A Certain Lifestyle. Loro Piana AW23

March 23, 2023March 23, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

The fashion world seems to start catching up with Loro Piana. This Italian brand isn’t only delivering the finest cashmeres and vicunas to the Italian, as well as global, market, but also offers clothes that are synonymous with a certain lifestyle. Of course, it’s a very, very pricey lifestyle (*the Succession intro playing in the background*), but not a noisy one. There’s pretty much nothing flashy about Loro garments and accessories. You won’t find a single logo on the outside surface of their bags. Fashion trends, cores and themes don’t matter to this label’s design universe. The anonymous design team (the rumor has it that most of these designers came from Phoebe Philo’s Céline studio) keeps on refining the delightful house codes of Loro Piana, and the last couple of seasons are clear examples of that. The autumn-winter 2023 line-up is exceptionally great. This season, the brand celebrates the countries of its supply chains: Peru, Bolivia and Argentina (for vicuna) , New Zealand and Australia (for wool) and Mongolia (for cashmere). These inspirations were gently applied in pattern and tone to two collections – women’s and men’s – that worked hard to get along: adapted outerwear pieces from Loro’s more traditionally mannish canon were adapted for womenswear, while the pleated, fuller pants shape that the women’s team majored on was reflected in multiple menswear looks. An absolute harmony. Loro Piana is an inherently discreet brand that is traditionally more progressive in its technical development than its expression. This collection pointed to the shaping of a more coherent voice with which to declare its excellence.

And here’s a couple of my current Loro Piana favorites. Those are pieces you could have in your closet and actually never shop again. And pass them on as family heirlooms…

Loro Piana – Monginevro Cashmere Sweater – Brown

Loro Piana – Leather-trimmed Striped Alpaca-blend Bouclé Poncho – White

Loro Piana – Golden Hour In Dubai Suede-trimmed Printed Cashmere Throw – Orange

Loro Piana – Wintercozy Faux Shearling Slippers – Gray

Loro Piana – Sesia Happy Day Large Textured-leather Tote – Brown

Loro Piana – Cotton And Linen-blend Canvas-trimmed Leather Baseball Cap – Brown

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

Looking For America. ERL AW23

March 18, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

There is no other brand like ERL. By that I mean no one dissects the codes of Americana like Eli Russell Linnetz. And nobody in fashion does theatrics like the Venice Beach-based designer. The authentic, evocative story-telling, which is a combination of ERL’s convincingly vintage-y clothes and the brand’s unique cast of models, just can’t be faked. The designer’s story for autumn-winter 2023 season follows a family that strikes it rich after traveling the Oregon trail, then falls into dysfunction and deterioration across the generations. The zine, which Linnetz titled “Greed: The American Gold Rush“, opens with “pioneer chic” dresses in drab checks and a red bandana print and ends with a Wall Street descendent living through the housing crisis of the 2020s in a football jersey with a homemade bomb strapped to his chest, planning his own demise. It’s a dystopian view of the American dream, reinforced by the use of imagery from the film Easy Rider – tagline: “A man went looking for America. And couldn’t find it anywhere.” But the collection isn’t as dark as the tale Linnetz tells with his photos. Though there are T-shirts printed with the words “Rent Me,” he wears his generation’s pessimism lightly. He’s too fascinated with the major and minor arcana of American life – from the stars and stripes of the flag on down to swap meet sourced vintage prints and the 1970s phenomenon that was iron-on T-shirts – to be truly negative in his outlook. A click through the images will tell you that this is actually Linnetz’s most upbeat collection yet, and not just because he devoted a chapter to the psychedelia of the 1970s, with flower children printed parkas and snowpants, and airbrushed T-shirts in cotton that feels likes it’s been loved and lived-in for years. He had fun with his Wall Street-wear too, collaging classic menswear plaids with surfboard illustrations by the legendary surfer Gerry Lopez on jackets and coats. The back of the coat is DIY’d with one of the 50-odd iron-ons in the lineup. Linnetz pointed to his experience collaborating with Kim Jones at Dior Men for his push into tailoring, and said there will be more of it in upcoming seasons.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

