Design

Quote of the day: Jean Touitou on Agnès b



Agnes b Snap cardigan

“I was playing my electric guitar in [Agnès b’s] studio above the store one evening. I remember seeing her come back from dinner, put a black round-neck sweatshirt on a desk, grab a pair of scissors and cut the piece right down the middle. Then, she took snap buttons and put them on the front. It became a worldwide hit.”
A.P.C’s Jean Touitou on the birth of the Agnès b snap cardigan in 1979, New York Times (more…)



Shop the post: Shape shifting



Zara waxed style jacket

I’m conflicted.

On the one hand I’ve long aspired to the XXL silhouettes of Studio Nicholson, Jil Sander and Phoebe Philo. On the other, I’m a short person. I frequently forget I’m not in fact a 5-foot 10 supermodel and continue to buy men’s sweaters, gargantuan trench coats and jumbo shirts as if I’m David Byrne in Stop Making Sense. Send help! (more…)



Calvin Klein: Nostalgia or Now?



Calvin Klein Collection SS25

Lots of people have been in my DMs asking for my thoughts on the Calvin Klein Collection reboot. Lies! One person asked, but I’m here to share my two cents anyway.

This show was the most highly anticipated of NYFW. If the relaunch of a 5-decades-old label is what’s getting people hyped about NYFW, that says rather a lot about the state of ennui. So, Veronica Leoni (formerly of The Row and Phoebe’s Celine) had a great deal resting on her spaghetti-strapped shoulders.

The show was beautiful. It was clean, serene, elegant and poised. It looked like 1990s Old Calvin. But is that a compliment? Or a problem? (more…)



Japanese convenience chain FamilyMart is getting a fashion glow-up



Nigo announced as FamilyMart creative director

The vogue for hypebeast grocers (documented in my aw24 trend report) continues.

News just in: Japanese streetwear wonderkid Nigo has been named creative director for convenience store chain FamilyMart. If you’re thinking Tesco or Co-Op, it’s a bit more significant than that. The convenience store game in Japan is way bigger than plastic-packed egg sandwiches and lottery tickets. They do everything from letting you pay bills and print documents to selling underwear and toothbrushes for on-the-go white collar workers. And their snack aisles are legendary. (more…)