A Russian Tale. Ulyana Sergeenko AW17

July 6, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

A beautiful, Russian tale was told at Ulyana Sergeenko‘s autumn-winter 2017 haute couture show. The brand is known for its ultra-focus on traditional, slowly dying craftsmanship coming straight from Russia – take the Yelets and Vologda lace techniques, which make Sergeenko’s lady-like dresses look truly one-of-a-kind. The collection orbited around two themes. One was especially intimate for the designer herself – it was a photo of Ulyana Sergeenko’s grandmother taken 64 years ago in eastern Kazakhstan, wearing a black dress with white-collar. Ulyana dedicated the collection to her beloved grandmothers – Sonya, Nina and Zina – making her lucky clients feel the love embedded in these intricate embroideries. The other, darker side of this collection was inspired by Old Holywood’s elegance and Soviet crime stories feauturing spies and gangsters – the all-black looks had something sexy badass about them (for a reason). Fancy, very femme fatale fur coats are here, too.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki (backdrop: a still from Renata Litvinova’s ‘Rita’s Last Fairy-Tale’).

Single-Minded. Dior AW17 Couture

July 5, 2017July 5, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Looking at Maria Grazia Chiuri‘s time-line at Dior, which started about a year ago, one thing’s sure – she doesn’t care about the critics and suggestions of others. She likes going one clear, single-minded direction per season, making her overall work feel like a set of trends, rather than a consistent story told by an experienced designer. Let’s go navy this season, let’s do ‘feminism’ this time, oh, maybe let’s do a Western theme!

So, what’s on the table this couture season? Fifty shades of grey, literally (expect three, four looks kept in multi-coloured patchwork). Heavy masculine coats, fedora hats, dusty ball-gowns for cosmopolitan ladies of early 20th century – you would expect something more radiant for a brand’s 70th anniversary. “Honestly, it’s completely different to see the real archive and the image that some people have about Christian Dior. There’s so much daywear.” Thought it’s a haute couture show, where you don’t give a damn about something like ‘daywear’ and instead go for imagination. Talking of Dior, the man – the bar jacket is here. With this exhausted piece, Chiuri checks the box every season, saying that she finds a connection with the brand’s founder. But Maria Grazia should focus on making Dior feel contemporary, even for a billionaire’s wifes who will buy it later in the atelier. Or, I guess, this sells well, if she’s still at the maison…

Collage by Edward Kanarecki (backdrop: Gordon Parks’ photo).

Ride. Miu Miu Resort 2018

July 4, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Just in time for the haute couture week in Paris, Miuccia Prada invited her guests (note Sofia Coppola’s The Beguilded cast, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning, in the f-row) to the Miu Miu club, an ultra-glamorous, one-night-only venue. For resort 2018, Miu Miu girls are hot automobile riders, who wear green intarsia coats, striped jumpsuits and day-dresses in vichy checks. If somebody’s not full throttle into fast car rider theme, the designer has tropical prints and masculine, woollen coats in her latest offering. Bum-bags (surprisingly seen in Miuccia’s menswear collection at Prada a few weeks ago) are evidently having a loud revival this season, whether you’re having a problem with that, or not.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Witchy. Rodarte SS18

July 3, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Americans in Paris – I love seeing them here. Proenza Schouler‘s spring-summer 2018 was already a very good sign. The same day, Mulleavy sisters‘ Rodarte line-up was a feast for the eye in pure form. The show was staged in a Parisian cloister with a garden patio, where the models strolled around in witchy dresses and badass leather gears. All those ethereal and rebellious elements of a Rodarte woman symbolised Kate and Laura’s romantic sensibility with a sophisticated vision of femininity.

Throughout the seasons in New York, Rodarte reflected on womanhood in various ways, from skate girls to punk princesses. Spring-summer 2018 was “the most Rodarte collection” the sisters created, where they mixed all of their magical ingredients into one delightful potion. Like fairies, the models had baby’s-breath tiaras on their heads or carried huge bird of paradise bouquets. Some wore scarlet red gowns, some pastel pink ball-dresses, but all oozed with a carefree, A Midsummer Night’s Dream sweetness. There were the leather pieces, too, which are Rodarte’s signatures – this season ornamented with metallic bows. I guess the Mulleavy girls deserve a loud ‘bienvenue’, just like the Proenza Schouler boys do.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki (backdrop: stills and elements from ‘The Love Witch’ film from 2016).

Boys in Paris. Proenza Schouler SS18

July 3, 2017July 3, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough are the boys, who for years defined the contemporary chic of New York’s fashion scene. Hearing about their unexpected departure to Paris last season was quite a surprise. Everybody asked: what will New York fashion week be like without Proenza Schouler? Well, one thing’s sure – the Big Apple undoubtedly sobs that it didn’t witness one of the couples’ strongest and most beautiful collections.

But why Paris? And why so early for spring-summer 2018, while it will be presented by other labels in September? First, the brand decided to expand its recognition internationally, as Paris, not New York, is the place where all eyes look at. Second, the designers decided to dissolve the pre- and main-collection into one, consistent line-up, leaving more space (and time) for their intimate, creative process. Vetements done it, with success; Burberry has a similar business model; Rodarte, which presented its collection the same day in the French capital, takes the same risk this season.

But lets talk about the clothes, which in the end are the most important. As I’ve mentioned earlier, that was a truly impressive collection. Form low skirts and ready-for-everything blazers to statuesque ruffled dresses and stark red florals, Lazaro and Jack searched for a balance between arty edginess and comfortable elegance. Wait, we’re in Paris, just on time for haute couture shows – this explains the last looks, pimped up by the local petites mains. Looking like moving fluffy clouds from a distance, those were intricately inserted feathers on Sasha Pivovarova’s art gallery owner jacket or Mariacarla Boscono’s show-stopping evening dress à la Black Swan. Actually, each look is worth a paragraph. Also, please take a look at the low-heeled shoes with pointy-toes, kept in simple black or embellished with colourful beads. An instant need.

I think that a warm ‘bienvenue’ is the right term to greet Proenza Schouler at their new, European home!

Collage by Edward Kanarecki (backdrop: combination of different installations and artworks by Kate MccGwire).