“We had lots of great times together. Neil was great fun to travel with. I travelled far and wide with him, from Sri Lanka to Key West. He could be difficult at times with a warped sense of humour that definitely appealed to me. I remember being in Hemingway’s bar in Key West [Sloppy Joe’s Bar] with Neil and the very wonderful Anne Boyd [fashion editor, The Observer]. There was a severe rain downpour and we were up to our knees in water, drinking margaritas. All in a day’s work. I loved my adventures with Neil. One of my first and favourite covers was for Honey magazine, November 1983 [above]. As far as I can remember, it was shot on a beach in The Hamptons. We had run out of clothes, so we used what I was wearing—my father’s old sweatshirt and my favourite white shirt. The sun was going down. Bang. Bang. Bang. Done. I still love it.” Jeny Howorth, model, Neil Kirk in Vogue: The Supermodel Years
This new photo book featuring the work of Neil Kirk in 80s and 90s Vogue (plus a few other publications) is a gem. I consider him the English Arthur Elgort with his impossibly glamorous lifestyle shots of leaping leggy models in timeless 80s attire. Yes it’s unapologetically nostalgic but the familiarity (if you’re a certain age) is comforting.
We all (well, I) remember that exhilarating feeling of aspiration just beyond your grasp; the sense that you could maybe be Yasmin, Jeni or Yasmeen living your best life in an Armani skirt suit, wide-striding across a New York avenue in 4-inch heels while casually flagging a cab, glancing behind you as the wind whips your hair, always in a girl-about-town hurry.
The book combines full bleed fashion shoots with spreads of Polaroids, celebrity portraits and fantastic anecdotes from a cast of fashion royalty. I love Jeny’s story of improvising on the styling front. So very 80s and so very Jeny. The book is co-authored by Vivienne Kirk (Mrs Neil) and Iain R Webb and it’s available here* and here. Read more here.
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And one key way he’s doing that is with the silk square scarf.
Formerly Hermès territory, the Celine scarf feels more sporty, vital and graphic. Hermès scarves can also be graphic but there’s often a lot going on in them. (Some have as many as 47 colours, requiring 47 engraving films, as I once discovered on an Hermès workshop tour.) My favourite Hermès scarves were always the geometric ones – I loved the Sugimoto (below), Josef Albers (below) and Natalie Rich-Fernadez’s Delaunay-esque ones of a few years ago.
While the traditional Hermès scarf could famously be styled in myriad ways (the brand produces its own illustrated scarf-tying cards and there are endless YouTube tutorials to be found), I think we still associate them with a somewhat conservative bourgeois image. The way the Celines were shown on the runway felt modern, effortless and not too thought out. And they work so well with the contemporary Celine ‘garconne‘ wardrobe of blazers, denim, trench, not to mention Miu Miu’s XL Harringtons and Prada’s reworked barn jackets. These are pieces we all have now (in multiples!) and a colour-saturated graphic scarf — or three — is an ideal ‘tool’ to lift them out of the everyday and utilitarian.
Jennifer Alfano demonstrates this sentiment well on her Substack, The Flair Index. I just had a look back at a double page spread from my book, The New Garconne* (published 10 years ago this autumn!) and I love how this lady — below — wore her scarf over her hair. (Photo by the amazing Vanessa Jackman — where is she now???) I had to fight so hard for that double page, but the ‘movement’ demonstrates what I mean about the graphic scarf energising or ‘lifting’ an outfit.
High street retailers have been quick to leap on the Celine scarf ‘trend’. It’s an easy and affordable entry point to an otherwise luxury look and so versatile. Mango* and COS* (below) are both ahead of the curve with the right colours and scale. But don’t feel sad for Hermès, I’ve no doubt the Celine scarf mania will have a lucrative knock-on effect on their silks too. NOW CLICK BELOW TO SHOP THE POST (I MAY EARN A COMMISSION ON THE BASKET VALUE OF ITEMS BOUGHT*)…
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla IMAGES:The Sartorialist; Hermès x Sujimoto; Hermès x Josef Albers; Sandra Semberg; The Sartorialist x 2; Sandra Semberg; Tommy Ton/Celine; The Sartorialist; Vanessa Jackman, COS NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links* and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here
CLICK HERE to get Disneyrollergirl blog posts straight to your inbox once a week CLICK HERE to buy my book, The New Garconne: How to be a Modern Gentlewoman CLICK HERE to buy my beauty book, Face Values: The New Beauty Rituals and Skincare Secrets
SS26 was the now infamous ‘reset’ season of mega designers taking up residence at new houses. The result is a broom-sweep of schloopy silhouettes in lieu of sharper cuts, bold injections of colour and a menu of fashion archetypes to choose from, rather than one or two overarching directions.
