Dior

The culture of fashion: Everybody’s doing book totes



Dior book tote

Dior’s
latest campaign just dropped, featuring the new book totes (modelled by writers and… ‘lit-fluencers’?) photographed at Paris’s famous bouquinistes stalls along the Seine – a smart way to tap into the zeitgeist for book clubs and performative reading.

The Dior book totes do retail for £2650* (or a small one for £2400*) despite the furore about how they’re actually made. But there are other options for mere mortals. (more…)



Are we ready to dress up?



Dries van Noten ss26 by Morgane Maurice

Robert Armstrong made a good point a few weeks ago in the FT. “Intentional underdressing [normcore et al] has become ubiquitous and so lost its power. It’s less fun for the mogul to wear a hoodie when his toadies do too; this explains why dressing up is, slowly but surely, coming back in”.

With the long-awaited arrival of NikeSKIMS, this suggests we’ve reached the apex of casual underdressing. It only recently dawned on me why athleisure was so popular for the last five years. Firstly, it’s easy to wear – pull on and go. (more…)



Trend report: what to wear for AW25



Wales Bonner aw25

Here’s my theory. The 2020s hasn’t actually started properly because the first five years were stalled due to Covid and its after effects. Fashion-wise, could we be at the turning point now, with all the big runway debuts ringing in major changes (we hope)? Let’s see. For now, I’m still in my classics era, so I’m spotlighting the people and brands doing that really well, including the labels to target for the best pieces at non-crazy prices. Plus, a 90s shoe revival, some beauty updates and what’s on my culture wish list… (more…)



NYFW SS26 notes



Coach ss26 neck purses backstage

New York Fashion Week: Not a huge amount to write home about, but a few details captured my attention…

Coach has hit its stride in recent seasons and I’m pleased for Stuart Vevers. He’s a nice guy and I think people conveniently forget that he elevated Loewe in the fashion space before Jonathan Anderson arrived. Anyway, at Coach SS26 (above and below) I liked the neck doodads – cute little pouches and pendants meant to symbolise sentimentality and New York mementos. Styled in combination with dishevelled, oversized silhouettes by appropriately youth-obsessed Olivier Rizzo, they should help attract the next generation of Coach handbag-toting customers. (more…)