Have you noticed that everything in fashion has to have a name these days? Bows can’t just be bows, they have to be coquette. Pink can’t be just a color, it has to be Barbiecore. And even something as quintessential as a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, and a leather jacket can’t be just … Read more
After weeks of endless gray drizzle in London (but what’s new about that), it was a tonic to step into Duro Olowu’s colorful world on a particularly gloomy Tuesday afternoon. Seated inside a friend’s flat within a historic Chelsea apartment block, and with the blazing colors of an abstract Marina Adams painting as a backdrop, … Read more
Danielle Frankel describes her namesake brand as “a fashion label” whose “medium is bridal,” a minor yet important distinction that indeed manages to capture her creative output. To wit, consider that this season began with the exploration of an über down-to-earth fabric: jersey. “There are a few things that I’ve been wanting to do for … Read more
Considering the extensive archive of the late Vivienne Westwood, it’s not surprising that the in-house team now helming her eponymous label continually reference her past work, deconstructing and reinterpreting as they go along. The fall collection found inspiration in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s seminal 1774 novel The Sorrows of Young Werther. Westwood herself is quoted … Read more
That fashion went where the wild things are for fall is a boon for Stand Studio: faux fur, leather, and shearling are not seasonal trends at this Swedish brand; they’re its foundational materials. Nellie Kamras, who comes from a long line of furriers, no longer uses the real thing yet aims to imitate it as … Read more
Rahul Mishra closed Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai with a grand finale featuring the fall iteration of AFEW, his “easy-to-wear” line made in partnership with Reliance Brand. Coming home to his native India wasn’t only sentimental, but rather an astute syncing up with the country’s growing luxury consumer base. Younger generations in India, he said, are eager for … Read more
It’s a great time to be Barbara Tfank. Having stayed true to herself and her vision of elegance and femininity, she’s finding that there has been a return to glamour in fashion—especially with the revival of so-called Swan culture. “There’s a kind of joy in dressing again. It’s great to see people looking back at … Read more
“We’ve done a collaboration with a female wrestling club this season,” said Paula Canovas del Vas at her Paris presentation. Kitted out in her argyle-checkered mesh body-pieces, the combatants were tangling on a mat while “her referees” circled the game, sporting the rest of the fall collection. The Spanish designer is known for her surrealistically-tweaked … Read more
If there’s an air of period drama about A.W.A.K.E this fall, it’s no coincidence: Natalia Alaverdian has been immersing herself in the Renaissance of late. Her algorithm-fueled rendezvous with Barry Lyndon, The Favorite, Elizabeth, and Orlando were bound to filter through one way or the other. “It’s not just the costumes, I found the ambiance … Read more
Fashion heaved a collective sigh when news broke in the midst of Milan Fashion Week that Glenn Martens canceled his Y/Project show. That a designer as high profile and influential as Martens is facing financial pressures of this kind serves to confirm what we’ve all heard whispered: that the system isn’t really working for independent … Read more
