Designers

Quote of the day: Michael Chow



Michael Chow studio 1973 Barry Lategan

“It’s a photograph dress, not a wearing dress. And that reminds me of a story. This man sold a thousand tins of sardines, and the buyer rang him up and said, ‘I’ve just eaten one of your sardines. It was disgusting,’ and this man said, `You fool, they weren’t eating sardines, they were buying and selling sardines.’”
Michael Chow on Tina Chow’s Fortuny dress, Vogue, 1973 (more…)



Good clothes



Saint Laurent SS24 womenswear

I’m a bit sick of celebs and Insta clickbait dominating fashion. Some of my favourite fashion month shows were perhaps not Internet-breakingly epic, but were just great for wearable wardrobe candy and ace styling inspo. Yes, fashion week is for Big Ideas but there’s also room for consistent beauty.

I loved the quietly dramatic staging and focused rigour of Saint Laurent. The precisely cut jumpsuits, trousers and patch pocket shirts! The singular colour palette! The gloves, red lip and those aviators! (Don’t we all have a pair somewhere? And a bullet of Rouge Pur Couture?) This collection hammered home the house codes so clearly and confidently, all that was missing was maybe Paloma Picasso and Betty Catroux on the runway. (more…)



(UPDATED) Shop the post: Peter Do x Banana Republic



UPDATE: THE COLLECTION JUST DROPPED. SHOP THE BEST PIECES BELOW.

Update on Peter Do x Banana Republic.

The collab got a soft launch on the Peter Do Paris runway (above and below) last week and it’s looking pretty good.

There are 28 pieces, of which this trench looks like a best-seller, along with the patch pocket silk shirt and camel trouser suit. The pleated coat dress-y number looks like the showstopper, while the pleated skirt-and-trouser layered ensemble has its own post-punk appeal. (more…)



The wrong shoe



Gucci SS24 show

What’s the deal with fugly shoes? I thought they were a post-ironic anomaly, but no, the aesthetically displeasing Uggs, Crocs and Bottega-style Puddle boots are clearly sticking around.

Back in the day, a Margiela Tabi boot was seriously avant-garde and the perfect foil to your minimalist Lang/Demeulemeester/Sander little black suit. Now it’s a whole sub-franchise netting hefty sales for loyal retailers.

The #NewGucci SS24 show led by Sabato De Sarno garnered mixed reactions (more…)