Traces of Living. Miu Miu SS24

October 6, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Miu Miu is the Sofia Coppola of fashion. With this brand, Miuccia Prada tells stories of girls (on the verge of womanhood) trying to navigate the fascinating, particular world we live in. The spring-summer 2024 collection, which is the cherry on top of this never-ending fashion month, explores a rationale of beauty today, beauty, that echoes the complexity of our era. Miuccia has a solution: instead of rigid paradigms, there is a radical expansion, a rich plurality. Not beauty, but beauties, an embracing of unique characters, the joy of life. With that in mind, the designer re-established the Miu Miu silhouette that’s seen recent collections fly off the shelves: skimpy hemlines expressed in knickers (worn as daywear), shorts and tiny tennis skirts paired with oversized blazers, bombers and coats. Triangular tops styled with low-slung tailored trousers continued the 2000s vibe beloved by a new generation of shoppers.

The collection was underpinned by a decidedly preppy mood that riffed on an American idea of ease: crested jackets over polo shirts over shirts worn with Bermuda shorts. There’s that intriguing “realness” about the recent Miu Miu collections. This time, Prada imbued her garments and accessories with what she called “traces of living”: marks on leathers and suedes, and fabrics that faded as if they’d been washed too many times. She called the pre-worn sensibility an expression of “existing love” demonstrated by the repeated use of clothes. A similar sensibility was reflected in the “real” styling (done wih Lotta Volkova’s assistance) of the slightly dishevelled layering of dresses, jumpsuits, cardigans and T-shirts, which evolved the barely-got-out-bed look that characterised last season’s collection. As a brilliant nod to real life, the toes of flip-flop-wearing models were adorned wore neon-coloured plasters. That sense of realness was also embrace by a diverse cast. Singer Troye Sivan flew the flag for the Miu Miu boy, while the artist Petra Collins and the photographer Eddy Aldridge wore “misfit” eveningwear. The Sofia Coppola reference perfectly materialized in the appearance of Cailee Spaeny, the actress who stars as Priscilla Presley in the latest work of the director.

Collages by Edward Kanarecki.
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Sweet Melancholia. Sandy Liang SS24

September 13, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Sandy Liang is known in New York for her sweet spot for cinematic nostalgia. For spring-summer 2024, the designer looked at her cult-favorite film for inspiration: Sophia Coppola’s directorial debut The Virgin Suicides. The film actually doubles as the name of her collection, an assemblage of hyper-feminine garments that the Lisbon sisters themselves may have worn if not for their tragic fates. Showcased at the garden of the Cooper Hewitt Museum with music from Parker Radcliffe, the ultra-feminine collection featured taffeta dresses, pleated skirts and bows, both in hair and on clothing. It was naturally in tune with Liang’s blend of balletcore and pageantcore with some 1970s twists that appeared n the form of peter pan collars, cropped capri pants and pant suit jackets worn as tops. Models also wore necklaces and earrings constructed out of freshwater pearls and seashells dipped in metal. Playful and whimsical, tinged with melancholia: that’s how you can describe Sandy Liang’s womenswear. Meanwhile, I can’t wait for my copy of Coppola’s latest “Archive” book to arrive.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Resurrected. Imitation of Christ SS21

September 16, 2020 | Design & Culture by Ed

I discovered Imitation of Christ a year ago, and when I’ve shared some archive images from Tara Subkoff‘s early 2000s shows on my Instagram stories, many replied to me that they’ve never heard of the brand and that it’s just so, so amazing. I was in awe, too. Each of the label’s collections was presented as a sort of ironic performance: a funeral show; a red carpet line-up opened by Chloe Sevigny; a collection solely dedicated to denim, with Scarlett Johansson as a Marilyn-Monroe-look-alike model. Then, the brand seemed to go into a hiatus, then it came back for a moment and disappeared again. And then, to my surprise, somebody posted on Instagram that Imitation of Christ is back this summer with a guerilla couture performance in Los Angeles. And now, here we are with Subkoff’s spring-summer 2021 collection – in a moment that one might never suggest for a brand that’s planning its “big” come-back. But Imitation of Christ isn’t a regular brand, so the circumstances just couldn’t be more exciting. Twenty years after the brand’s first show on the escalators in a subway station, this season’s performances (there were two, one in Los Angeles, one in New York, not identical, but each consisting of a capella singers accompanied) are equally inventive. And, while all of this is going on, The RealReal, from which Subkoff sourced some of her pieces, will offer the spring collection for sale in see-now, buy-now fashion, with part of the proceeds going to Greta Thunberg’s nonprofit Fridays for Future. Upcycling or “resurrecting” existing pieces is the central tenet of Imitation of Christ, and it means that every piece is unique. Collection themes do emerge, however, and are crystallized by the way they are presented. Skateboarding is the organizing principle this time around, and Subkoff describes the clothes as “glamorous activewear” – say, a vintage slip attached to the front of a sports jersey. Some of it could have been hand-sewn by the bored, home-imprisoned Lisbon sisters from Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides, by the way. Subkoff became acquainted with skateboarding girls when she was feeling a bit blue. Struggling to find inspiration, the designer started visiting local skateboard parks, which she found to be “heavy on the dude feeling” until she noticed the young female skaters trying to master tricks, falling down, and starting over again. In their determination Subkoff says she found a “good metaphor for what it feels like, to me, to be female in this world in some capacity. Like you just have to keep doing it, until you do it better than the men. And then you have respect in some way.” Looking forward to more of Imitation of Christ, as it’s one of the most enigmatic and intriguing labels in New York.