New York’s Go-To. Maryam Nassir Zadeh SS16

October 27, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Maryam Nassir Zadeh is a go-to label and store in New York, where eponymous, yet affordable clothes and accessories are sold. For her namesake line, Maryam released the spring-summer 2016 look-book, photographed by talented Lea Colombo. The clothes are presented by two models, who reflect the Nassir Zadeh client – Mari Giudicelli and Susan Cianciolo. Devoided of fashionista crowd and massive PR explosion, the SS16 collection is a combination ranging from the designer’s signatures – note the super comfortable leather sandals and flattering dresses – to chic high-waisted trousers, sheer shirts and ecru shaded swimwear. However, the most exciting part of the line’s collection is the introduction of reworked denim. A pair of MNZ jeans, patchworked with diversity of indigo washes, seems to be the brand’s future best-selling piece, just like the glove shoes which stole the hearts of many women in the past seasons. Although Nassir Zadeh shows her collections one month after the New York Fashion Weeks, she never fails to deliver hearty and supremely stylish clothes.

Parisian Update. Celine Resort’16

October 24, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s a kind of fashion tradition, that we see Celine‘s pre-collection just few weeks before they hit the stores. When Phoebe Philo introduced this rule, the fashion system shifted. No wonder why – when we see the pre-collections six months before they are really available, there is a kind of deja vu feeling later on. There is a lack of excitement. When Philo drops her pre-collection, there is this surprise effect that certainly moves the brand’s customers when they walk into the stores. The resort 2016 is a true pleasure, both for the eye and the desire sense. The collection is a modern version of a French wardrobe – here, you will surely find a striped shirt, high-waisted pants and a raffia tote from the Basque summer adventures. Also, the wardrobe contains an essence of minimal, French glamour, which was strong in the 60’s & 70’s Paris – take the green, Pierre Cardin-like vest or Yves Saint Laurent safari trench-coat, revisited with some arty patterns. There is the feeling of a “woman who travels” in this collection, too – the Babouche slippers convey the oriental mood and the eclectic jewellery brought from Milan’s most edgy flea-markets and antiquaries. In brief, Phoebe wins my heart, as usual. Is this something new?

Moments from No21 Showroom

October 19, 2015July 27, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

Beautiful moments from the No21 showroom, which presented their latest, spring-summer 2016 collection. I instantly fell in love with easy tank-top dresses that had white t-shirts under. Also, note the seductive and very chic cigarette prints on knitted tops and sweat-shirts. The cappuccino coloured denim flares gave a fresh air of French cool, looking off-duty with big, cabas totes. The tasseled, raffia sandals that have referenced to tribal Africa are killing it, just as the rest of the collection. As usual, Alessandro Dell’AcQua nailed it!

All photos by me.

Sleazy and Smarmy. Saint Laurent SS16

October 11, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

This, what Hedi Slimane is doing at Saint Laurent is rude. Simply impolite. After seeing the spring-summer 2016 collection, I wonder what other designers think. They surely feel an unbearable frustration. Keeping up with fashion industry, season-to-season, is hard. And when they compare their hard work with Hedi’s, they just retire for a ten-day escape to the country-side. Hedi Slimane is praised for nothing – or at least, for his truly effortless fashion which doesn’t need much of thinking. Saint Laurent’s fashion became as shallow as Moschino by Jeremy Scott, or even to a bigger extend.

So, the SS16 collection is an explosion of smarmy eroticism – sheer slip-dresses, trashy fish-net tops and kitsch, gold sandals look tasteless and definitely not as expensive as they are. There is no big deal that the feather boa was made by the Parisian couture assistants, if it looks like a stolen prop from an opera. The tiaras don’t need any comment. And “free the nipple” moments were meant to be so “accidental”, that the overall effect felt pretentious and artificial. The solemn faces of models (and Agyness Deyn) just helped Hedi Slimane say out loud – “I am the designer at YSL and I really don’t care“. If everybody, except a few of critics and consciously thinking clients, adore this collection, then where is fashion heading off to? Hopefully not to a pair of basic jeans and an effing tank top.

Woman to Women. Celine SS16

October 10, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Even though I am quite exhausted with the fashion month, looking at the newest colellection by Phoebe Philo for Celine gives me energy. As I mentioned hundreds times before, Phoebe Philo is a woman who designs for woman – and this makes her collections always feel the most desirable from the brand’s client point of view. These dresses and coats are what women want today. And the perfect balance between masculine chic and sensual lace makes this collection an updated check-list of what a contemporary woman should have in her wardrobe.

“It’s about taking her out of urban life and putting her feet on the sand. It’s where I long to be, more and more.” Although the orange-yellow-blue coloured tent foreshadowed a very bold collection, the designer delivered a discreet, but powerful outing – and, as usually under a tent, we really had sand instead of a tile or a carpet. Which felt so hearty and down-to-earth. Just like the clothes. “I am somebody who is interested in how clothes make us feel,” she said, “and in how we behave in different places. I thought, If you were traveling for a year, what would you need to take with you?” Well, the answer is – the basics. Both, a breezy and warm dress; a light-weight coat; something more intimate and something more built-up.

Just like the shoes. My initial reaction to the boots was reserved, however after a moment of reflection I thought it’s a smart move. It depends where you are heading this summer – mountains? Why not. This collection is a spectrum of variations – really, every outfit, in its own way, is good for a specific occasion, creating a beautiful combination of daily essentials. And Phoebe Philo knows, what’s essential. We trust her.