Oh, the Medusa head medallion-clutching at Versace SS26!
It was the most polarising Fashion Month debut so far and I get it. But in a way, polarising is good.
Let’s break it down.
After a few very campy Instagram teasers, the show itself (the first from new creative director Dario Vitale) was a much younger, messier, some say Miu Miu-coded affair. (more…)
In the absence of a ticket, I watched Simone Bellotti’s debut SS26 show on YouTube. As one of 13 key designer debuts this season, it’s one of the first shows that will be discussed big. Coming from a very critically successful few seasons at Bally, Bellotti has engineered a lot of good feeling from the press.
I loved this debut. It felt stripped back to the spare linear silhouettes of OG Jil Sander, with a pure colour palette that nodded to Raf-era. Within that I particularly liked the cold eroticism of Lucio Fontana-esque cutaway slashes in the skirts and cut-out back details, unexpected pops of silver, some great bags and the flat shoes. (more…)
Tommy Ton is the gold standard of Fashion Week street style photography for me. I think it’s his attention to details – nuances, gestures – a real feeling for how people inhabit clothes* and not just the rent-a-hype characters.
I love the way he documented the models in Michael Rider’s debut Celine show in July. There’s so much styling in these detail shots, whoever thought of getting Tommy to capture them is a genius ( most likely, Michael tbh). Fashion always looks better in 3-d movement than those generic ’shot from the front’ catwalk pics. (more…)
Sunday saw quite the buzz around the New New Celine show – the debut by Michael Rider, a well-liked alumnus of Phoebe Philo’s Celine, Nicholas Ghesquiere’s Balenciaga and Polo Ralph Lauren.
The result was – quelle surprise! – an amalgam of Ralph, Phoebe’s Celine and Hedi’s Celine. What does that look like? Classic Ralph-like preppy-isms (camel coats, primary colours, blazers and rugby shirts), Phoebe-era scarves and bags, and Hedi’s cool factor in the skinny pants (hated those!) and indie-Oxbridge haircuts. (more…)
