Given the global context, there’s a solid case to be made for taking a step back. This season, Egonlab founders Florentin Glémarec and Kevin Nompeix made a measured decision to forego a big runway fandango in favor of a small friends-and-family dinner at the Paris institution Anahi, followed by a showroom presentation. “With everything going … Read more
There’s a new designer in town. A few weeks ago, Winnie founder Idris Balogun and his wife, Sira, relocated from Vicenza, Italy, to Paris. The reason: as the newly-appointed head of menswear at Lacoste, Balogun is negotiating a new city, another foreign language and a host of responsibilities while also forging ahead, with his new … Read more
Last we heard of Matthew M. Williams, back in December, the American designer had just announced his departure from Givenchy following the thought-provoking (if less headline-making) news that he had secured an investment deal for his Alyx label with Adrian Cheng, the Hong Kong-based entrepreneur. This week, quietly and intimately hosting previews in his Paris … Read more
Two days ahead of the Lu’u Dan showroom visit, I was walking down rue Saint Martin when I spotted founder and designer, Hung La, seated at a table outside playing mahjong—his well-acknowledged pastime. Later that afternoon, I began seeing Lu’u Dan campaign posters in different parts of the city, featuring two portraits from some underworld. … Read more
Like a good playlist, Mfpen’s latest collection evokes emotions that exist almost outside of time. Though there are hesitant dabs of light blue and pale yellow, the clothes are mostly rendered in a palette of moody grays and blacks that hardly scream “spring.” Ditto for materials like pinstripe (these are tropical weight). Because Mfpen uses … Read more
The venue for 032c’s second-ever runway show was designed to feel like the scene of the crime after a long and sweaty rave. “You know, like how at Berghain the shutters go up when the sun starts to rise,” said Maria Koch, holding an iPhone photo to illustrate the idea to this reviewer, who, unfortunately, … Read more
Max Schiller’s current mood is reductionist and “locavore.” It’s present in the raw denim uniforms he created for Carsten Höller’s Brutalisten restaurant in Stockholm (which operates according to a manifesto that just one ingredient is used per dish), and in a more nuanced way in the spring Eytys collection. Tired of the pervasive influence of … Read more
With its classic palette (black, white, red, and beige) and the honesty of the fabrics (cotton, wool, denim, leather, and suede) it serves up a very current mix of creativity, functionality, and relevancy. Oh, and let’s throw in desirability here too, because he has also delivered that in spades. “I really need to work [the … Read more
The fashion crowd after these shows often reacts with a swoon combined with imagining that, in a parallel world, we might all be dressed in Lemaire. The brand even plays into this, conjuring a conceptual sidewalk within its Place des Vosges premises, where models appear like poised city types exiting a building, pausing mid-stroll, or … Read more
This hardcore tropical Wales Bonner collection was colored by the archive of Althea McNish, who emigrated from Trinidad to the UK aged 27 in 1950. McNish’s talent for graphic design and longing for home combined to fuel the saturated intensity of her textiles, which proved highly successful commissions for English interiors stalwarts such as Heal’s … Read more
