Armani

On my radar: Soshiotsuki



Soshiostuki ss26

Congratulations to Soshi Otsuki, who just won the LVMH Prize.

Since launching as a menswear brand, Soshiotsuki, in 2015, his “distorted elegance” (also the name of his AW25 collection) in the tradition of Armani, Cerruti and even Studio Nicholson, now includes a number of women’s pieces.

To be specific, that means taking western men’s tailoring and filtering it through a Japanese lens – cardigan-soft fabrics, gentle gathering and draping, voluminous tailored trousers, enveloping knits – and juxtaposing them through careful styling. (more…)



Fear of God AW24



Fear of God AW24

90s Armani is on everybody’s mood board right now and I’m not too upset about it. At Fear of God it’s been given an oversized mid-2020s twist but that’s fine by me.

Although… if somebody (Fear of God, Arket, COS, or just… anyone) could please think of the short girls and create an oversize silhouette in ‘petite’ sizes, I’d buy the whole lot. Just a thought. (more…)



Nautical niceties for AW24 menswear



SS Daley AW24

There’s nothing new about nautical themes in fashion, but we can never get enough of them. SS Daley is my AW24 menswear highlight so far (above and below). Styled by Harry Lambert, it’s a romantic, eclectic take on the Oxbridge student life of a bygone era, with an added nautical influence via an E.M Forster story about an English boy’s encounter with an Italian fisherman. Give me all the messy layering, practical headgear, fish-print foulards and pops of yellow please. Amy de la Haye’sShip Shape’ (act 2 of ‘Oh Boy! Dressing Boys 1750-1930’) exhibition at the Fashion & Textile Museum looks like a good source for further maritime-themed inspo. (more…)



Armani, Armani, Ar-Ar-Armani



Alessandra Carlsson Beri Smither Harue Miyamoto for Emporio Armani by Peter Lindbergh 1989

Before The Row, Lemaire and Brunello Cucinelli, there was Calvin, Donna and best of all, Giorgio. A fabric meister, rigorous deconstructor (before Margiela), uber-minimalist yet (contrary to expectation) anti-perfectionist, Giorgio Armani is the godfather of what we now call ‘quiet luxury’.

Fantastic Man has a, well, fantastic deep dive on the man himself in its latest issue, as well as a mention of Made In Milan, Martin Scorsese’s 1990 mini-documentary, that gives us a delicious glimpse into Mr Armani’s influences and philosophies. (more…)