Antiheroines. Elena Velez SS24

September 15, 2023September 15, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

In the sea of New York Fashion Week’s collections that deliver mediocrity mixed with business, Elena Velez is an outlier. She is here to disturb the peace. And the system. The spring-summer 2024 fashion show took place at a warehouse in Bushwick. After the finale walk, a handful of the models started a mud fight. Some guests got splattered. Velez enjoys creating such discomfort. The designer gave no interviews after the show. She wanted the spectacle to speak for itself. Instead she let her press notes do the talking. “Where are our antiheroines?” she asked, adding that the collection, titled The Longhouse, was a “ritualistic catharsis to the coddling, histrionic, and moralistic ills of oversocialization.” Maybe the mud fight was a visual representation of our online interactions, which often lack nuance and have little care for context. Velez went on to state that the show was a “creative interpretation of the reorganization of contemporary society around feminine expressions of control and behavioral modeling” and a reaction to a “climate of post-progressivism where resistance to a monolithic cultural paradigm is intensifying.” It’s hard to unpack these ideas. What was clear was Velez’s commentary on contemporary womanhood. “It feels to me like the sanitization and unilateralization of womanhood in popular culture today leaves no room for the nuance and multiplicity we deserve as architects of labyrinthine interior lives,” she wrote. In short, and in plain English, her point is that women can be good and evil, kind and angry, soft and rugged, and passive and aggressive. Velez offers them eveningwear that remains as compelling and striking as ever; a standout was an askew and elongated corset that melted onto the body with a draped skirt covered in silicone latex. But most fascinating were her commercial propositions: waffle-knit tights, zip-up bustiers, canvas jackets and shirting constructed with seams and darts inside out, layered T-shirts, and a terrific cropped bomber jacket with its bust cups slashed in half. You want to meet the woman who wears Velez’s clothes; you might fear her, but you also want to befriend her.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Forever Spring. Rosie Assoulin SS24

September 14, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Rosie Assoulin celebrates 10th anniversary of her name-sake brand this year. For that occasion, she had her “first fashion show” this New York Fashion Week, which was a joyous mise-en-scène accompanied by the euphoric sound of Vivaldi’s “Spring”. Rosie’s fashion is like forever spring: it’s always blooming, no matter the season, and feels effortless, hopeful and so joie de vivre. “Spring, in all its abundance, is a reminder that we are here to grow. In a way, it’s a memento mori, urging us to savor the fertility of the season, with the knowledge of its impermanence. As it comes in, so it goes out, and we must enjoy and celebrate in the moment,” the show notes read. Assoulin’s signature eveningwear – never constricting, always freeing and easy in wear – oozed with colors and textures, all thanks to horizontal strips of organza that created a mille-feuille effect. The collection of course had the designer’s laid-back tailoring, perfect for any occasion. Silk pajama sets looked super compelling, especially when topped with big, funky flower brooches. “We just wanted to take a moment and sit down,” Assoulin said. “We love to do what we do. We wanted to bring optimism, color, hope, and a little bit of humor.” To another 10 years!

Modern-Day Witch. Gabriela Hearst SS24

September 14, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

For spring-summer 2024, Gabriela Hearst was talking about the Druids and quoted a wicca handbook. But the designer’s clothes really don’t need that much background and explanation. The collection’s highlight dress, made from black cashmere linen gauze, had the long draped sleeves of a high priestess robe. Witchy lengths and layers reappeared all over the offering, but there was a contemporary feel to them. The designer cut a couple of very elegant pantsuits, of course in responsibly sourced or deadstock materials. As usual, she’s also passionate about craft. There was an extraordinary white poncho and dress in this collection whose elaborate patterns were hand-crocheted and hand-macraméd by Bolivian artisans after a painting by the Haitian artist Levoy Exil, whose work draws inspiration from voodoo. The poncho took over 1,500 hours to complete. Beaded mesh dresses, while simpler, require their own time-consuming steps; to make the yarn, the glass beads are first strung on silk, which is then spun with cashmere. Heart will show her last collection for Chloé later this month; that match just didn’t click, even with the designer’s best intentions. At least now she will have more space for perfecting her vision at her New York-based label.

Retro-Tinged Chic. Tory Burch SS24

September 13, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Tory Burch keeps on thriving. It’s a real pleasure seeing how this designer evolves creatively throughout the last couple of seasons, all thanks to her thorough study of Claire McCardell’s all-American, elegant designs. Spring-summer 2024 is a beautiful continuation of Burch’s take on femininity, through a slightly retro-tinged lens. There were bits of space-age sensibility: crinoline rings that formed the bouncy hems of viscose knit dresses, in the uniform-like sensibility of the collarless bonded jersey jackets she paired with super-short minis, and in the ergonomically designed molded plastic handbags. The designer said she’d been thinking about what “effortless” means now. She liked the idea of clothing that “frees up your mind.” Clothes should unencumber you, not complicate your life. The thigh-high hems conveyed a carefree, youthful attitude, especially since they were paired with flat shoes, but the plunging U-necks, held in place with what looked like tie clips, might not prove as easy to wear. Nylon taffeta zip polos worn with tech-y pants got closer to the effortlessness she said she was aiming for. A coat, coatdress, and skirt suit with stand-away collars had a more vintage-y look, in keeping with the ’60s influences we’ve seen elsewhere this New York Fashion Week – like at Altuzarra.

Twisted Lady. Altuzarra SS24

September 13, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Second season in a row, Joseph Altuzarra delivers one of the best collections of New York Fashion Week. His winter offering was a refined look-back at his signature, urban elegance; for spring-summer 2024, the designer nods to Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby and Miuccia Prada’s style, an aesthetically-ecstatic combination of references. The film’s haunting undercurrents felt close to the surface of Altuzarra season, with tulle veils and matching 1960s babydoll dresses and the she’s-come-undone details, like the crushed textures of everything from slipdresses to A-line coats, gauzy organza slips peeking out from underneath the hems of pencil skirts, and the DIY-ish embroideries on other skirts and dresses. Miuccia’s spirit could be perceived all over the bourgeois lady-likeness, which is never obvious; there’s always a sexual tension behind it. To tempt the clients who want to play around with uptown sexiness, Altuzarra had satin coats in red, butter yellow, and ivory that were A-line and somewhat oversized, “almost as if you took a doll coat from the ’60s and blew it up a little bit,” and a strapless polka dot trapeze dress straight out of 1950s couture. There was also a pair of gowns, one black with thin straps, and the other a white tank style, that looked neither twisted, nor bourgeois; they were simply striking.