style

Fun is Key. Thom Browne Resort 2020

| Design & Culture by Ed

“When quality is so important, I think you also have to counterbalance that with something that makes it seem not so serious. Fun is key.” This is how, in two sentences, Thom Browne explained the quintessence of his ready-to-wear line, which is presented as pre-collections (the fashion shows in Paris are ready-to-wear too, but on a very different level…). For resort 2020, Browne showed his signatures, like cropped suits (this time in cute, dolphin print) and impeccably tailored coats in a not-just-for-business kind of attitude. It’s a classic Thom Browne collection, cheered up with a gorgeous vinyl rain-coat in yellow and white rubber boots with the brand’s signature tricolour tag.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Donna, Calvin, Ralph. Alexander Wang SS20

| Design & Culture by Ed

I’ve been on fence with Alexander Wang lately – his fashion week schedule skipping and temporary identity crisis not only seemed to make him less visible (especially here in Europe), but also… less relevant. But something has sparked in his spring-summer 2020 collection he showed a few days ago in New York (three months ahead of all designers who are based in the city). It was really, really good. It was Alexander Wang we all loved years ago. It was badass, cool, energetic. And, smart. This season, the designer paid tribute to three designers who changed American fashion in the late 20th century, and whose aesthetical impect is still perceivable across the world. Donna Karan. Her stretch jersey bodysuits and big shoulders were the epitome of power dressing in the 1980s, and Wang included all of her signature codes in the opening looks. Calvin Klein. Denim, sex, but also minimalism – all these three couldn’t be missed by Wang, and he pulled them off just the right way. Ralph Lauren. The eternal flannel plaid, suede fringes, corduroy, ribbed knits and luxe cowboy look were all here. Those three designers not only reshaped American fashion, but also made their own take on athleisure go global. Most of today’s 30+ designers in the U.S. were growing up with those names, and Wang’s sporty sensibility is especially built on their foundation. Admitting this so loudly is more than excellent I think.

Collages by Edward Kanarecki.

Women. Khaite Resort 2020

| Design & Culture by Ed

After three years of existence, Catherine Holstein‘s Khaite is well-known throughout the industry and  obsessed over by women of varying ages, occupations, and tastes around the world. This New York-based brand, recently nominated for Emerging Designer of the Year by CFDA Awards, does clothes according to the idea ‘from a woman to women’. From confident tailoring and Southwestern-inspired daywear to entrance-making, but unpretentious eveningwear, the resort 2020 collection has it all. You just can’t ignore Khaite’s velvet little black dress or denim pants with a suede finishing. A tulle dress, which might sound like a challenge, looks surprisingly approachable. And super lightweight. Those women-lead brands from New York (The Row, Rosie Assoulin, Bode, Colina Strada, Batsheva…) are so, so good. Khaite’s on the list.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

So Batsheva. Batsheva Resort 2020

| Design & Culture by Ed

Batsheva is the fashion brand on everybody’s lips in New York. And not only. Her signature prairie dress has already left a mark on fashion, seeing very, very similar silhouettes at other brands (like at the just launched, first capsule collection from The Marc Jacobs). But Batsheva Hay seems to be unbothered. Her loyal clients will buy the original idea at its source. And her resort 2020 lookbook doesn’t just sell the clothes. It sells a fresh view at fashion, which is more of an outsider’s perspective. Here, Batsheva herself is the model, and her photographer husband, Alexei, takes the photos. They ran around Manhattan shooting the collection quite spontaneously, in their favorite places together. No makeup. No stylists. Just a married couple marking some of their most cherished spots in the city where both grew up. So, what do we have? Of course, the prairie dress, in new colours, lenghts and prints. We also have Victorian blouses and a gorgeous, voluminous skirts in gingham. One of the dresses with a turtleneck was sewn from a sourced, U.S.A. flag. Flared pants in leopard print, styled with a matching dress, look hot. With every season, the designer makes you want to come back for more of her clothes, her kind of ‘basics’, that are quintessentialy… Batsheva.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Photos by Alexei Hay.

I’ve Seen You Before. Saint Laurent Pre-Fall 2019

| Design & Culture by Ed

Looking at Anthony Vaccarello‘s Saint Laurent through a prism of his delightful campaigns (Juergen Teller’s spring-summer ad shot around Como and the recent Keanu Reeves spread are highlights), his girls gang (Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anja Rubik, Zoë Kravitz, Kate Moss, Mica Arganaraz, need more?) and art projects (production of Gaspar Noé’s latest film that premiered in Cannes, Lux Aeterna, starring Gainsbourg, Beatrice Dalle and Vaccarello’s model muses) and spectacular fashion show venues, you really feel like his work is… major. And, it does sell very well. But since Hedi Slimane is back in fashion with his Celine, you just can’t help but think: I’ve seen that face before. And while the new Celine aggressively hits the stores, and most of the clothes look identical to Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent (crucial note: YSL was actually defibrillated by Slimane some years ago with his slim look aesthetic, new branding and white marble floors), there’s a tension growing on. Do we really need two brands doing the same mini-dresses, boyish tuxedos and traumatically size 0 apparel? Moreover, both designers reintepret their maisons codes for the contemporary times: Anthony keeps on squeezing out Yves’ legendary Le Scandale collection, while Hedi goes for bringing back the old, very old bourgeois style of pre-pre-pre-Phoebe-Philo-era Celine. But somehow, the results are too similar. One thing’s sure: Hedi was first in the game. Still, fashion forgets quickly. Time will show who wins. Or maybe there will be enough customers to push both brands’ turnovers?

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.