Self Management. A Détacher AW16

February 13, 2016February 13, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Mona Kowalska, the Polish-born designer behind New York’s obsession-casuing label, A Détacher, envisions her woman in her signature, hearty way. Sometimes, the idea behind Kowalska’ collections are deeply rooted in the designer’s mind and seem to be hard to decode. However, A Détacher never disappoints to deliver a great outing of simple, yet beautiful clothes which are made with heart. When I saw the first looks of the collection, I was instantly in an autumnal forest with my head – blame the over-sized knits for that, which look so warm and down-to-earth. Moreover, note the inspiring silhouettes Mona presents for autumn-winter 2016 – the white tops are voluminous in the shoulders, while the cardigans are so XXL that they nearly cover the length of the pants, creating an optical illusion of long, long legs. From one side, the collection plays with effortless, everyday essentials – but from the other side, the result is mind-blowing due to the cool tricks Kowalska shares with her fashion-lovers. Such a pity that she sells only in New York…

Ironic Glamour. Area AW16

February 12, 2016February 12, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Area is one of the most exciting, fresh brands coming from New York. The duo of Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk are known for their modern take on vanity with the signature Braille-like pattern, already quite favoured in the city, where everything shines bright. But if talking of a shine, the new collection was all about it – the fluidic silhouettes were dazzling thanks to embellished, fluroscent stones, and the minimal dresses were poshed-up with fur stoles, fur bras and fur jackets. However, the pastel-coloured look-book had a sense of irony, as the season represented neo-glamour with a humorous edge. The young designers behind Area know their codes very well, and they are aware that they need to revisit their creative vision each season to make their fan-base grow – but what really makes this eponymous brand so unqiue is the designer’s not-so-serious attitude towards fashion.

No21 Pre-Fall’16 RE-SEE

February 4, 2016August 5, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Alessandro Dell’AcQua, the designer behind Milan’s hottest brand N21, knows what will be strongly desired the next season by his diverse clientele. The Italian designer took an interesting twist for pre-fall 2016, refreshing his house codes and bringing new motifs – like the kitty-kat prints and embroideries on knitted, chunky sweaters and mini-bags. Long, grey coats with strips of velvet, silk dresses in military hues, series of light, masculine shirts with lace sleeves and the flawless, parachute maxi dresses in red and green are the total highlights of the season. Also, the shearling jacket, which reinteprets a classical, leather jacket is a favourite of mine after seeing it on the brand’s re-see a week ago. Just like the bow-top cocktail dress , which is an exaggerated symbol of N21, the collection is full of toned, yet cheerful clothes.

All photographs courtesy of Design & Culture by Ed

So Miuccia. Miu Miu Pre-Fall’16

February 2, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Miuccia Prada is the designer, whose signature is so idiosyncratic and specific that you can’t mistake her designs with anybody’s else. Her use of colours, textures and textiles feels always utterly… Miuccia. So no wonder why Miu Miu‘s pre-fall 2016 collection, silently presented in rue Saint Honore store’s second floor, was filled with lace pencil skirts, socks, jewelled velvet pumps and corduroy jackets. It had the classical, Miu Miu girlie chic, which can’t be compared to “ugly beauty” theme which is constantly reinterpreted and channelled at Prada. If talking of shoes, there was the continuation of spring-summer 2016 footwear line, so the romantic and care-free ballerinas, now detailed with embroideries and buckled straps.

HC – Carte Blance. Dior SS16

January 27, 2016January 26, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Without a designer at helm, the house of Dior is a true carte blanché in many ways. For the summer haute couture season the studio staff (who were aesthetically trained by Raf Simons throughout his three-year tenure) tried to do their best. And to a surprise, unexpectedly they did a good job without a creative director (comparing to the disastrous collection from 2011, when Bill Gayten replaced John Galliano with his tasteless fashion). The collection had Simons’ minimal spirit present, just like it smartly played with Christian Dior’s legacy. Shoulder-exposing bar jackets, lace dresses with v-neck cuts and feminine suits looked breezy and fresh. The only major dissapointment is the lack of a beautiful, COUTURE ball-dress. I loved Raf’s couture collections because of his amazing dresses. This time, Dior feels pretty handicapped among the other brands without one, but that’s totally understandable – you can’t demand everything at a time from a studio-designed collection. Now, the question is – who is the person that will take-over the brand in the near future? Any guesses?