Stylish and convenient: the backpack has gone through an extreme makeover, and we can’t get enough of it! You can find a variety of leather, exotic skins and colours that are fashionable enough for work or a night out. These are not the same nylon bags you once knew.
Styling by Vanessa Cocchiaro
Looking back at 2000, when Swedish fashion shyly took its first steps towards what it is today, no one would have imagined it would come this far, with such strength, boldness and flair. Contemporary Swedish design aesthetics is far from being simple and basic – an attribute often used to describe it in the past – rather, it has become the synonym of courage and audacious research. Even though the local fashion industry was shaken by the bankruptcy of celebrated brands The Local Firm and V Ave Shoe Repair, new talents are now showing innovative collections and predict a successful and bright future. Ida Klamborn, Caroline Kummelstedt and Isabell Yalda Hellysaz are three young fashion talents who are steadily becoming Sweden’s most interesting upcoming designers. They are undoubtedly the future of Swedish fashion.
The award winning designer Ida Klamborn, based in Stockholm, is already used to receiving accolades both at home and abroad. A graduate of the Swedish School of Textiles, she describes her design philosophy as “a balanced union between colors, shapes and materials where the momentum is reached by exploring and developing simple ideas into intriguing collections”. Her first official runway show, held during AW 2014 Mercedes Benz Fashion week in Stockholm, remained true to these ideas: graphic and colorful, her collection was in great contrast with dominating natural color palettes usually shown on Stockholm’s catwalks.
Caroline Kummelstedt is the founder and the designer behind the eponymous brand, currently based in Milan. Nominated for the 2012 Swedish Design Rookie of the Year Award, Caroline Kummelstedt’s design aesthetic is classic and timeless, with a feminine touch. Her aim is to create garments of long lasting quality, with carefully selected details, materials and making. With a background in entrepreneurship and experience in designing both womenswear and menswear design, Caroline Kummelstedt’s brand is bound to last.
Isabell Yalda Hellysaz – born in Iran and raised in Sweden – is a Central Saint Martins graduate who has already worked with several London-based designers as well as represented the prestigious college at British Fashion Council 2012. She has showed her collections both at the London College of Fashion annual runway show and Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Stockholm. Her ambition is to slow down the process of manufacturing and her brand is working as a small scale producer, concentrating her projects on the essence of fashion, craftsmanship, details and materials.
If you are even remotely familiar with fashion and should come across a brand describing itself as a ‘fusion between fashion and art’ the least you could do is to frown upon that vague and over-used catchphrase. Unless you had stumbled upon Each x Other, a “unisex and collaborative” Parisian brand whose modus operandi is based on inviting artists, designers and craftsmen to design models for their collections.
Founded by fashion designer Ilan Delouis and artistic director Jenny Mannerheim, Each x Other is characterized by simple, linear, androgynous clothes – designed to be worn by both men and women – decorated by artworks created by artists, musicians, videomakers or designers. Conceived as a ‘publishing house’, Each x Other sees itself as a platform for promoting and ‘democratizing’ art, making it accessible to a wider audience by exploiting fashion world’s broader reach. While this concept may seem naïve if read strictly from an art world perspective, Each x Other’s approach to production and distribution of art multiples “for a price comparable to an item of clothing [...] beyond the classical cultural circuits of galleries and museums” suggests a deeper awareness of both discipline’s dynamics.
Each x Other’s clothes could be described as timeless classics – elegantly cut suits and trousers, delicate shirts, jackets, T-shirts and jeans – covered in eclectic prints, bold detailing and artsy finishings. Perfectly wearable with a pinch of eccentricity, their designs are utterly appealing and fresh, even though the concept of transforming art to clothes gets slightly lost in the process. Each x Other wishes to act as a magnetic point, “drawing artists from the four corners of the world into an ever-growing creative community, suggesting that for a new generation of collectors buying art may become as regular an activity as buying shoes.”
The decade we thought we never would have missed – the feared 1990s – is back with a vengeance. By now, everybody must have noted the relentless shopping-era trends – from grunge to wearing underwear as outerwear – are very much in style. While underwear as outerwear mostly evokes the vision of Madonna and her cone corsets, a much more demure garment was re-introduced in the 1990s, gaining instant success: the slip dress.
