Project SS18

June 24, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Glenn Martens‘ aesthetic matures and simultaneously evolves into very exciting fields at Y/Project. The designer leaves behind his signature ‘trashiness’ and pulls off his own take on classiness. Delightful shades of beige, olive-green and burgundy emerged down the street runway in gargantuan silhouettes. Extreme layering an draping have always been rooted in Glenn’s style-codes, but never before were they so refined. The clothes were as diverse, as the casting. Literally, every single piece of clothing coming from this collection can be worn in multiple ways, according to your preference. A cotton shirt with disturbing volumes; deconstructed coats and jackets; not-your-average sweatshirts with zippers in the weirdest places. “You really have to make a choice; you have to think about how you want to wear the clothes,” the designer mused after the show.

Collages by Edward Kanarecki (backdrop: a still from Abbas Kiarostami’s film ‘Close Up’).

Commedia Dell’Arte. Nina Ricci Resort 2018

June 21, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Guillaume Henry is getting better and better with every season at Nina Ricci. The labels’ autumn-winter 2017 collection presented a few months ago was, for me, one of the season’s biggest highlights. Today, we’re seeing the resort 2018 look-book, which is equally exciting. The colours! The silhouettes! The creative director’s main reference was commedia dell’arte – it’s a one-of-a-kind, Nina Ricci take on Harlequin, Pierrot and Columbine. “It’s in my blood to be bourgeois; it’s just a matter of being fun about it,” Henry explained. Indeed – canary-yellow fur coat and bumpy mini-dress, exaggerated volume of shoulders, fluffy pompoms on flats and huge collars bring aristocratic, even theatrical drama. What’s even more impressive about this collection is the way how Guillaume handled the theme. Those Harlequin-inspired shirts and coats don’t look ridiculous, but unbelievably refined. Also, greet the pistachio-green Tambour, a bag resembling a miniature drum. Genius.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s / Gameboy. Prada SS18

June 19, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

“They are hand-drawn, human, simple and real. Even if they contain of course all the worst fantasy, they look simple. . . . They are little fragments of life, which is what you get now from the information, the media: So I was more and more attracted by them. Even if I never liked them.” What’s Miuccia Prada talking about this season? Comic books!

The venue of the spring-summer 2018 fashion show was all covered in James Jean’s and Ollie Schrauwen’s graphics and prints, presenting some utopian, subverted reality – a reality, that has always been Prada‘s fantasy. The pieces covered in comics illustrations, like bumbags and knits, will surely end as the season’s most coveted pieces of Prada maniacs. Miuccia associates reading comics with young boys, that’s why the Prada gameboy went for geeky Velcro straps, a collar-up shirt and lots, lots of nylon. Childhood naivety in pure form: the boys are happy with their gaming achievements, while wearing red pants and sandals with socks. But Prada doesn’t want her male customer to infinitely fall into infantilism. Note the voluminous, wool coats. “Everything was a little bit too naive, too simple, so we thought these heavy coats would be the right counterpart. That is just fashion—because we love it.”

One can’t ignore the fact that it was the first men’s Prada collection in a while lacking the women’s looks. As the female part got a separate resort show a month ago at Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, the guests had to focus solely on menswear. Surely, that was the aim of the brand’s management – to some extend, you rather got more ecstatic about those few dresses and gorgeous pumps than the line-up of suits. But showing both men’s and women’s clothes in a show used to be Miuccia’s vision, so…

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s / Out of The Studio. Marni SS18

June 18, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Although Francesco Risso‘s third collection for Marni wasn’t well-received by the critics, his spring-summer 2018 collection works like a charm as for me. The collection has a lot to do with Marni’s main house-code: utility-meets-edgy. These clothes are the right fit for men, who like it slightly too big and comfortable simultaneously- but not falling into passé normcore or the up-and-coming corpcore. For Risso, style is arty, most of all. That’s why he invited octogenarian ceramic artist Magdalena Suarez to make prints for his intriguingly tailored shirts. I doubt any artist wears Marni while painting or sculpting – but the “out of the studio” look matches the label’s sophisticated aesthetic. Some of the styling indirectly refers to Prada (Francesco used to work for Miuccia) or Raf Simons kind of appearance – see the striped tank-top worn with a man-skirt hybrid or the slouchy voluminous suits. But who isn’t inspired with these two nowadays?

Collage by Edward Kanarecki (backdrop featuring Joan Miro’s ‘Self-Portrait’ from 1938 & Ugo Rodinone’s ‘Clown’ sculptures).

Stay or Go. Rosie Assoulin Resort 2018

June 11, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Whether you’re staying at home or going out – Rosie Assoulin‘s collections are always a pretty good idea. For resort 2018, the designer has a truly inviting offering of clothes you want to wear, when everything starts to bloom and you feel like living again. From the spring-ready green coat and adorable bucket bags to pink overalls and striped pajama pants in navy, everything is insanely beautiful and most of all, wearable. Off to your local bodega or a gallery opening, these clothes perfectly balance between utility and this kind of arty edginess (take the fluroscent pleated gown, for instance). If you’re not entirely the ‘active’ type, no problem – Rosie has the super-slouchy knit awaiting your cozy day at home. Bon weekender!