New Softness. Balmain AW25

March 29, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Olivier Rousteing‘s Balmain collection was one of the most intriguing and pleasing surprises of the season. You might have noticed that I might not be the brand’s number one fan and I barely ever write about it, but the new energy that pulsates in Rousteing’s autumn-winter 2025 line-up can’t go unnoticed. No shoulder pads in sight. Instead, sensual gray melange, layers of fleecy knits and body-wrapping cashmere. “I want to make a new softness, with shapes that are cocooning,” the designer mused. An unexpected color palette, consisting of bold orange, and a splash of zebra print made the largely understated, yet still charismatic and vivacious Balmain collection feel Balmain… but not in the old way. I want more of the new Olivier.

Ed’s SELECTION:

Balmain Embellished Double-breasted Leather Jacket

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!

Small Can Be Mighty. Comme Des Garçons AW25

March 25, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Let me tell you.. fashion month exhausted me to such extent I had to take a teeny-tiny break and I’ve missed a couple of shows in my usual reporting. This also made me realize, why the hurry? Before Instagram, you had to wait at least a month for any (printed) magazine to deliver a proper fashion month coverage. I remember those times, so I officially feel old.

Comme Des Garçons was an important moment. Rei Kawakubo’s wearable shapes and constructions were slightly (just slightly) getting daunting in the past few seasons with their amorphism and assamblage-ness, but for autumn-winter 2025, the designer went back to making clothes – or rather, concepts of clothes. Not that they were in any way normative. But you could see substantial ideas behind multiple cocktail dresses topping a black tutu base, or in the massive velvet crinolines. There were many layers of pink, red, and watermelon duchess satin bodices and skirts, smashed and clashed together, looking like some kind of couture godzilla. Meanwhile, on the soundtrack, the recording of the Bulgarian singers – as Adrian Joffe, Rei’s husband, shared – was of “workers in the fields, harvest, families, getting things done together.” This holds symbolism for Rei Kawakubo and for Joffe about the independence of Comme des Garçons and Dover Street Market – the two rare, assertive, yet thriving enterprises in an increasingly mega-corporation-dominated world.

Small can be mighty.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!

Phoebe Philo Collection C

March 19, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

On a slow, unassuming Tuesday afternoon, without a single teaser or notice, Phoebe Philo has released her new season lookbook.

Philo’s third full act – titled “Collection C” – is a line-up coming from a confident, assertive woman who knows what she wants. I was just thinking out loud which designer this fashion month got it right in terms of the eternal question: what do women really want from fashion? Well, I think that Phoebe has an absolutely convincing answer. An entire collection of answers.

The collection (that will hit the stores in the second half of 2025) further explores the theme of continuality, something that the British designer introduced in her debut. There are elements that we saw in her previous offerings, but styled differently, more spontaneously: as if a real woman was about to run her errands, and the clothes were the supporting characters, not main heroes. Leather bomber jackets (the label’s major seller) returns in new earthy shades, just like the XXL cabas bag or pajama-like sets in subtle checks. Note how fresh and current these items look. It’s really not about the next new thing, but perfecting what you’ve already got. But there are also exciting new additions, like all the delightful teddy coats or fringed leathers (I wonder if it’s a shawl or an oversized clutch?). Philo also re-owns the modern-day pannier she did in her swan song collection for Céline, this time in a delightful, russet jersey skirt in floor-sweeping length.

But what strikes most in the new release is the overall mood switch. The nay-sayers of Philo’s eponymous endeavor used to point out how distanced and stern the woman she envisioned felt in her first collections. That’s definitely not the case in “Collection C”, where the models charm us with smiles, flowing hair and spilling bags (note the cabas in acidic green and fluffy texture!). The brand is growing organically, and women resonate with its ethos. A sense of celebratory joy is certainly in the air.

Phoebe Philo is in her element, and that shows.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!

Out Of Comfort Zone. Victoria Beckham AW25

March 15, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Victoria Beckham, one of the few female designers leading an independent brand, is in her very-daring, experimental mode. Not all ideas she presented on her autumn-winter 2025 runway were resolved – especially the foldings and rollings – but at least the collection didn’t feel like yet another iteration of The Row or Old Céline. Her closing look, a white top made from bathrobe frotte, felt utterly cool and nonchalantly elegant. Two notions that Beckham should definitely try explore more in her future endeavors. Many women really resonated with that moment – and the gorgeous, maxi-length coats she did.

ED’s SELECTION:

Victoria Beckham Satin Gown

Victoria Beckham Dorian Croc-effect Leather Shoulder Bag

Victoria Beckham Asymmetric Cable-knit Wool Sweater

Victoria Beckham Glossed-leather Platform Pumps

Victoria Beckham Denim Midi Skirt

Victoria Beckham Cropped Padded Shell Bomber Jacket

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!

A Real Dream. Undercover AW25

March 15, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Jun Takahashi’s Undercover collection – which celebrated 35 years of the Japanese brand’s business – didn’t pretend to know it all about contemporary women, but it did deliver a substantial offering with a pinch of dream. The casting featured a number of mature women as well as industry professionals, like Lolita Jacobs. They all looked completely at ease in Takahashi’s romantic layers made out of richly-embellished cashmere knits, vintage-y jackets decorated with talismans and sparkly-hemmed coats. The poignant romanticism combined with inimitable sense of chic made Jun’s creative effort look – and feel – outstanding. For me, personally, this collection is up, up in this season’s list of top moments (and there really weren’t that many).