One good thing about Khaite‘s latest collection: it wasn’t shown in some dimmed, cavernous space like in the past couple of seasons. You could finally see the clothes on the runway. But you also saw how Catherine Holstein‘s brand is dangerously losing its plot. There’s just too much of ideas coming from The Row (high-necked collars, voluminous organza dresses) and Lucie and Luke Meier’s Jil Sander (macrame dresses, the overall “soft minimalism” styling). It’s very difficult to distinguish what’s distinctly Khaite about this line-up, even if it seemed to be one of Holstein’s most daring, experimental concepts to date. However at this price-point, one wants to see authentic ideas from a brand.
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In New York, brands either do clothes for the sake of clothes or create fashion that has a meaning (but then the “clothes-making” part often stumbles). Willy Chavarria is a rare example of a designer who does both seamlessly, creating garments that are amazingly tailored but also give you real food for thought. In his spring-summer 2025 fashion show, the models walked out, in a single file, with the American flag as the monumental backdrop. What came across was a voluminous yet exact silhouette that was a callback to the uniforms of the American working class – hotel workers, concierges, construction people, foremen. And so there were balloon sleeves on classic zip-up jackets, tonal shirt and tie combos, cotton duck work fabric turned into tailored Victorian jackets with princess sleeves or baggy cargo skirts, and really good denim pieces . Many of the looks were accessorized with a set of keys – and a little crucifix – dangling from a belt loop. Within the context of the show it seemed like a plea for America – or rather “América“, as the collection was titled – to be more like the promised land everyone imagines it to be. “This [season] is all about power to the people,” Chavarría said. “It’s this country through the voice of the immigrants, and the people who make this motherfucker run.”
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Alaïa was another show in New York that left me somewhat hungry for more. Pieter Mulier‘s took the Parisian maison to Guggenheim, as a contemporary (and very high-gloss) hommage to Azzedine Alaïa’s 1982 show at the Palladium nightclub. The spring-summer 2025 collection referenced a couple of the master’s knock-out designs: think 2001 couture asymmetric draped number hanging on one strap or the cut-out bustiers that became the brand’s signature (Mulier was evidently inspired by the forms of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building). The Belgian creative director also invited some ideas that were born in New York: bandeaus and haute “sweatpants” were riffs on Halston’s 1970s jerseys, sculpted puffer jackets were obviously inspired by Charles James, one of Alaïa’s favorite designers. There was lightness and apparent ease about this collection that was absolutely luxe in its execution. And it was an experiment for Mulier, who has created a sort of well-tested comfort-zone in Paris when it comes to his sublime shows there. I just wish he dared to push it a bit more than just referencing familiar and pretty well-known codes of both Alaïa and New York fashion.
Here are some Alaïa goodies you just don’t want to miss.
Proenza Schouler pre-opened New York Fashion Week. This was a smart move: the spring-summer 2025 collection would have a really hard time fighting for attention in the midst of all other shows and presentations that are coming up in New York this week. Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough don’t play around with gimmicks, and they are in a continuous process of stripping down anything superfluous about their brand. But the problem is the minimalism they are pursuing for spring feels so generic and safe it could easily be a COS or Arket runway. The clothes looked good – especially the over-sized shirt-dresses and slouchy tailoring – but they were bare of feelings a high fashion brand like PS should spark. Also, I’m not sure who the Proenza Schouler woman is, especially when she’s wearing all these 2015-ish stripes and fringes.
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Chemena Kamali’s highly anticipated debut collection for Chloé has finally hit the stores, and damn, these clothes are hot. You know, sometimes you’ve got a brilliant fashion show or a look-book, but when you see the clothes separately, there’s just no spark. But in case of Kamali, she really did deliver. These pieces, which are the perfect balance of nomadic 1970s and boho 2000s, carry a sort of authentic patina that you get with vintage clothes that age well.
The designer’s first season at Chloé is her very personal ode to the maison. Kamali knows the history of the brand inside out, because she worked there as a Chloé-obsessed junior designer in the early 2000s under Phoebe Philo’s creative direction, and then again under Clare Waight Keller. She’s really at home here, and you can sense that in the way she so effortlessly revisits the Chloé vocabulary and codes. You have Gaby Aghion’s, the brand’s founder, carefree femininity; Karl Lagerfeld’s bourgeois chic he cultivated throughout three decades of designing at the brand; and the cool-girl spirit that Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo, and Hannah McGibbon ignited in the aughts. But Chemena’s clothes and accessories also feel grounded in reality. The designer herself is a working mom, and she wants to make clothes that aren’t only feminine, but wearable. One might say that there’s nothing truly ground-breakingly innovative about the new Chloé. But then we live in post-post-modern world where nostalgia keeps on fueling current aesthetics. And Kamali orchestrates that nostalgia really well. Plus, I really love this brand, and I couldn’t stand what Gabriela Hearst was doing with it for the past few years. So seeing Chloé being Chloé again is just so pleasing.
The best of Chemena’s autumn-winter 2024 collection?
Design & Culture by Ed 