Welcome to Design & Culture by Ed gift guide for the upcoming festive season. Here you will find my edit of the ultimate gifts to give (or receive!), from can’t-go-wrong buys to must have pieces. Once you find your perfect present, click the link and get it, or alternatively write it down in your letter for Santa Claus! Prepare to be inspired…
Molly Goddard left her M.A. course at Central Saint Martins, where she’d studied under the late professor Louise Wilson, a year earlier to focus on putting together the spring 2015 collection. Her hope was that it would help her get a job. While she always wanted to have her own label, she assumed she’d work for someone else first. However, her real dream came true. Molly is one of the most exciting and fresh talents from London thanks to her super power – the neo-princess, statement tulle dresses. Obsessed with frilly outfits her mother and grandmother made for her as a child, Goddard finds inspiration while looking at old family photographs and visiting her favourite Portobello Market.
2016 was a break-through for Goddard – winning British Fashion Council’s Emerging Talent award; her sweet-like-candy dresses became street-style phenomena across the four fashion capitals; and the collections she presented this year were both equally brilliant. It’s exciting to see how Goddard extends her range, keeping it true to her unique style. The model cast of spring-summer 2017 show consisted of real women, who danced, twirled, spiralled and walked the runway in pastel-pink tops, pistachio mini-dresses, full neon-green skirts and grandma knits. Delightful.
It’s simply impossible for me not to mention Molly in my list of the years’ edge-cutting designers. Can’t wait a minute to see what’s coming for her in 2017.
9 1/2 Weeks directed by Adrian Lyne is a cult film from the 80s, blurring the lines between refined romance and subtle erotica. Elizabeth McGraw (played by super-bombshell, Kim Basinger) and John Gray (young Mickey Rourke) find each other in New York’s Chinatown, and their relationship becomes a journey of love with ups and downs.
But what really strikes you, when you watch the film, is this something sensual about Elizabeth’s clothing. Her knitted sweater is three sizes too big, but the viewer is appealed by the way her body is hidden. As an assistant of art gallery curator, Liz prefers unconventional for her daily wear: pastel-blue tights, Jane Birkin-like basket and her favourite cocoon trench-coat. When with John, she loves her boyfriend’s businessman wardrobe, and choses to wear tailored blazers with shoulder pads and pin-stripe pants. No wonder why the two shop at Comme Des Garçons-like store (which in fact might be one), filled with Japanese avant-garde garments.
New York fashion scene was going through a lot, and all-black was a statement. For exhibition openings, Elizabeth was likely to be seen in a black mini-dresses with exposed shoulder, wearing dark tights of course. Watching this film, I just can’t stop thinking that fashion hasn’t changed even a bit. From Lemaire‘s slouchy shirt-and-pants chic to Jacquemus over-sized jackets, it’s clear that the spirit of 80s feels relevant up to today. While Anthony Vaccarello’s spring-summer 2017 debut for Saint Laurent is pure 9 1/2 Weeks, really: leather secretary skirts, strip-tease-perfect cocktail dresses, killer heels.
From left: Jacquemus AW16; Saint Laurent SS17; Celine AW14.
From left: Lemaire SS17; Lemaire AW16; Lemaire AW14.
You know, there are those certain looks that stuck in your head for longer than one season. Miuccia Prada‘s genius autumn-winter 2008 collection, which was a subversive take on a Sunday-at-church look (I was drooling over it here), is filled with lace pieces and ruffled heels that will never, ever, become outdated. Look 22 is particularly impressive, from the top to the bottom. Every detail counts. Vlada Roslyakova wore a beige turtleneck with a kind of mini-collar, layered under a soft, same-colour knit. The knee-lenght skirt, kept in a pale shade, looked fantastic, styled with gold pumps and a matching, cute ruffle bag. If you ask me, what’s a Prada look, then I will show you this picture. 101% sure.
Design & Culture by Ed 