style

Clothes To Love and Live In. The Elder Statesman SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

Post-fashion-month, now there’s time to look closer at the labels that aren’t looking for fashion show spotlight. The Elder Statesman is one of my favourite labels that are under the radar and its spring-summer 2020 is all about good vibes (yes, really, I used this expression – but it matches the collection perfectly!). Greg Chait has turned The Elder Statesman into the coolest of cool and the luxe-est of luxe: the proof is in the many copycats of his tie-dye knitwear and slouchy casual spirit. For summer, Chait offers body-cropped hoodies, shirtdresses in woven, dyed jeans, and the mentioned tie-dye knits. Chait takes great pride in the cashmere, cotton, and wool blends he uses, many of which he develops himself with his team. These products are beautiful, but they are also made to wear and to be lived and loved in.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Getting Better. Lacoste SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

Louise Trotter‘s second collection at Lacoste proves that she knows how to direct the label. The brand is more than a tennis brand, yet its origin lies in tennis, so it was right to present the line-up at the Court Simonne-Mathieu in Paris’s Roland-Garros tennis complex. Trotter upped her focus this season by presenting a collection of clothes which, beyond the crocs stitched onto that trench or onto the sleeve of a yellow suit or printed on the silk pants, conveyed both the spirit of Lacoste and its athletic luxury convincingly. The oversized short-sleeve shirts in graphic color block were a take on the famous preppy pique shirt Lacoste sells. Obviously, Trotter’s version is much more appealing than the original Lacoste design you see at hotel resorts. We known Louise’s aesthetic from her time at Joseph, so seeing lots of minimal leather was no surprise: slouchy rib-hemmed pants and a leather neckerchief styling were great. The leather-collared polo shirtdress is another highlight. Another takeaway from the collection is green poplin dress and a white pleated skirt look. With the help of Suzanne Koller’s styling, Trotter’s Lacoste is heading for a win.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Chic Remaking and Altering. Miu Miu SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

After taking a second look, I really liked Miu Miu‘s spring-summer 2020 collection. Miuccia Prada has always said that her impulses for the label are much more spontaneous than at Prada. This was the main idea behind the line-up. “Something raw, simple, naive, not a big deal” was how the designer herself summed up the collection. The idea of altering, remaking, and sex-ifying a wardrobe comes through in off-the-shoulder knitwear and eclectic details. The runways was graced by girls who seemed to have altered the buttons on their coats; made new summer dresses by patching the top of a satin cocktail dress to a printed curtain; decided to add a flounce to a skirt or a shoulder strap with a bit of spare fabric; painted the flowers on their leather coats themselves. The vintage-y and D.I.Y. style is big this season, and Miuccia nails it effortlessly.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Nouvelle Vague. Chanel SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

The first model who opened Chanel‘s spring-summer 2020 show, Maike Inga, looked like Jean Seberg from Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless film with her blond pixie-cut and long-sleeved, red tweed dress. Other models had their hair undone and seemed to be make-up free. The collection’s faux setting – a stereotypically Parisian rooftop landscape with dove grey sky in the background – added up to the mood of French New Wave (‘La Nouvelle Vague’) mood. Virginie Viard‘s first ready-to-wear collection for the brand feels like a Parisian postcard, but comparing to Karl Lagerfeld’s emphasis on creating memorable moments, it’s much more low-key. There’s something comforting about her take on Chanel: it’s simple, not show-y and far from any sorts of excess. At some point, the line-up made you yawn with its monotony – too many nearly identical tweed mini-dresses and Chanel logo prints. The eveningwear lacks spark and excitement as well. My favourite look was the most casual one: a breton stripe top, a matching jacket, high-rise denim pants and flats. Very Chanel. But I wonder whether Viard’s easy, approachable and at times flat vision for Chanel will do.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Easy Gestures. A.P.C. SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

“The older I grow, the less subtle I want to be,” Jean Touitou said at his spring-summer 2020 A.P.C. show. He was speaking over a microphone in a courtyard on the Rue Cassette near his headquarters, during the laid-back garden show/presentation. He also added that he was thinking about communist events in the 1970s and nighttime gatherings in city squares. Theory aside, the collection was all about summer colors and easy silhouettes. A tangerine swing coat, a pastel paisley minidress and grass green dinette dresses are the highlights. He clashed this all together with quirky styling tricks, like thick knit socks, backpacks worn on the chest and A.P.C. quilts held up like banners (hand-made by Jessica Ogden). Minimalism and purity of form are main codes at A.P.C., but as Touitou ages, his gestures are becoming easier and more free. On the backs of some pieces he had written slogans in an all-caps font: RADICALLY MINIMAL, POSITIVELY NORMAL. A.P.C. continues to be one of the best labels for daywear.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.