A slip dress is a thigh or floor-length gown, first introduced in the 1930s and meant to be worn underneath sheer dresses, preventing them from revealing too much. The slip dress is traditionally cut on the bias, while its key element are the signature spaghetti straps. In the late 1960s, the slip found new popularity especially thanks to Emilio Pucci’s kaleidoscopic designs, which gave the slip a slightly bigger role in women’s wardrobe, though not a leading one. It would take other 30 years for the slip dress to gain fashion momentum, with one of the first John Galliano’s designs for Dior being a lace trimmed, dark blue, slip dress famously worn by Princess Diana in 1996. While the slip dress became a ‘buzz garment’, other designers followed Galliano’s suit, with Calvin Klein and Narciso Rodriguez introducing their own designs. With fashion icons – like Kate Moss – seen wearing the slip dress, it finally became the timeless piece we know and appreciate today.
For 2015 Resort collections, designers like Marc Jacobs, Nina Ricci and Ralph Lauren all presented their take on the slip dress covering it in sequins, creating it from chiffon or sensual black lace – all rigorously kept at thigh-length. The contemporary version of the slip dress is particularly revealing, with a constant play of minimalism and decadence demanding from its wearer not to fear being in the spotlight. At the same time, lightweight fabrics and effortless flair make the dress comfortable and almost casual. In the digital era, making the slip dress work out and about is by layering a contrasting piece. A chunky cardigan worn with a lace trim slip dress creates a stylish and nuanced ‘rolled-out-of-bed’ look, making it more 2014 than 1990.
Summer’s finally here, and by now you might be begging for a vacation. The only way to save yourself from the city and the heat are short but sweet weekend trips. Escape to the seaside for a couple of days and all you’ll need is your swimsuit and and some sunscreen.
Styling by Vanessa Cocchiaro
Minimalistic, wearable yet unbearably fascinating: this difficult combination of fashion adjectives was infused into 1205′s collections, by the brands founder and main designer Paula Gerbase. After graduating from Central Saint Martins, Gerbase worked with both menswear and women’s couture before founding 1205 in 2010. Her ‘mixed’ design background has influenced the elegant, clean and androgynous looks which have become the signature of the brand. Paula Gerbase describes 1205’s design aesthetic as defined by “quality of cut, fabric and proportion, emphasising traditional craftsmanship by seeking the essential”.
These design values are showing in every detail of her classy runways – from models’ simple hairstyles to this season’s color palette which include pieces in black, white and different shades of grey. The collection also contains sporadic splashes of color with items in burgundy and dark blue. The cuts, the fabrics and the proportions are as well as the colors, are always uncompromisingly simple but with a stylish, decisively bold twist. These are the details that make the brand stand out, answering the question to why 1205 feels far more interesting than many similar brands. Gerbase’s search for inspiration in the formal precision of geometry as well as the vital elegance of nature gives her work an unexpectedly fresh flair, turning even the simplest details into an occasion for innovation and thoughtful research. 1205 shows an exciting mix, resulteing in an elegant and clean aesthetic which feels both modern, classic and unique in the same time.
It is, thus, quite easy to grasp 1205′s enormous growth since its beginning four years ago. The brand is now being retiled in department stores all over the world, and we have a feeling we will se a lot more from Paula Gerbase and her label in the future. Keep the number combination 1205 in mind!
It is no secret that the power of design education lies in its lack of restraints. While the ultimate goal of any university degree is to best prepare us for ‘real’ life, it might just be that avoiding the limits of everyday reality, offers the best preparation a design student could get. When we speak about any design practice – graphics, product, or fashion – forgoing the limits of commercial production – marketing rules, costs, distribution, and so on – is at the core of research and innovation.
This line of thought appeared to be at the basis of Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts Fashion course, whose 2014 final show presented a series of projects inspired by child-like freedom and mind wandering. Differently from its British counterparts – Royal College of Art and Central Saint Martins – Antwerp school’s runway didn’t strike us for its impeccable sartorial quality or conceptual research. Rather, its students were capable of capturing the unique spirit of the moment, transforming it into a vision for the future.
