Designers of 2015 – Stella Jean

December 12, 2015December 12, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Born in Rome and of Caribbean descent, Stella Jean’s aesthetic is a fusion of her Creole heritage and meticulous, Italian craftsmanship. As a designer who respects ethnical matters, Stella Jean should be praised not only for her breath-taking clothes, but for her idea of giving women and men around the world (from Burkina Faso to Kenya) a chance to do their craft in ethical and comfortable conditions!

AW15 – At the end of March, I went to Milan to preview Stella’s AW15 – the embroidery, the prints, the colour combinations looked impressive. And what’s interesting, thanks to mixing classical, Italian heritage with the Bollywood-inspired theme, the AW15 collection is absolutely avoiding the word “kitsch”. There’s nothing too excessive about this collection – basically, Stella delivered a set of wearable pieces decorated with mesmerizing embroideries and bold print matchings. These voluminous skirts look so great with the ethno-patterned knits and simple, checked shirts!

AW15 Men – For autumn-winter 2015, Stella focused on India and Nepal – warm colours, enchanting embroideries and oriental silhouettes appeared not only in her womenswear collection, but also in men’s. The boys look good in this lifey, printed splendour! The kaleidoscopic jackets, hand-stitched pea-coats and turquoise trousers rule. Also, this collection brings Wes Anderson’s emotional Darjeeling Limited mood to the men’s wardrobe.

Ave Cesaria by Stromae started to beat from the speakers. The ultra-modern venue of newly opened MUDEC Museum striked all of the guests. Just like the absolutely unexpected collection delivered by Stella Jean, the most bold and ethical-fashion thinking person in Milan. Stella Jean’s spring-summer 2016 collection marks the geographical and emotional map on which the main stages of Italian migrant identity are charted. And that’s not all. South America, North America, Africa and Europe are the destinations, that the Stella Jean woman reaches. As the show-note said, “the port of departure, so to speak, is Italy, represented by its sharp, sartorial qualities” – comfortable, wearable silhouettes were visible in over-sized pants and Euro-sleekness of polo shirts. Then, the journey continues, and Stella takes us to Brazil, full of raffia ruffles and Cariocan multi-coloured flounces. The imaginary “travel” itinerary is ready for the next place – the Andes, represented by artisanal and hand-painted motifs including pinatas, daily life of women wearing traditional bowler hats and striped tunics which reflected Andean style.

The ethnical beauty of the collection is contrasted by American varsity jackets and over-sized cowboy shirts, while trench coats and men’s formal striped shirts made a sign of London’s well-known Savile Row needle. However, it is worth to note that some of the fabrics were hand-made in Burkina Faso. Stella Jean and her SS16’s flowing dresses, boxy jackets and “amphora-like” skirts not only made a strong impression, but also felt very right for the current, migration conflict. The collection was like a melting-point of cultures, filled with beauty and creative freedom. Also, it proves that fashion can be politically important.

In a Pompeian Villa. Gucci Pre-Fall’16

December 10, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

The first Pre-Fall collection by Alessandro Michele dropped, and one thing is sure – the creative director of Gucci doesn’t follow the trends and continues to illustrate his vision. His woman for autumn is a aristocratic lady, who lives with her green parakeet in a renaissance Pompeian villa, filled with antique decor and impressive bisazza tiles. Artist and photographer Ari Marcopoulos captured the models wearing metallic leather pleated skirts, aloe hued plush jackets, heart embroidered Sylvie bags and beautiful pumps with red-mouth-detail straps. As usual in case of Michele’s collections for this luxurious Italian brand, every look has its own, romantic story and is ready for personal interpreatation. The hand-made patchwork on denim brought some 70s vibes, while the floor-sweeping tulle dress with hand-painted “tree of life” had me wonder about a September walk in the forest. As you see, the Gucci girl is keeping it true to her style, and that’s why Michele received his place on the list of the best designers of 2015, which you can see here!

Sequin Party. Altuzarra Pre-Fall’16

December 3, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Whoever said that sequins are overrated, did not consider Altuzarra‘s Pre-Fall 2016 collection. The unexpected paillette sequins, which covered the sporty jackets, mesh dresses and fancy midi skirts gave a bold bling-bling moment. Although this New York-based designer is rather known for his minimal aesthetic, the new look-book for next autumn is booming with colour. And an aristocratic, appealingly arty elegance. Lets not forget the subtle polka-dots on pastel blue t-shirt & pants set which takes it back to the label’s feminine codes. This might all sound like a very over-the-top collection, but the effect is totally different – the richly sequined pieces are toned with autumnal shades of brown and grey, making Joseph Altuzarra‘s new season a good choice for those who like a bit of fantasy in their cozy-knitwear-filled wardrobes.

