Men’s – Positivity. Louis Vuitton SS20

June 23, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s Virgil Abloh‘s third season at men’s Louis Vuitton, and probably his best. For the spring-summer 2020 show, the brand held it in the real-life, cobbled streets and cafes of the Place Dauphine. The audience sat under trees on Louis Vuitton park benches or sipped a glass of champagne at outdoor tables. The view? A collection of easy, big shapes, flowing pants, real flowers stuck into harnesses and some really good outerwear. People like Dev Hynes of Blood Orange were part of the show’s casting, which made it even more intriguing. Of course, there were some similiarities to Craig Green’s garments in these wearable, geometric constructions that closed the show, but the collection’s main focus was on couture-level craftsmanship. Flower embroideries climbed up tulle coats, and a couple of immensely luxe iterations of hoodies, made from minutely pleated chiffon. “I’m learning, and taking much more of a couture approach”, he told the press after the show. It was a collection oozing with pure positivity, from the delicious pastel colour palette to the flower power elements.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s – Corporate Killers. Raf Simons SS20

June 22, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

Corporate chairs, violently covered with black tape, were placed all over the show venue. “Big lie… media America, corporate America… fascist America” spoke the mysterious voice as part of the soundtrack. Was Raf Simons about to sent down a line-up of corporate killers? It rather seemed like an underground tribe of rebellious boys who were about to fight with the old, power-holding white men, who block individuality. From one side, you could perceive this collection as Simons’ comeback to his comfort zone: defiant teenagers in rage. But from the other side, this might have been a cumulation of feelings gathered after the designer’s abrupt exit from Calvin Klein, which happened nearly a year ago. Today, Raf is again his own boss, and he’s sure of one thing: he despises corporate, capitalist America. “STONE(E)D AMERICA” sign appeared on a number of garments, while the hospital gowns and coats had “RS-LAB” labels on. The t-shirts were splattered with red paint, the knits were ripped, shorts were styled with heavy boots (as if the boys were off for a long crusade). Some models wore red scientist gloves – maybe Simons nodded to handling radioactive chemicals in this dystopian vision? This was a collection with a message, with emotions, but simultaneously is full of deadly good clothes. Raf doesn’t dissapoint.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s – Beauty in Distortion. Y/Project SS20

June 21, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

Glenn Martens loves distorting volumes at Y/Project, and it’s an in-house signature coming each season from the brand. But this season, twisting, elongating, bending and deforming proportions of garments resulted in flowing, organic, even beautiful silhouettes. The tailored jackets and coats were turned inside on themselves. Chevron stitching on knits pointed downward past the double-zippered fanny packs to the super tightly fitted leggings below. Country wax and workwear jackets seemed to be violently grabbed at the collar and pulled upward. It’s quite incredible what Martens and his team do to their clothes, they sort of defeat physics. Womenswear was as well rotating around a similar idea of self-mutating garments, but it really surprised in case of fabrics that were used. Would you ever think of lace at Y/Project? The over-sized, black button-down dress worn over a beige shirt made of the same lace reminded me of Prada autumn-winter 2008, where Miuccia as well layered lace. But of course in a whole different way… Y/Project doesn’t stop to excite.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s – Design Exercise. JW Anderson SS20

June 20, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

For his spring-summer 2020 collection for men (and resort 2020 for women), Jonathan Anderson took an approach he applies at his Loewe. While discussing J.W. Anderson‘s latest collection, the designer mentioned that it’s “not about a styling exercise, but a design exercise.” Part of it was working on cutting away the sleeves of trench coats and tailored jackets to construct geometric wings and leave a drape in the back. He said he’d developed that silhouette after the “ideas about the ’40s and billowing shapes” that he’d shown previously in his womenswear collection. The deconstruction of the tuxedo dressing continued into lapel scarves and dress shirts. There’s no gendered distinction in these clothes. “All sizes can wear that,” he said. Meanwhile, the less ‘formal’ part of the collection consisted of patchworked knits, cable-knit head-bands, shoes made of multi-coloured felt (depicting a sort of pointilist landscape) and flowing, crotchet shawls and dresses. All this feels very warm-hearted, artisanal, beautifully folkloric even. While Anderson nails each season at Loewe, lately I wasn’t that convinced about the work he did for his namesake brand. But this collection is one of his best.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s – Telling A Narrative. Bode SS20

June 20, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

Two weeks after winning the CFDA Award for Emerging Designer of the Year, Emily Adams Bode has another major achievement behind her belt: her first-ever Bode runway show, in Paris, not in New York. That’s a smart move. Men’s New York fashion week has an extremely low visibility, while Bode, a brand that possibly has the brightest, sustainability-forward concept behind it in the entire industry, needs a fair spotlight. The label’s off-kilter pieces reinterpret antique quilts and domestic textiles in a workwear context to create new narratives. Each collection harmonises disparate elements, repairing and preserving materials that would otherwise be lost, thrown away. The designer produces modern heirlooms that nod to folkloric craftsmanship with hand-stitched accents and panelled constructions. For spring-summer 2020, Bode focuses on the same idea, but with a different background. As she explained backstage, ever since launching her menswear label three years ago, she has been waiting for the right moment to present a collection inspired by her familial ties to a bygone wagon workshop based in Cincinnati that produced ornate creations for Barnum & Bailey and the Ringling Brothers. “It’s about being able to tell that narrative of the historical techniques and fabrications and then [figuring out] how we can bring this to market in larger way,” she added. An intricately embroidered coat or a suede jacket with hand-stitched florals might have been the nods to her season’s reference. The clothes that impress with detailing were put together with Bode’s classics – vintage-y, short-sleeved shirts, striped, cropped pants, over-sized overalls. I’m a huge fan of Bode and its philosophy, and it’s not the first time when I’m saying this. Big hopes for winning the LVMH Prize in a couple of days!