Woman

On The Lost Tape. Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2022

| Design & Culture by Ed

And just like that (no pun intended!), Demna (note: from now on, Demna (Gvasalia) uses only his first name, distinguishing an artist title from a birthname and therefore separating creative work from personal life) does it again. He’s the modern-day fashion genius, we know it by now. Also, good bye to the Y2K trend – the 1990s are back. The Balenciaga pre-fall 2022 presentation comes in the form of a message from the past about what could have been and never was. It recalls a time when clothing that was alive with raw ideas – anti-fashion, deconstruction, and monochromatic minimalism – could be found anywhere from an industry spectacle to the active underground. “On The Lost Tape“, a fashion show is characterized by the people and things that defined this late-90s era, filmed using a VHS camera by the one & only Harmony Korine. The collection symbolically fills a gap from Balenciaga’s forgotten years. Raver and post-grunge silhouettes are pushed to their limits. Proportions are played with, creating new silhouettes and evolving others, including Balenciaga signatures like the Basque waist jacket and the track suit. Front-to-back pieces are studies of classic suiting and tweed dresses that question closure placement, reverse-engineering constructions to become tailored. Ultra-stretchy knits make these and shrunken twin sets easy to put on. Vintage slip dresses are disassembled and pieced back together. Five-pocket jeans are cut up to create a three-piece silhouette that can be worn as a miniskirt, pants, or XL thigh-high boots. Fluid tailoring gives a deconstructed suit an unlined raglan sleeve, in the collection’s Belgian avant-goth tones. A Couture-like bell-shaped puffer’s detachable bow can be used as a scarf. Wrap closures use DIY ways of fastening, like oversized safety pins. And what’s the designer’s dream 90s look? “Me, my favorite looks are the flared raver jeans with the crop tops,” he told Vogue and chuckled wistfully. “Couldn’t wear it now, but reminds me of gay Soviet Georgia underground clubs.” Worth adding: Demna’s commitment to responsible production continues, represented this season with 89.6% certified sustainable plain and printed ready-to-wear fabrics as well as pieces of upcycled leather used in garments and accessories.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Be Bold. Bottega Veneta Resort 2022

| Design & Culture by Ed

Daniel Lee and Bottega Veneta parted ways last month, yet before we see Matthieu Blazy’s debut in February, there’s Lee’s resort 2022 collection which is the essense of his work for the brand. Development-wise, the collection predates the spring outing – Salon 03 – that took place in Detroit in October. The ideas here are much more precise and will definitely appeal to the New Bottega fans who will symbolically buy Lee’s final designs. It’s bright and upbeat, awash with juicy citrus and berry shades, and cut in rich, touchable textures. Not quite hedonistic but close; it’s a wardrobe for good times. In place of the directional tailoring that has distinguished preceding collections here, there was denim and corduroy, but done the Bottega Veneta way, meaning that the denim is knitted with jumbo stitching, and the corduroy comes in acid colors. Another no-brainer item that got the house treatment is the puffer; quilted on the bias in glossy orange and Hockney blue leather, it’s no run-of-the-mill jacket. If coming at everyday items with an elevated touch was one part of the Bottega Veneta story under Lee, the other was to emphasize high craftsmanship—to make things at a couture-like level without bending to couture-ish propriety. The hand-crocheted and -beaded dresses here belong to that rubric, even though they’re designed in the bare, easy shapes of beach cover-ups. Likewise, the intarsia shearling bathrobes. A dress underneath one of the robes, in a smaller version of the coat’s interlocking pattern, is cut from classic swimsuit material; together they really do channel the Miami-in-December vibe. And now the big question: after three years of Lee’s reign, which was cut abruptly, where will Blazy take the brand?

