues. Christelle Kocher‘s label rotates around the idea of twisting streetwear with couture sensibility – and her offer keeps on growing organically, from season to season. What’s new this time around from that emerging, talented designer? The most genuine idea of reusing football shirts and jerseys for a high fashion statement I’ve seen so far. Emirate Airlines logo and Chantilly lace were all there, in a spliced-together mid-length dress. Comparing to her last seasons, Kocher looks forward to more feminine silhouettes, adding more elegant gowns in geometrical silhouettes (the black one was especially very Cristobal Balenciaga) to her brand. Going new directions and experimenting is always a fine idea – but I think keeping true to Koché’s primary aesthetic sense is a good decision to take for the designer, as she progresses.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

La Bombe. Jacquemus SS18

September 26, 2017September 26, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

‘La bombe’ is the way Simon Porte Jacquemus thinks of his late mother, Valérie, who is the designer’s lifetime inspiration and muse. It’s a popular saying for beautiful, confident women in the Soe uth of France – the region, where the designer was born and which he continues to celebrate in his collections. The spring-summer 2018 show was like a sun-drenched fashion poetry, that took place in an extraordinary location – at Musee Picasso in Paris (no other fashion show took place here before). A special place requires special clothes, and Jacquemus’ pieces will be exactly what you’re going to demand when the summer comes – mini-dresses kept in sultry lengths, curved straw hats (slightly different from the ones from the memorable spring-summer 2017 La Santons de Provence collection), polka dots and lots of eclectic, Lacroix-like jewellery, but kept in a more minimal, sweet-candy style. This season, the textures feel softer than usual at Jacquemus. The young designer is keen on experimenting and he felt like draping and shaping the silhouette with the textiles, rather than keeping it stiff and statuesque. Simon had also been thinking about “French Island girls—they could be in Corsica, or Martinique in the Caribbean, too.” Henri Matisse’s paintings appear in my mind right away…

The overall effect? Blushing girls with their unfinished make-ups, in care-free dresses that they really ENJOY wearing – that’s the most frivolous and heart-warming start of Paris fashion week you could imagine. The Jacquemus femme is a bomb in every meaning of this word this (and every) season, that’s for sure.

All collages by Edward Kanarecki.

Out of Her Mind. Marni SS18

September 25, 2017September 25, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

What’s Marni girl like according to Francesco Risso? She’s out of her mind. But in a positive sense, at least this season. It’s Risso’s second women’s runway show at the helm of this Italian brand and it finally builds some image of the designer’s creative direction. The inspiration for the collection came from “two English gardens seen by Tim Burton… with candies“, a nod to the cinematic adaptation of Willy Wonka and his crazy chocolate factory. So, just like in case of Roald Dahl’s original story, don’t expect anything rational from Marni this season, as it’s a fantastic play with literally everything, from the fluffiest bags to most rich and rare textiles like brocade or horsehair. The fur coats were joyously embellished with pink roses, while cocktail dresses torn apart and re-shaped around the body to look less glamorous and more clumsy. Floral prints collage-ed and patchworked with David Salle’s illustrations of smoking females; colourful rhinestone embroideries scattered haphazarly around gowns; earrings and necklaces were bent, becoming wearable sculptures. Looking oddly has always been a style-code at Marni, and Risso gets the point: he no longer terrifies people (see his debut collection…), but appeals with his woman’s spontaneous edge. That’s a candy nobody expected near the end of Milan fashion week, where things felt quite plain in taste.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Carte Blanche. Jil Sander SS18

September 24, 2017September 24, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Lucie and Luke Meier are an ultimate fashion couple. The first one worked along Serge Ruffieux at Dior for a couple of season’s after Raf Simons’ sudden departure; the latter worked for Supreme and cofounded the menswear label OAMC. Now, they meet proffesionally under one roof – at Jil Sander, the empire of minimalism with German origin. Leading the brand with typically minimal, 90s-inspired aesthetic isn’t as easy as it sounds. Pure simplicity, that seems to be rooted in Jil Sander, isn’t a promise of succes: as Sander exited her label, nobody really came close enough to make it feel relevant (except Raf Simons) and really authentic. But that’s the perk of designing for a brand like Jil Sander – there’s only one master.

The new designers did two things that felt like their personal take on the brand. First, they presented their debut collection not in Jil Sander headquarters, but outdoors at soon-to-open mall with a view on Zaha Hadid-designed tower. A breath of fresh air, an eye-opening perspective. Second, it was their feminine sensivity that appeared throughout the entire show. The Meiers smartly noted that “a lot of the time, the first impression of her (Jil) is cold, sparse, and hard – what she did, was also feminine, light, and sensual; that was the approach for us.” Of course, the brand’s signature white crisp shirts were present, but they looked softer than usual. Romantic, white maxi-dresses swept the runway’s floor. Black coats weren’t that mournful. There was also some craftiness, that unfortunately felt quite inconsistent and unsynchronised with the rest. Still, those big chunky sweaters and knitted dresses looked good, even if they had not much to do with the brand’s founder and her style codes. Debuts are debuts – to get the full picture of Meiers’ Jil Sander, we’ve got to take some time.