Dolls in Paris. Vaquera SS26

September 30, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

At the beginning of the month, I found myself thinking about how much Vaquera’s bravado and energy are missed in New York. Patric DiCaprio and Bryn Taubensee have now fully relocated their operations to Paris, and their affection for fun and fashion – both with capital “F’s” – has an intoxicating effect. You can’t help but smile when you see their fabulous hats swathed in netting, worn so nonchalantly with draped party frocks in clashing fabrics and over-the-top volumes. Keeping things lighthearted and doll-like, their mini-dresses (some in kitschy-chic prints) were really only half a dress, suspended from one side of a pointy cup bra and paired with track pants or a faux-fur skirt. The all-striped jersey look with a draped rosette on the shoulder? It’s a clear nod to Carrie Bradshaw in Paris, when she stepped out onto her Plaza Athénée hotel balcony to gaze at the Eiffel Tower. It’s safe to say that Paris now boasts two of New York’s finest – and utterly opposite – exports: The Row and Vaquera.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Objects With Souls. Hodakova SS26

September 30, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

I really love how wildly nonconforming – and delightfully nuts – the first day of Paris Fashion Week was. Similarly to Julie Kegels, Ellen Hodakova Larsson explores the theme of deconstruction. But in her hands, the approach takes a distinctly material-driven twist. In Hodakova’s world, garments – being wearable objects – possess souls of their own.

For spring, she reimagines leather furniture covers as bulbous, body-morphing dresses; transforms vintage bed linens into oversized slips; and repurposes deadstock handbag frames as bras. The highlight of the collection, however, was the series of finale looks, which nodded to folkloric craftsmanship in a mystical, ritualistic Midsommar-esque way. Here, Larsson collaborated with Joar Nilsson of Dacapo, a Swede who recently founded a school to preserve the thatching tradition in Skåne.

The thatched mini-dress immediately brought to mind Arkadius’ spring–summer 2001 collection, where the legendary Polish designer dissected Slavic rural themes. In Hodakova’s case, however, the energy felt distinctly Nordic.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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On The Run. Julie Kegels SS26

September 30, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Julie Kegels opened Paris Fashion Week with a bonkers show – exactly the right way to launch the long week ahead and set the tone for day one: fun, bold, inventive.

I’ve been following Kegels’ work since her master’s collection “The Dinner Party“ at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Even then, it was clear that domesticity would be a central theme in the Belgian designer’s practice. Her spring–summer 2026 show unfolded inside a metro station in the 16th arrondissement. Models emerged as if on their way to an important meeting – or a party – moving with confidence, unconcerned about being late or expected. The presentation read like a story of transformation: a woman in constant motion, always just a step behind time.

That sense of the everyday marathon was brilliantly distilled in the collection. Kegels’ woman dresses in haste, between chores: bra straps hastily knotted, collars stretched and smudged with makeup, skirts slipping down as if about to fall, undergarments peeking through at every glance. Nightgowns edged in lace reappeared as daywear, with no drama attached. Imperfection lingered not as failure but as imprint: stains turned into prints, wrinkles into structure, seams into memory. And her constant companion? A garment-messenger bag, naturally.

Julie Kegels proves that fashion can be witty without tipping into gimmickry – and at the same time, wholly functional.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Polarizing. Versace SS26

September 27, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

The fashion industry hasn’t witnessed such a polarizing collection – especially a debut – in quite some time. After Dario Vitale’s late-evening show for Versace yesterday, my DMs were ablaze until morning with radically different opinions. Some people loved it, calling it a startlingly fresh moment for Milan. Others, however, had no mercy for Vitale’s effort. Personally, I would love to hear Donatella Versace’s thoughts. Her complete absence from the show was… loud.

What is Versace without a Versace at the helm? Dario Vitale, formerly of Miu Miu, has a tough nut to crack. One thing is certain: his debut collection was confident. Gone are the days of Donatella’s flawless blondes in sky-high stilettos. In their place comes a sexuality aimed at younger clients – brisker, messier, slouchier, a bit more kinker. At moments, I felt I was watching a very dolled-up Magliano show – which would be head-turning if it were, in fact, Magliano. But is Versace truly ready to dive headlong into such vintage-heavy territory, straight into the 1980s without a filter? Donatella herself tried many times to revive Versus Versace with near 1:1 references to the brand’s past, and those “new” takes on the diffusion line never succeeded. Many of Vitale’s looks could easily have been sourced from a vintage boutique in Rome or Florence, allowing one to cosplay Gianni’s early career days head to toe. On one hand, the collection was about sensuality (“Honcho”-style in case of menswear, which was executed far better than womenswear, with a homo-erotic gaze) and youth; on the other, it smelled faintly of a mothballed closet. Yet the truth is: today’s “contemporary” audience is deeply nostalgic. Maybe this is what they want – rather than Phoebe Philo or Prada, two female-led brands that actually look forward.

It will be fascinating to see where Vitale takes Versace in the coming seasons – those choices will be decisive. For now, what I see is a cry for the past, one that also eclipses Alessandro Michele’s Valentino. The difference? With Michele, you know it’s his style through and through – not a costume.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Sprezzatura. Tod’s SS26

September 27, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Count on Matteo Tamburini to deliver a precise, hands-on collection in Milan. His Tod’s has become synonymous with finesse – especially in the realm of leather. It was reworked in myriad ways: from butter-smooth, striped dresses so languid and breezy they looked, from afar, like silk foulards; to a Macintosh coat worn inside out, its hidden seams revealed as bold graphic punctuation; to an easygoing suede column in a life-affirming shade of curcuma.

Tamburini also sent down the runway a series of feather-light pullovers in warm hues, styled with matching briefs, silk scarves, ladylike pumps, and oversized striped totes. Very chic – just like the black-and-white ensemble of a zipped hoodie, men’s shirt, and tailored pants. With every season, the Tod’s woman and her style grow ever more refined. Sprezzatura.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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