Slouchy, Relaxed. Rodebjer SS20

August 9, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

“Slouchy silhouettes touching the earth” – this is how the spring-summer 2020 clothes were described in Rodebjer‘s show-note. I would also add they create a perfect wardrobe for a modern-day jet-set woman, who enjoys her weekends were the sun is out – Marrakech, Lisbon, Malibu. Carin Rodebjer showed her designs on a runway for the first time in several seasons. It was a reminder that her clothes – typically textural, usually fluid, and always balanced between practical and adventurous – look best in motion. The floor-sweeping fringes and draped dresses shades of ochre and curcuma are my highlights. One can’t help noticing some old Céline inspirations, which is actually good. Starving Philophiles, please see Rodebjer next season.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Cool Sweetness. Cecilie Bahnsen SS20

August 8, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

Cecilie Bahnsen‘s cloud-like dresses have stolen our hearts seasons ago, and they are still extremely in demand. But it’s really pleasing to see that the Danish designer takes a step outside of her comfort zone and delivers new vocabulary to her label. Only Cecilie could pull off tailoring in such a soft, light away – just see those blazers and pants, they are the highlights of the spring-summer 2020 collection. Also, how can you not love the hand-tied ostrich-feather minidresses? With the pier near Copenhagen’s floating neighborhood of houseboats as a show venue, and the cloudy sky as the background, those fluffy, flowing textures had to look even better in reality than on the photos.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Fantasy. Helmstedt SS20

August 7, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

Hello Copenhagen! The Danish capital’s fashion week started with an actual fantasy. I wrote about Emilie Helmstedt‘s brand not a while ago, so I was really excited to see what she’s up to for spring-summer 2020. In a surreal venue filled with papier mache XXL toadstools and mossy hills, a parade of forest fairies took a stroll to show off their gorgeous dresses and berry-picking-ready outfits. Whether we’re speaking about the floor-sweeping silk gown in purple or one of those frocks in the most adorable strawberry print, next season, according to Helmstedt, is all about fields, nature and gardening. And maybe a bit of magic, too – there’s something whimsy-witchy about this collection. But not in Ari Aster’s Midsommar way, though!

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Colville, The Creative Encounter

August 5, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

August is the moment in fashion to discover brands, or at least, refresh your memory on names you haven’t looked at for a while. Colville isn’t this new on the block, but honestly I haven’t had a look at the label since its debut more a year ago. And I’ve got to tell you one thing: it’s doing more than fine. Co-founded by Molly Molloy, Kristin Forss and Lucinda Chambers (whose Instagram-diary is my must-follow), the London-based brand is independent, off-kilter and too cool for the fashion industry. Colville is the creative encounter between three different minds and three personal points of view. A sum, not a mix. The irregular and the imperfect put-together are integral to the outcome: a collection that’s a sum of pieces, that is eclectic and idiosyncratic. Those are clothes to be worn, cherished, mixed and matched. Clothes that are bold and brave, considered and careful, sensitive and detailed. Clothes that are real: addends to a lasting discourse. As the brand’s manifesto says, Colville pieces can be assembled, disassembled, reassembled, following individual whims. It’s about putting the unexpected together. Not one way to wear it, but as many as there are viewpoints. The autumn-winter 2019 collection is just that: a play with proportions, shapes, prints. Fitting together like an imperfect jigsaw puzzle: clashing colors, unlikely partnerships of textures, a touch of craft, tailoring and flou. From the nomad-kind of layers and winter shawls to grungy-meets-hippie knits and florals, you want to have those garments and make them your reality.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Alix of Bohemia And Its Treasures

August 4, 2019August 5, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

How about discovering a new brand this Sunday afternoon? The offspring of an Italian textile legacy and generations of French artists, it was at University in Scotland that Alix Verley-Pietrafesa, inspired by the mid-century Bohemians of Paris and the Bloomsbury Group, picked up a needle and began making clothes by hand. Seeking to create pieces which reflected the free-spirited muses of her studies and facilitated adventure, Alix of Bohemia was born, formally established in London in 2009. The last decade has seen Alix living and working in Europe, Asia and the US. Her far-flung travels, stories, techniques and textiles are the canvas of her collections. Alix currently lives between New York and Mallorca where she sews daily in her Ateliers with her team, producing limited runs, one of a kind pieces and custom commissions by appointment. In 2019 the label opened opened its first store in New York. From patchworked bolero jackets (obsessed!) to gorgeous, vintage-y cotton-voile dresses, Alix of Bohemia is all about a nostalgic, made-with-love feeling. Also, it’s very Anita Pallenberg in the 1970s. Here are some of my favourite pieces from the last (and upcoming resort 2020) collections.