Ease of Today. Carven Pre-Fall 2024

July 11, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

The best indicators of whether a brand is taking shape under a new creative director are not the runway collections, but the pre-collections. Judging by the pre-fall 2024 lookbook, Louise Trotter‘s Carven certainly is on the right path to be your new favorite Parisian brand. “It is not a nostalgic or particular prism of a woman,” said the British designer, when asked how the heritage of Carven informs her approach. “It’s that sense of silhouette and sense of proportion with an ease of today.” Comparing to other designers in Paris who struggle with reviving historic Parisian maisons (think Nina Ricci and Rochas), Trotter isn’t stepping into the trap of the archives. She isn’t pulling out a mid-century dress and trying to make it look somehow relevant in 2024. But she smartly deconstructs elements of Madame Carven’s sensibility, and incorporates them into contemporary Carven. For instance, the 1950s column silhouette is revisited in a tank dress worn over a t-shirt. For pre-fall, the designer is gravitating towards a more masculine wardrobe; think sweatshirt in sheepskin or a technical Prince of Wales trouser. The softly tailored coat that comes in either double-face cashmere or chocolate wool gabardine is phenomenal. “I want to find solutions for her life, as I do for myself,” Trotter noted. “It’s instinctive for me. These are pieces that I appreciate and want to wear.” Other women will, too.

Here are some of my favorite pieces from Trotter’s debut collection for Carven. Last sizes left!

ED’s SELECTION:

CARVEN Striped Tech-shell Shirt

CARVEN Pleated Satin Midi Skirt

CARVEN Strapless Twill Maxi Dress

CARVEN Oversized Embellished Tulle Top

CARVEN Satin Shorts

CARVEN Leather Mules

CARVEN Oversized Satin-twill Jacket

CARVEN Striped Shell Tote Bag

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Alfresco Elegance Edit

July 7, 2024July 2, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Mid-summer heat needs an alfresco wardrobe update! Prepare for the perfect garden party with breezy outdoor styles, delightful accessories and mood-setting homeware.

ED’s SELECTION:

DÔEN Emmaretta Tie-detailed Shirred Floral-print Organic Cotton-voile Midi Dress

Sydney Evan Multi Wheel 14-karat Gold, Coral And Diamond Necklace

La DoubleJ Set Of Six Gold-plated Porcelain Dessert Plates

Isabel Marant Albini Printed Asymmetric Stretch-silk Dress

Ferragamo Hug Mini Leather-trimmed Raffia Tote

GINORI 1735 Ming Gold-plated Porcelain Vase

Loro Piana Nari Honeycomb-knit Straw Hat

BERNADETTE Birgit Taffeta Top

Chloé Silver- And Gold-tone Earrings

Borgo de Nor Yves Cropped Cotton-blend Piqué Flared Pants

Loewe Double-frame Cat-eye Gold-tone And Acetate Sunglasses

GINORI 1735 Antico Doccia Gold-plated Porcelain Oval Platter

La DoubleJ x Orlebar Brown Magnifico Floral-print Silk-twill Midi Dress

Oscar de la Renta Gardenia Velvet And Gold-tone Necklace

Selim Mouzannar Basilisk 18-karat Rose Gold, Tsavorite And Spinel Clip Earrings

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Dries Van Noten Sale Deals

July 5, 2024July 2, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Seasonal sales have started, and that means some beyond Dries Van Noten pieces are also (heavenly) discounted! As the Belgian designer is leaving fashion behind, it’s really worth investing in a couple of pieces of his design. Denim coats, elegantly sophisticated dresses, flowing skirts, all in Van Noten’s distinct color matchings and print clashings. These pieces strike with their tactile textures and day-to-night versatility; they capture the Dries essence that will be so missed!