1/ PALETTE CLEANSER. One thing designers did agree on: this is a season for pure primaries in abundance. It’s a look that works really well on simple, architectural silhouettes which was especially clear at Jil Sander (below), Loewe and Celine as well as The Row (top). Just one piece can energise your everyday since primaries play so well against grey, beige and denim. The Loewe ‘Sports Walkman’ yellows (below) are pure summer holiday vibes and I love a red cardigan to offset khaki, white or grey. Vogue Italia market editor Marta Oldrini shows the way with her cardigan slotted through her belt (below). And if you haven’t tried Celine’s luscious Rouge Triomphe lipstick yet, this might be the season to do it.
2/ QUEER CODING IN MENSWEAR RECLAIMED.Super 8 film clips by Larry Stanton titled ‘Fire Island August 1975’ featuring sunbathing male bodies teased the Saint Laurent SS26 menswear show. Pyjama tops* messily tucked into boxer shorts and paper bag trousers (below) were an apparent nod to the subtle gestures of exposure of Fire Island’s 1970s queer codes while less subtly, Versace’s crotchy jeans and exposed flies by one-season-only designer Dario Vitale had TikTok critics clutching their Medusa pendants in horror. (The subsequent ad – below – put the undone flies front and centre.)
Elsewhere, Jonathan Anderson was a tad more overt. As the costumer for Luca Guadagnino’s 2024 film, Queer, he created (and wore himself) an exclusive Queer sweatshirt seeded to VIPs and movie insiders while for his JWAnderson customers he collaborated with artist Dean Sameshima on explicit ‘Anonymous Faggot’ and ‘Anonymous Trade’ sweatshirts. Not to be outdone on the overt exploration-slash-celebration of queer masculinity, collage artist Pacifico Silanoteamed up with Acne Studios on its SS26 show set designanda T-shirt collab* (below) featuring his signature slivers of softcore collage imagery writ large. On a sidenote, two new books on my radar: Arthur Tress’s photo book The Ramble, NYC 1969 (below) takes us into the discreet world of Central Park cruising at a time when being gay in America was against the law. And Andrew Durbin’s The Wonderful World that Almost Was (great title, taken from an exhibition) follows the friendship-to-romance relationship of artist Paul Thek and photographer Peter Hujar from the 1950s to the 1970s (below). Pre-order here. Something all these examples have in common? A push back against the culture against inclusivity. I think it’s important to acknowledge it.
3/ VERSACE IS INTERESTING AGAIN. If a collection is polarising you can (usually) expect it to do well. While Versace SS26 (below) has only just dropped in stores, that’s almost a feat in itself. Online discourse following the announcement of Vitale’s departure from Versace seemed convinced it wouldn’t see the light of day, so far did it veer from Donatella-era Versace. My take is since Dario Vitale was ousted from the brand just a few months after showing his collection, this in itself could deem its place in history and thus its collectibility. Having seen it in store, the skimpy jersey singlets*, coloured denim*, striped polos*, slim baroque-print blouses and tanned leather bags* are the pieces likely to appeal to a younger, cooler customer. Not to mention the deco-style pendant necklace that opens to reveal a mirrored cigarette case-come-money-clip – swoon! The store staff are encouraging customers to shop across the men’s and women’s floors, to mix and match as they see fit.
4/ CHARVET-CHIC. One of the highlights of Matthieu Blazy’sChanel debut: those Charvet shirts of course (below). Some were long and boxy, others cropped with sweet, discreet monograms and weighted down with signature Chanel chains. (They’ve been causing a frenzy in the Chanel Paris stores already, even at €3,900 a pop.)
The hysteria meant a fashion fillip for storied shirtmaker Charvet too. With the outrage online about Chanel prices, you can go straight to Charvet for a bespoke shirt starting at around £380 (plus the air fare to Paris). Or in the UK, Turnbull & Asser makes bespoke shirts starting at £395 but you need to buy a minimum of four (according to A.I). Here’s a look at the process from the vaults. The high street has capitalised on the Charvet-for-Chanel buzz with similarly styled cropped shirting* (below) and Charvet-alike silk spot scarves* (below). Hello & Other Stories and COS!