#2015 – Vetements

December 1, 2015December 1, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Vetements in French means “clothes” – but Vetements goes far beyond the meaning of clothes in today’s fashion industry. It exaggerates clothes. It elongates the sleeves, gives volume to cowboy boots and makes floral grandma dresses look provocative, and kind of sexy. Led by Demna Gvasalia and six other anymous designers, who met while working as design team at Maison (Martin) Margiela, Vetements is the new force which makes fashion rules feel even more useless than ever.

AW15 – Even their autumn-winter fashion show wasn’t a typical event where clothes were celebrated in a traditional way. But don’t think it was done in a fussy, Chanel way – oh no. The “creative network” of the brand took their guests to Le Depot, a sleazy sex-club, where everybody felt a mood of anti-fashion. At first sight, you might not really understand the collection – but in reality, it is not that deep in its meaning as you might think. These clothes, even though look pretty grotesque, are wearable. Gvasalia claims “as long as we can make clothes that people want to wear and they find them cool and relevant, that’s my understanding of hype”. Although the styling is complicated and well-considered (or not), separately the clothes are easy. Take the over-sized trench coat. You can wear it with everything – even if you might look like a hobo, you look like a anti-fashion person. But the thing about Vetements is, that you need to feel this anti-fashion thing. And live in it, consciously.

SS16 – For summer, Vetements presented its collection in a tacky Chinese restaurant. But, even though the SS16 mood-board wasn’t focused on China nor on Asia, it reflected the spirit of this place through old-fashioned kitsch. Floral dresses inspired by aprons of Gvasalia’s grandmother, sequined capes, velvet sweatshirts and tunics – and all of that bound up with ultra-long leather belts with Harley-Davidson-style buckles. The eerie soundtrack of the collection perfecly described the new season’s attitude – it began with gentle waltz and then abruptly descended into Mayhem – the Norwegian heavy metal group. The black hoodies featuring a print based on Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet in Titanic burst confusion (maybe one of Vetements’ designers loves / hates this film?), however the leather jackets that were constructed to be comfortable when sat on real bikes made much sense. The must-have, best-selling jeans were renewed to be more comfortable and affordable. In other words, the summer version of Vetements is rather an expansion of the last season’s wardrobe than a new idea. But in reality, it absolutely made the collection feel more desirable, just like the cowboy boots or sock heels.

2016 will be a very special year for Vetements’ leading designer, Demna, as he is going to take Balenciaga under his creative direction! And basically, I can’t wait to see his debut collection in March.

#2015 – Rosie Assoulin

November 24, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

So, 2015 approaches its end, and it’s the perfect time to look back at the fashion designers who really made the cut this year. New York, London, Milan and Paris are full of great minds – but some of them have truly changed the course of trends, or rather the tendency for anti-trends. In my subjective choice, I searched for both, individualism and something more than “fashion”. 2015 is a year of designers, who made their creative vision a contemporary philosophy of everyday dressing and, of course, beauty.

Many designer who do evening-wear think that an excessive amount of Swarovski and flesh-exposing-cuts is just it. But thankfully, Rosie Assoulin is the woman who says a loud “NO” to that nonsense. The New York-based designer creates dresses which are mostly categorised as “evening” ones, but surprisingly look as good with white sneakers as with heels. By looking at her previous collections, it’s easy to conclude, that these simply cut, boldly coloured dresses look at their best with sweatpants and yes, even with hoodies.

AW15 – The stand-out pieces of this collection are the signature, cropped tops worn over white shirts, corduroy pants and of course, the dreamy maxi-gowns. The winter collection went totally against the grey-scale colour palette, giving us a diversity of reds, pinks and greens.

Resort’16 – Ruffles! Everywhere! On trousers, on shirts, on dresses – a ruffle mania. Rosie Assoulin presented a playful collection, which fused her evening attitude with something more R&B. The statement culottes had those huge, hand-made daisy-shaped cut-outs while her classy dresses smartly flipped into a fancy party or a friend’s brunch simultaneously. Also, the Woodstock-like dyed over-sized trousers had a moment. But again, the ruffles were really the stars of this collection – the curcuma coloured top with ruffled sleeves was everything. Just like the pink top which surrealistically reminded an ethereal waterfall made of ruffles.

SS16 – For her spring-summer 2016, the designer took us to one of New York’s public pools, which had its murals painted by Keith Haring. The location had a lot to do with the collection – swimwear was the key, and that was visible by looking at the very first looks. Bikini tops were worn in different configurations, while happy, slightly trippy stripes covered the voluminous flares. The colours were bold and nutritious – intensive colours made me want summer to come back as fast as possible! Assoulin’s signatures gowns are famous among New York fashionistas for their carefree attitude – this season, they had something to do with Diana Ross’ glamour. Ruffles, bows – and beautiful silhouettes are as usual ruling. That’s sure – Rosie truly enjoys her play with fashion! And I wish her the same in 2016!