Here are my favorite sale deals with Van Noten’s tag you can shop now…

ED’s SELECTION:

Dries Van Noten Checked Cotton Bralette

Dries Van Noten Layered Paillette-embellished Tulle Mini Wrap Skirt

Dries Van Noten Double-breasted Belted Denim Coat

Dries Van Noten Clog Thong Suede Platform Sandals

Dries Van Noten Knotted Embellished Striped Cotton-poplin Shirt

Dries Van Noten Paillette-embellished Chiffon Skirt

Dries Van Noten Open-back Draped Crepe Gown

Dries Van Noten Scrunchie Ruffled Glossed-leather Clutch

Dries Van Noten Striped Cotton-poplin Shirt Dress

Dries Van Noten Belted Cotton-twill Shorts Neutrals

Dries Van Noten Oversized Double-breasted Denim Blazer

Dries Van Noten Asymmetric Pintucked Taffeta Skirt

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Femme-hood. Saint Laurent Pre-Fall 2024

July 3, 2024July 2, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

It sometimes seems Anthony Vaccarello is more YSL than Yves Saint Laurent ever was. The Belgian designer has formed an immensely razor-sharp image of the contemporary maison, smartly constructed out of Saint Laurent archives and refreshed with modern-day approach to glamour. For pre-fall 2024 – that is now hitting stores – there are plenty of great weathered leather coats, blousons, and belted utility jackets. There are also two absolutely to die for le smokings, particularly the one suit whose tux jacket was faced with lace. But there was also the body-revealing part, one that caused a stir in Vaccarello’s winter 2024 collection we’ve seen in early spring. It was built on sheer stocking dressing, with fake furs casually thrown over it all. The story is here too, emphasized by lingerie-esque pieces and styled with black lace hose with just about everything – such a classically, somewhat naughtily playful Parisian gesture. The boudoir vibe was played up with a slew of gorgeous screen siren satiny long dresses, sinuous little slip dresses, and a new iteration of the jumpsuit, conjured out of a skinny-strapped lace-edged camisole, all of which were variously worn with stacks of chunky bangles and pointy satin-y sculpted shoes. You better don’t mess up with that femme.

Shop my favorite pieces from the collection…

ED’s SELECTION:

SAINT LAURENT Satin-jersey Midi Skirt

SAINT LAURENT Lace-trimmed Ribbed Silk-jersey Mini Dress

SAINT LAURENT Faux Fur Scarf

SAINT LAURENT Lace-trimmed Ribbed Silk-jersey Tank Top

SAINT LAURENT Hall Satin Mules

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Joy, Period! Marc Jacobs AW24

July 2, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

This week started with a sensational Marc Jacobs fashion show in New York. The designer is in such a great creative place right now: he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone, doesn’t engage in New York Fashion Week, and just creates at his own pace some of the finest work in his career. As he wrote in the latest collection’s powerful note, “we use fashion to embrace bold and courageous self-expression to articulate and showcase our inner selves, allowing us to freely explore and display our thoughts, desires, and identities in a deeper pursuit of joy, beauty and personal transformation“. This isn’t another press release talk; this absolutely and truthfully sums up not only Marc’s work and contribution to fashion, but himself.

The show lasted just six minutes. Jacobs fancies this short, sharp-shock format, starkly contrasting to his past, excessive outings that featured entire runway productions. This “less is more” approach really gives so much more – intensely more. On the runway, a mosaic of all-time American symbols, hyperbolised and exaggerated as if they were Claes Oldenburg sculptures: Marilyn Monroe in her iconic subway grate dress from “The Seven Year Itch“, Minnie Mouse in her red and white polka dots (they also felt very Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist Marc collaborated with at Louis Vuitton), and princess gowns out of a fairy tale. Hyper-pop and vivacious: a bold act of resistance towards all the socio-political disasters going on in the world – and especially, in the U.S.? Maybe. But maybe the designer wanted to rebelliously commit himself to pure joy. And then you had the yellow polka dot bikini, several sizes too big. The proportions in this collection were distorted to perfection. The miniskirts’ ultra-short lengths, and the arcing hemlines of knee-length skirts, especially when they were higher in front than in the back, made models look like giants. “The future remains unwritten,” the designer concluded in his note. And maybe that’s a good thing?