Woman

Real Life. Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2019

| Design & Culture by Ed

Lately, all designers want to do clothes for ‘real life’. But it’s Demna Gvasalia who actually started that trend-not-trend, first with Vetements, then with time at Balenciaga. The pre-fall 2019 look-book, that sees models walk with their phones in front of their faces or making calls, is all about Gvasalia’s Balenciaga best-selling classics: sharp tailoring, denim, over-sized volumes and exaggerated logos. It doesn’t excite much, as it feels like a transition from the summer show from last October to the winter collection we’ve seen in March. But it’s a pre-collection after all. And it’s hitting stores at this very moment.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Always On The Go. Givenchy Resort 2020

| Design & Culture by Ed

For Givenchy‘s resort 2020, Clare Waight Keller digged into the idea of a wardrobe that’s suited for travelling – from daily commuting to long distance voyages. Or, for people like Clare, who travel from London to Paris on a weekly basis, occasionally do shows in Florence (Pitti Uomo is approaching and Givenchy is this year’s guests), dress celebrities for the Met Gala in New York and check on the brand’s ambassadors in Cannes. That’s a busy schedule, and the wardrobe should be ready for anything. “What I’ve seen so much around me, and with my colleagues and friends, are the challenges of dress today when people travel so much,” she says, then laughs, pointing to one of her Resort images of a girl who has a lanyard phone pouch around her neck and a tote in one hand. “The two-bag situation. That is exactly how my life is!” For women, Waight Keller did faux-fur coats in pink and leopard print, as well as masculine coats with military buttons and sharp shape, a beige jumpsuit perfect for entire week and some really, really gorgeous eveningwear which included intriguing lace work. I somehow missed consistency in all that, but still, it’s a wardrobe of staples, ready for very different occasions. Menswear was stronger in this collection, maybe due to the model casting (that blond hair makes anything look good), maybe because of the Givenchy motorcycle helmet which stole the spotlight. Or, it was all because of this fluidity between sportiness and tailoring. A motocross sweatshirt over a shirt and tie, a green 70s suit styled with sneakers, major outerwear put together with over-sized denim pants. There’s something very Riccardo-Tisci-era Givenchy about it, but done without overhyped prints.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Women. Khaite Resort 2020

| Design & Culture by Ed

After three years of existence, Catherine Holstein‘s Khaite is well-known throughout the industry and  obsessed over by women of varying ages, occupations, and tastes around the world. This New York-based brand, recently nominated for Emerging Designer of the Year by CFDA Awards, does clothes according to the idea ‘from a woman to women’. From confident tailoring and Southwestern-inspired daywear to entrance-making, but unpretentious eveningwear, the resort 2020 collection has it all. You just can’t ignore Khaite’s velvet little black dress or denim pants with a suede finishing. A tulle dress, which might sound like a challenge, looks surprisingly approachable. And super lightweight. Those women-lead brands from New York (The Row, Rosie Assoulin, Bode, Colina Strada, Batsheva…) are so, so good. Khaite’s on the list.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

So Batsheva. Batsheva Resort 2020

| Design & Culture by Ed

Batsheva is the fashion brand on everybody’s lips in New York. And not only. Her signature prairie dress has already left a mark on fashion, seeing very, very similar silhouettes at other brands (like at the just launched, first capsule collection from The Marc Jacobs). But Batsheva Hay seems to be unbothered. Her loyal clients will buy the original idea at its source. And her resort 2020 lookbook doesn’t just sell the clothes. It sells a fresh view at fashion, which is more of an outsider’s perspective. Here, Batsheva herself is the model, and her photographer husband, Alexei, takes the photos. They ran around Manhattan shooting the collection quite spontaneously, in their favorite places together. No makeup. No stylists. Just a married couple marking some of their most cherished spots in the city where both grew up. So, what do we have? Of course, the prairie dress, in new colours, lenghts and prints. We also have Victorian blouses and a gorgeous, voluminous skirts in gingham. One of the dresses with a turtleneck was sewn from a sourced, U.S.A. flag. Flared pants in leopard print, styled with a matching dress, look hot. With every season, the designer makes you want to come back for more of her clothes, her kind of ‘basics’, that are quintessentialy… Batsheva.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Photos by Alexei Hay.

I’ve Seen You Before. Saint Laurent Pre-Fall 2019

| Design & Culture by Ed

Looking at Anthony Vaccarello‘s Saint Laurent through a prism of his delightful campaigns (Juergen Teller’s spring-summer ad shot around Como and the recent Keanu Reeves spread are highlights), his girls gang (Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anja Rubik, Zoë Kravitz, Kate Moss, Mica Arganaraz, need more?) and art projects (production of Gaspar Noé’s latest film that premiered in Cannes, Lux Aeterna, starring Gainsbourg, Beatrice Dalle and Vaccarello’s model muses) and spectacular fashion show venues, you really feel like his work is… major. And, it does sell very well. But since Hedi Slimane is back in fashion with his Celine, you just can’t help but think: I’ve seen that face before. And while the new Celine aggressively hits the stores, and most of the clothes look identical to Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent (crucial note: YSL was actually defibrillated by Slimane some years ago with his slim look aesthetic, new branding and white marble floors), there’s a tension growing on. Do we really need two brands doing the same mini-dresses, boyish tuxedos and traumatically size 0 apparel? Moreover, both designers reintepret their maisons codes for the contemporary times: Anthony keeps on squeezing out Yves’ legendary Le Scandale collection, while Hedi goes for bringing back the old, very old bourgeois style of pre-pre-pre-Phoebe-Philo-era Celine. But somehow, the results are too similar. One thing’s sure: Hedi was first in the game. Still, fashion forgets quickly. Time will show who wins. Or maybe there will be enough customers to push both brands’ turnovers?

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.