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…)
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…)
“Dadaism was about a sense of play, and gentle subversion. What I’m looking for is finding equilibrium between rationality and whimsy.”
Bally was one of my MFW SS25 highlights. This is a masterclass in brand coding, when the pieces themselves are twisted classics rather than wholly avant-garde. Simone Bellotti knows the formula – simple pieces can be given romance, decadence, edginess etc with interesting casting, unexpected hair or makeup, memorable music (Bellotti worked with Swiss artist Aisha Devi on a bespoke soundtrack) and a clever incorporation of house codes.
Thus his new motif, the Swiss cowbell has become a recurring decorative feature on shoes and bags, he is building a recognisable colour palette of cool primaries with neutrals (black, brown), he is owning the Mary Jane, and the leather coat is becoming a new Bally wardrobe staple. (more…)
I know it’s all about New York SS25 womenswear, but my head is in Paris SS25 menswear. Specifically Hedi Slimane’s latest Celine outing, ‘The Bright Young’. Shot in the manicured grounds of Holkham, Norfolk, Hedi Slimane is suggesting equally manicured, floppy-fringed, toff-chic in stripe-edged blazers, cashmere cricket whites, short shorts and red knee-high socks.
Some critics on The Fashion Spot complained that the English public* school sartorial references were too literal. But as someone around the same age as Hedi, I’d say it’s just an acknowledgement of an era you’re very familiar with and perhaps nostalgic for. (We could call it ‘Merchant-Ivory-core’). (more…)
