Girls (And Willem). Miu Miu SS25

October 3, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Miu Miu‘s spring-summer 2025 collection was a post-post-modern collage of various notions of femininity, seen through the lens of Miuccia Prada‘s absolutely distinct Miu-isms. This girl was certainly interrupted – the Miuccia way, with styling help of Lotta Volkova. To start, there were underthings worn as outer things, such as white cotton slips; some had graphic sequined embroideries. Sporty track separates and cutout bathing suits were also in the mix, along with private-school uniforms 1970s-ish geometric prints lifted from a spring 2005 collection (that’s the thing about Prada: 20 years later, her concepts feel like new). It was a wild juxtaposition of things that don’t belong together yet somehow work together. Western belts and waitress dresses, well-worn shirting and sporty bikini tops… but in the end, there was method to this chaos. And then you had Willem Dafoe closing the show.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Hope? Comme Des Garçons SS25

October 3, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

“With the state of the world as it is, the future as uncertain as it is, if you put air and transparency into the mix of things, there could be the possibility of hope” is Rei Kawakubo‘s thought behind her spring-summer 2025 collection, paraphrased by her husband Adrian Joffe. Comme Des Garçons shows during Paris Fashion Week are moments of transcendence, like a slit to another reality. This season, the voluptuous, ecstatic, erratic, bubbling, unsettling and vibrant forms, some as if splattered with blood, hit different. Just a couple of days before the show, I watched Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance” starring Demi Moore, and in a way this film dialogues with Kawakubo’s subversive take on contemporary women: their emotions, struggles, bodies (just think about her “Lumps & Bumps” collection). Then, seeing these runway garments IRL during a re-see at Comme Des Garçons’ showroom, in attendance of Rei herself and Michele Lamy, felt like a very bold, fever dream (in fact I was sick that day – the Parisian cold!). An experience to remember and cherish forever.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Pure & Sincere. Niccolò Pasqualetti SS25

October 2, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s Niccolò Pasqualetti‘s fourth fashion show, and you could sense real, mature confidence oozing in his spring-summer 2025 collection. The line-up orbited around the connotations with water (“something absolutely pure, something sincere“) and explored contradictions, mixing unexpected combinations of artisanal fabrics with a more refined, pared-back silhouette that played with feminine and masculine notions. Think oversized trench coats and sleeveless jackets, viscose blazers paired with translucent trousers; swimsuits were worn under asymmetric tops and evening gowns. Niccolò also experimented with sequins in many forms: large paillettes glimmering like the sun on the ocean’s surface, sometimes merged with feathery fringes, producing an unusual, chimeric texture. Found objects, like shells and various trinkets were attached to floor-sweeping metal chains, and occasionally integrated into the clothing. Pasqualetti is a designer surrounded by a nurturing support system: his collections are styled by Samuel Drira, while lookbooks are shot by Cecile Bortoletti. The spring fashion show was accompanied by the heavenly – and sublimely intoxicating – fragrance by Vilhelm Parfumerie called “Basilico & Fellini“. It all makes sense.

I had the utmost pleasure of attending Pasqualetti’s show – which makes me super happy as I truly appreciated this collection. Here’s a backstage look:

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Lightness. Chloé SS25

October 1, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Pardon my review absence for the last couple of days, but I was in Paris for fashion week. I’m catching up now – equipped with a much-needed, refreshed perspective on what’s going on in the industry, IRL. Let’s start with Chloé!

Chemena Kamali is on a roll. It’s her second full season at Chloé, and the way her take on the brand resonates with the industry – and clients who are literally storming the boutiques in Paris! – is a rare thing to see nowadays. Also, comparing to other designers this season, she presented a proper, summer collection that actually felt summer-ish. And just like in her confident debut, Kamali once again showcases her intimate understanding of Chloé’s history. Photos of Karl Lagerfeld designed collections were pinned to the mood board in her studio. Two of her most inspired lifts were the waist shapers of spring 1977 and the lace bloomers of spring 1978. Jackets – in sturdy workwear cotton or soft suede – gave the sensual lightness of these pieces a reality check. It’s good to see flou femininity back on Chloé runway – for some reason, Kamali’s predecessors thought it wasn’t the right thing to channel. But there’s a new sense of strength in these carefree girls and women wearing floral-bouquet-print dresses in cascades of ruffled chiffon.

And speaking of Chloé stores in Paris, here’s what I saw at the rue de Saint-Honore boutique: the perfect marriage between retail and art. Mie Olise Kjærgaard‘s absolutely beautiful paintings are exhibited across the entire space, perfectly matching the current season.

And FYI, here’s what you should get from new Chloé!

ED’s SELECTION:

Chloé Mona Fringed Leather Pumps

Chloé Cape-effect Open-back Ruffled Silk-crepon Gown

Chloé High-rise Wide-leg Jeans

Chloé Eve Ruffled Suede Knee Boots

Chloé Bracelet Embellished Leather Shoulder Bag

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Work in Progress. Hodakova SS25

September 26, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Ellen Hodakova Larson won the prestigious LVMH Prize earlier this month. This, plus Cate Blanchett’s red carpet endorsement, means growing buzz around her eponymous brand. The spring-summer 2025 collection worked as a primer to those new to the Hodakova world, and held plenty of interest for those who were better acquainted with it. Her haute upcycling approach to fashion is based on the make-do and mend values she grew up with. This season the designer took a walk down memory lane. “For me it’s been a dive into warmth and feeling proud about where you come from,” she said. “I find so much comfort in going back in memories… and my memories are in objects, so it’s more about smells, images, pieces—all of the physical things.” Because of the materials they are made of, deadtock, vintage, and salvage, Hodakova’s designs evoke the past. They carry tales, but neither the designer nor her garments are retro, rather Larsson’s aim is, she explained, “to be present all the time.” Hodakova has a Martin Margiela manner of approaching her craft: just as he made vests out gloves, she uses boots to construct a dress, in a surreal yet gritty, rough way. In her eyes nacre buttons, plastic eyeglass lenses, and zippers are jewels and discarded status symbols; like démodé fur hats can become coquettish dresses. The humanist concept of turn to materiality has been the designer’s main focus in her work, but this season she said she wanted to focus more on silhouettes, and did so with some face-covering column dresses, done her way. Hodakova is a beautiful work in progress.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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