5/ & OTHER STORIES REDUX . On which note, & Other Stories* (below) has had a quiet revamp with much more fashion-forward silhouettes, photography, styling, casting and even poses. Its online presence was always a bit ‘off ‘for me in that regard (stores are much better) but this season sees an influx of Versace Jeans Couture-coded red denim, Celine-esque silk scarves, affordable trench coats and Katie Hillier-designed bags. 6/ ST GEORGE TEE. My T-shirt of the season is the St George Joshua Tree top (below), a soft cotton cap-sleeved made-in-Italy tee that’s a perfect ‘white slice’ under spring knits and sweatshirts. I’d prefer a dupe though as St George is part of the problematic Brandy Melville stable…
7/ PREPPY RE-REVIVAL. “In Tokyo right now, every vintage store has racks and racks of XXL ‘90s Ralph Lauren in rainbow colours. They wear huge Polo Ralph Lauren vintage shirts over a T-shirt with big silhouette pants.” W. David Marx (author of Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style) gave me the global lowdown on what’s preppy now for a recent Harrods magazine article. With everyone from Celine (below) to Dior (below) offering their take on preppy staples, my strategy is to mix proportions and to offset old patina-ed favourites with pristine newness. The oversized cherry red Polo Harrington* (below) has been on my wish list forever, which I’d like to pair with a fitted cable knit, mashed up boat tote and baggy chinos. I’m crossing fingers for a massive (and weighty) women’s chino to materialise from somewhere. Ralph Lauren showed a fab remake of the Annie Hall one at Vogue World last October – let’s hope it’s gone into production.
8/ FASHION ARCHETYPES. Not into prep? No worries, there’s a whole panoply of archetypes to tap into. Demna called it at Gucci. We’re not one person all the time, we’re multi-faceted, and SS26 gives us the means to cosplay with identities and character tropes. Wall Street final boss, Gucci “Gallerista”, Milanese fashion intellectual (Marta Oldrini again, below) you get the picture.
9/ JUDE FOOTWEAR. Fabulous footwear on my radar, Jude is well-priced, made in Portugal and features slightly fetishy silhouettes, elite hotel slippers and – my pick – an immaculate polished calfskin riding boot (below).
NOW CLICK BELOW TO SHOP THE POST (I MAY EARN A COMMISSION ON THE BASKET VALUE OF ITEMS BOUGHT*)…
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: The Row SS26; Jil Sander SS26 x 3; Loewe SS26 x 2; Marta Oldrini; Saint Laurent SS26; Versace ad campaign by Steven Meisel; Arthur Tress x 2; Pacifico Silano x Acne Studios; The Wonderful World That Almost Was; Versace SS26 x 3; Chanel SS26 x 2; & Other Stories; COS; & Other Stories x 3; St George; Celine SS26; Dior SS26 x 2; Polo Ralph Lauren; Bottega Veneta SS26; Gucci SS26; Marta Oldrini; Jude footwear; Alekos Fassianos x Aime Leon Dore
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links* and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here
CLICK HERE to get Disneyrollergirl blog posts straight to your inbox once a week CLICK HERE to buy my book, The New Garconne: How to be a Modern Gentlewoman CLICK HEREto buy my beauty book, Face Values: The New Beauty Rituals and Skincare Secrets
I recently interviewed Caroline Baker (former super-stylist and fashion editor) for my next book and we talked about her favourite styling ‘tool’, the safety pin. Returning from a Nova magazine shoot in Japan via Thailand in the 1970s, she spent 24 hours in Bangkok where she noticed a recurring styling detail on the locals; their blue jackets fastened with safety pins.
“So I did a spread with Harry Peccinotti. Nova loved double page spreads, so we did a safety pin over a double page spread, holding together this sweet little jacket. I love safety pins, so when John Lydon came out, that was his symbol and suddenly safety pins became it. It came to be an outside thing and it was OK. Because [previously] if you safety pinned your clothes, you would hide them if you were a well bought up girl. And as a stylist, you become aware of safety pins, because you have to safety pin the clothing to fit the model, so that you never shot anybody from the back.” (more…)
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