The 2010s: Phoebe Philo’s Céline.

December 22, 2019June 17, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Believe it or not – I can’t! – but we’re heading towards a new millenium. So, how do you choose the most important collections, designers and labels of the decade? The ones that made an actual impact in the 2010s? Well, it’s not an easy task. It all began in September 2009 with New York’s spring-summer 2010 shows and ended when the autumn-winter 2019 haute couture shows wrapped in Paris. Few thousands of shows, by the way. There will be 19 posts (that’s really the only possible minimum!) reminding about the best – and if not the best, then strongly influencing – moments in fashion.

STELLA skincare sustains your skin’s key functions, whilst boosting vitality and radiance on the outside.

Phoebe Philo‘s Céline.

This one is no surprise to anyone who reads my journal for a longer while. Phoebe Philo’s contribution to 2010s fashion – through the medium of Céline – is exceptionally significant. Phoebe’s fashion wasn’t minimalist as many tend to sum up. It was eclectic. Intelligent. Feminist. Feminine. Intimate. Lasting. Beautiful. From all the photoshop-free Juergen Teller ad campaigns (feauturing Phoebe’s favourite women like Daria Werbowy and Joan Didion) and store interiors (they felt like home!) to the music playing during the fashion shows (Cymande’s “Dove“, Soul II Soul’s “Back To Life“, Method Man and Mary J. Blige’s “I’ll Be There For You / You’r All I Need to Get By”…) and the shockingly rare on-line shop absence for an established label like this, Philo’s Céline was the ultimate favourite of many people (including me) for different reasons. While Phoebe is still off the fashion horizon, just look at all the brands that turn to her collections for inspiration (or actually try to copy her…). Yes, yes, we’ve got Daniel Lee’s Bottega Veneta, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s The Row, Christophe Lemaire and Sarah Linh Tran’s Lemaire. But I really, really, really hope that 2020 will see Phoebe Philo’s comeback. Dreams come true!

Collages by Edward Kanarecki. Photos by Juergen Teller and Tyrone Lebon.

The 2010s: Prada, Of Course!

December 21, 2019December 21, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

Prada, Prada, Prada!

Miuccia Prada is certainly one of the most influential fashion designers of our time. Her fashion isn’t just fashion: it’s an on-going dialogue between art, society, culture, and at times even politics. Her Prada woman and man jump from being decadently eccentric to modernly elegant; they can be vagabond, they can be sophisticated, they can be bold in their neon nylons and printed banana shirts (so Jeff Goldblum!). In her 2010s collections, Prada turned her talent to the reivention of a more conventional expression of beauty, striving to modernize embellishment, taking fabrication and surface detail to unprecedented heights, fusing plastic with precious silks, showing cable knit alongside cable knit prints and cable knit embroideries, imagining and then realizing her own spectacular brocades offset by humble cottons borrowed from menswear. Nearly each collection Prada presented in this decade is iconic – and can be recalled by coining separate themes or words (Madame Frankenstein, Japan, pin-up girl, film noir, Margot Tenenbaum, sailors, pastels, stripes, The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant…the list goes on!). Noting other successes of Prada in the 2010s – like Fondazione Prada in Milan, re-opening the Linea Rossa line, the non-stop growth of Miu Miu’s allure – I really can’t wait to see how Miuccia shapes her 2020s…

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Signatures. Batsheva Pre-Fall 2020

December 13, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

The Batsheva dress: high-neck, nipped waist, ruffle sleeve, full skirt. That distinct silhouette made designer Batsheva Hay‘s brand become one of New York’s biggest favourites. And even though season goes, this dress – often made from ornate, vintage textiles – doesn’t get boring. Still, now Batsheva has to move on creatively. And looking at her pre-fall 2020, she thrives. Meet the smock frock, which works as a housecoat in velveteen leopard and crimson moiré. “That’s how I want to dress now,” Hay says. And what Hay wants remains the backbone of Batsheva. New, over-sized shapes and menswear-ish separates (like a Western shirt) make debuts. Hay’s choice of fabrics – a mix of quilting materials and unlikely fashion candidates like burnout velvets and suit linings – keeps a consistency between her circle skirts and more structured day dresses. Get the Batsheva look.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

American Princess. The Marc Jacobs Pre-Fall 2020

December 11, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

The sister line of Marc Jacobs is (finally) what Miu Miu used to be to Prada in the early 2000s – a more accessible, easy and care-free label that isn’t a license trash. The Marc Jacobs (the name is Marc’s actual Instagram handle) is the modern day Marc by Marc Jacobs, which comparing to its predecessor is presice in style and consistently rotates around some of the biggest Jacobs hits: a denim jacket with Victorian puff sleeves; grunge-y baby doll dresses; fun accessorising. The “American Princess” signs all over the belts and 90s mini-bags look like instant best-sellers, just as the colourful tights that will elevate every look or adorable variations of the prairie dress. The cupcake-boob t-shirts are hilarious in a good way. While today’s sister line fashion landscape – think See by Chloe, Red Valentino, M Missoni… – rarely spark much interest and in general feel sleepy, The Marc Jacobs isn’t trying to be the main line at a lower price point. Instead, it sells great clothes that complete Marc’s brand.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

The New Sexy. Khaite Pre-Fall 2020

December 8, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

For pre-fall 2020, Catherine Holstein tweaked some familiar Khaite hits – Victorian blouses, romantic tulle dresses, Western skirts, timeless denim – and sprinkled in a touch of 1960s rock & roll glamour. That said, the designer felt her greatest departure was in the ultra-short minidresses and body-hugging ruched gowns. “I’ve always avoided using the word ‘sexy’ to describe the clothes,” she said. “I would call them ‘sensual,’ which sounded more modern, or maybe more feminist. But I really wanted to embrace the idea of sexy and what that means for our woman right now.” Beyond the sheer blouses and minis, even the suits had a curvier, more womanly fit, with narrow, high-rise trousers and snug blazers. The sexiest look of all might have been the ivory pantsuit, shown with a black leather belt and nothing else.