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Baie des Anges. Celine sS22

| Design & Culture by Ed

Celine chose to present its spring-summer 2022 collection on Nice’s historic Promenade Des Anglais, a site which was built in the 18th century by the English aristocracy who took up a second home for their winter residence. The collection, entitled “Baie des Anges“, nodded to this historic setting, and was presented via a catwalk film, directed by Hedi Slimane himself, and starring Celine girls (including Kaia Gerber). Love it or hate it, this was a 100% Hedi collection. But one thing I’ve gradually started to appreciate about his Celine line-ups is their absolute timeless-ness and versatility. If you’ve got a striped shirt, a vintage black blazer, a pair of perfectly-fitting jeans and a cap, you can recreate pretty much every Celine collection from the last two years. However, at the same time, Slimane’s recent collections are just so undemanding design-wise and uniform that you start to wonder if they even need fashion shows. The main spring-summer 2022 image that stucks in your mind is the following: to the endlessly cool soundtrack of Can’s 1972 deep cut Vitamin C, the as always super-skinny models walk along the riviera, in their sharply tailored jackets paired with bralettes, bodycon sequin skirts and platform trainers. Sequins are a recurring theme throughout the collection – not only do they adorn a khaki loungewear hoodie and tracksuit co-ord, but also a figure-hugging, cowl-neck dress with a matching clutch bag, and golden pussybow shirts with bouffant sleeves, worn with knee-length jersey shorts. Hedi Slimane is no longer interested in shocking fashion moments – rather, he prefers to focus on proper wardrobe classics and the “too cool to care” styling.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Free Spirit. Etro Pre-Fall 2022

| Design & Culture by Ed

When you think of Etro, you’ve got an instant image in your head: a boheme free-spirit, wearing layers of paisley-printed chiffon and embroidered suede. She’s a global citizen, but as well quintessentially Italian. Looking at the pre-fall 2022 collection, which oozes with that distinct Etro DNA, the brand’s new investor (LVMH-backed private equity giant L Catterton) is certainly into embracing what the brand stands for. On the creative side, Veronica Etro and brother Kean seem to be energized by the change, working together on updating collections with a younger, gender fluid flavor – a move which has recently led to artistic collaborations with unconventional talents, like the Italian rock band Måneskin and British designer Harris Reed. “It’s about constantly elaborating and expanding our lexicon of wanderlust and bohemia with newness and a fresh ésprit,” Veronica summed up. To boost visual appeal of the signature Etro prints, the designers gave them a lighter spin, making the motifs more rarefied and luminous, “almost if they were floating on a white background”. Oversized intarsia’d and crocheted knitwear was proposed in lieu of outerwear; ponchos, capes and blankets featured in abundance; and piuminos were knitted and textural, quilted with pretty floral-printed linings. Languid loungewear-inspired robes, loose-fitting pajama suits, chic caftan dresses, and kimono jackets were offered in sumptuous printed velvet or elaborate jacquards with a silver sheen. The Etro client – both the one that shopped there 30 years ago and the one that is just starting to invest in a timeless wardrobe – will be happy.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Masked & Suited. Vetements AW22

| Design & Culture by Ed

Vetements has been struggling with keeping its momentum for a few seasons now, and some even say it officially started to “flop”. But the autumn-winter 2022 look-book has some pretty good clothes that make you think of the brand as a place for great tailoring rather than sweatshirts and viral moments. Indeed, the collection focuses on a more luxurious look – even though it kind of contradicts Vetements’ original memo. During a preview with Vogue, Guram Gvasalia was talking about Bitcoin and social media millionaires. “The early 20th century couturiers focused on industry tycoons who made money with oil, real estate, chocolate bars,” he said. “This collection is pushing to redefine the couture and the savoir faire for the new era” – for the new luxury shopper. If you see something cynical in the money prints and lotto card motifs you aren’t in on the joke. “The Gvasalias” is printed in what looks like The Simpsons font on the inside of a t-shirt; that’s a nod to Guram’s brother Demna’s spring 2022 Balenciaga show. Then there’s the fact that all but one of the 72 looks features a mask – a mask not unlike the one worn by Demna at that show and also at the Met Gala, where his famous date was similarly accoutred. “The truth is in today’s world dominated by social media – and a sometimes toxic environment – you don’t need to be Kim Kardashian to need some privacy in your life,” Guram explained. For the record, he added that masks have been part of the Vetements lexicon for years. Sibling dynamics aside, there were some notable developments here, mostly involving Vetements’s signature tailoring. The opening look’s button-down, trousers, jacket, and long coat are all made from the jersey typically used for t-shirts and hoodies, a post-lockdown innovation that addresses conflicting urges to dress up and stay comfortable. “You can throw them in your suitcase and start traveling again,” Gvasalia said. The team also experimented with “digital 3-D pattern modifications” that give straight-cut jackets a couture-ish hourglass shape. And they designed down jackets and jeans with built-in zippers so wearers can modify the silhouettes as they see fit. Other looks layer oversize tees on top of jackets and shirts, a counterintuitive idea that nonetheless looks distinctive. That brings it back around to the new gen, who have an uncanny way of making the counterintuitive suddenly look right.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.