Brave Princess. Renaissance Renaissance AW23

March 15, 2023January 6, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

I love the post-fashion month time, because it’s the right moment to look closer at collections coming from smaller brands that often deliver more substance than the usual, runway big-players. For a couple of seasons now, I’m in absolute awe with Renaissance Renaissance, created by Lebanese designer Cynthia Merhej. Last spring, Merhej told the story of runaway princess searching for a life of her own making. For autumn-winter 2023, the Renaissance Renaissance designer continued that charming story, imagining her heroine weathering the winter months in a makeshift wardrobe made of pre-existing and new materials. But as conductive as that narrative is to Merhej’s own storytelling, the most compelling story she has to tell is her own. “This season I started playing with this idea of transformational garments,” Merhej told Vogue. “I was looking again at the lifestyle of this princess, who may be too poor to buy two dresses so she makes something she can get more wear out of.” The personal side of that story, however, is that Merhej was looking to reconnect with her own sense of playfulness and independence in creating after a period of unresolvedness and evolution. The piece opening this ethereal lookbook is a deadstock pinstripe vest with a stylized cape, which unbuttons from the collar to become a bubble-hem train. This idea is replicated in a sweetheart neckline LBD, its capelet romantically tied around the neck, and on an upcycled fur stole worn as a strapless top. Merhej used mink fur from a vintage coat for some of these special pieces, paneling the material for the stole or dividing it in thin strips to use as accents in a gauzy silk skirt or wool double-breasted A-line coat. “The woman I’m designing for is very free,” Merhej said, “she doesn’t want to be tied down to anything, she’s experimental and playful.” As much as her convertible designs – most part of her Atelier program, which consists of one of a kind pieces – adhere to this ideal, it’s in her ready-to-wear that the designer is truly bridging the gap between her storytelling and her customer. A blush pink skirt and top set, as well as a khaki tailored jacket with matching skirt, are highlights.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

Los Angeles. Versace AW23

March 11, 2023March 11, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Versace skipped Milan Fashion Week this season to show at a later date in Los Angeles – just a couple of days before the Oscars gala. On the roof of the landmark Pacific Design Center, Donatella Versace presented her autumn-winter 2023 vision: a wardrobe for Versace heroines and Versace bad boys, seen through a captivating, LA lens. “I mean I love this city, I love the people, the laid back vibe, the atmosphere,” the designer said. To set the tone for house’s destination show, Versace circled back to a pivotal mid-’90s moment. Easily the most prominent inspiration images on the moodboard for the collection were Richard Avedon’s 1995 images of Kristen McMenamy. The chic skirt suit that McMenamy wore in those photos was tailored close to the body and replete with the brand’s signature gold buttons. “I wanted to go back to the cut and shape of the clothes, to concentrate on the perfect little black dress, the perfect black suit,” Versace said. Gigi Hadid opened the show dressed in a look that echoed those elegant proportions. Naomi Campbell took her turn on the runway in an ankle-grazing black dress with an embellished bustier. Jill Kortleve wore a hot, shoulder-padded LBD. There was also Ivan De Pineda, the ultimate Versace man, wearing a croco-embossed trench coat. For celebrities that were still shopping for Oscar dresses, there were options aplenty. Some of the standouts: a crystal-encrusted naked dress that called to mind a modern Marilyn Monroe, a slinky black chainmail number with sculptural floral embellishments, and va-va-voom interpretations of the cone bra worked into various hourglass shapes.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

Ruched & Twisted. Y/Project AW23

March 9, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

The ruched and twisted shapes, the sculptural pieces draped from wire – with the latest Y/Project collection, Glenn Martens revisits his greatest hits. “The whole idea of this brand is to reinvent techniques, construction, and to experiment as much as possible. That’s what we like to do,” he said backstage. Though the where-do-the-jeans-end-and-the-boots-begin question is sure to keep construction obsessives guessing, this collection was less oriented around pushing new shapes than it was in pumping up the surface interest of the clothes. Maybe because he is so well-versed in denim now at Diesel, it was the major leitmotif in this show. There were baggy jeans that buttoned up on themselves and boxy jean jackets, and even a faded denim caftan, but the real marvel was how Martens cut the material into thin biomorphic shapes, shredded it, and used it as embroidery – on everything from wool coats to clingy body-con dresses. A pair of tulle evening gowns, one in blush pink and the other in ivory, were also embellished with the denim shapes. They were the most delicate pieces ever to walk down a Y/Project runway.