Among its ten 2014 graduates, the one that immediately stood out – bringing home three different awards – was Raffaela Graspointer. Titled “Holi Blush Bubble Crush”, this explicitly meaningless title captured the essence of her collection made of apparently random and unexpected combinations of materials, colours and shapes – fused together in a series of eclectic kaleidoscopic looks. On the other hand, Hyein Seo or Eran Shanny’s collections were perfectly summed up in their respective titles. Seo’s “Bad Education” featured bold graphic garments and punk aesthetics, toned down by simpler cuts and essential lines, while Shanny’s “Wild Hearts” designated a menswear collection full of hart-like cuts, shapes and décors.
On the other side of the ‘let your mind wander’ spectrum, were the collections of Clara Jungman Malmquist and Madeleine Coisne, who concentrated on tactile and textile research rather than playing with conceptual puns. Therefore, their collection featured bold patterns and colourful, yet refined juxtapositions, fused with brainy silhouettes, showing, as usual, that Antwerp is still the hot spot of creative freedom and exceptional fashion education.
For the best throw-on-and-go piece in your wardrobe, summer dresses are the ultimate must-have. Whether you are in the city or at the beach, the summer dress will always keep you feeling comfortable and looking great.
Styling by Vanessa Cocchiaro
The overtly romantic French capital was the last stop on our Men Fashion Week road trip. The oldest and possibly most established venue, Paris has shown a new, easier, vibe this year, without losing its authentic signature – a dashingly charming attitude.
The first sign of change could be seen at Raf Simons’ show, where men in cotton tanks – layered one on top of another – walked the brainy designer’s catwalk. There was no space for sporty, basket-alike sleeveless shirts. Instead, it was all about quality craftsmanship and impeccable garments, usually left for posh female clothing, matched with futuristic shoes and well tailored pants.
Dries Van Noten used a totally different approach, applying it to the same type of gaments. The Belgian designer took inspiration from elegant dancers and developed a collection full of feminine elements – together with tanks, a notable piece were the ballerina-shaped shoes. Kenzo, on the other hand, featured a series of pastel tones and maxi polka dots that gave the idea of an American tourist lost on the streets of Europe. But, in the end, the most unexpected runway was Dior Homme, with striped tanks styled on top of classic shirts rather than worn under elegant jackets, for a classy yet edgy feel.
On the other hand, air force and military world won the attention of many fashion designers, forming a second relevant trend. From Louis Vuitton’s man, a hybrid between Sixties-style bourgeoisie – with his turtlenecks and trench coats – and a daredevil aviator – with his decorated jumpsuits and typically rough belts – to Comme des Garçons, where Rei Kawakubo exploited military jackets and typical uniforms and subverted them to speak about peace. And last but not least, Givenchy fashion show sparked from that influence, too, with Riccardo Tisci going along his well established path, revisiting bomber jackets and utility pockets in line with army apparel codes.
If London is considered the rich soil of fashion originality, Milan is surely the one of tradition and craftsmanship. For the next Spring-Summer 2015 season, the breeze seems to bring a more relaxed and comfy approach, not excluding elegance, although giving it a brand new and extremely contemporary twist. Two trends we saw on the catwalks seem to particularly meaningful: technical detailing – often combined with contrasting preppy looks – and monochromatic suits.
Let’s start from the first trend. The adjective “technical” in fashion usually refers to a certain kind of garment – even the most traditional one – made precious and unique by adding sporty details in very technical fabrics. One of the best examples of this trend is Neil Barrett. Clean and pure silhouettes, restricted color palette and digital prints, distinguish themselves thanks to modern materials used on Seventies-style shapes: like the slim jackets or even the elastic bands on sartorial pants. Antonio Marras followed a similar path when he decided to focus on Gigi Riva – an Italian 60s football player – and presented a burgundy tuxedo with waterproof sleeves or simple shirts embellished by hoods. No less technical were the choices of Ports 1961 and Iceberg, where the first played with the contrast between bourgeois looks and flashy clothing, while the second did the opposite.
We already told you about monochromatic looks. This trend is slightly different, since it does not involve womenswear. From Costume National, where Ennio Capasa took inspiration from legendary rock stars and developed a very Seventies oriented collection characterized by vitaminic shades – the total purple look was a step forward –, to Bottega Veneta, probably the most casual collection of the season, where plenty of male models strode down the catwalk wearing ton sur ton looks. Many brands with completely different philosophies, aesthetic appeal or even generational references – like Versace and Andrea Pompilio – were seen embracing the same choices. It kind of makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
