I’m not a cynic, but when I heard that Friday night’s Fendi show at Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom was a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the brand’s famed baguette, I thought: a whole fashion show? For… a bag? Kim Jones is one of fashion’s brightest commercials. How else to run the world’s largest menswear brand, apart from designing womenswear for the mighty Fendi and a couture collection for them too? But the slick, efficient and professional nature of his Fendi has at times left me cold.
Boy was I wrong. The Hammerstein’s floors were carpeted in a plush beige, and the walls were lined with silver drapes billowing in huge cheesy folds. Right after the lights went out, someone lowered the curtain at the front of the track to reveal a huge mirror, which made me think of the old bouncer trick, where the big guy in the suit holds up a mirror and says: Did you let yourself in?” and a thumping mix of house music and techno, by Simon Parris, began to rock the silver expanse before us with nightclub mayhem.
Victor VIRGIL//fake images
Meanwhile, Jones’ clothes were some of the warmest and most fun to date. The last part of the show was a collaboration with Marc Jacobs, who featured his large block logo intertwined with Fendi’s on a series of oversized gowns, coats and pants. But I couldn’t help but wonder—and not just because Baguette cheerleader Sarah Jessica Parker was sitting in the front row, next to Kim Kardashian!—whether Jacobs’ sensibilities played into Jones’ stuff as well. (Jacobs was the one who hired Jones to design menswear for Vuitton back in the day.)
The core of the collection seemed to take the treasures and delights of the basic girl, like polka dots, stripes, rhinestones and baseball caps and ballet dancer-style beanies, and remixed them with the charged whimsy of the hottest styles. wide. -eyed girl lined up for the club. I could really see these characters, lurking around the neighborhood club of the moment in cargo skirts and sheer tops (with their it-bags, of course), thinking to themselves, if I just walk like I belong here… (Still funnier, from time to time a woman’s voice would burst onto the soundtrack to say, “Sorry, I’m on the list!” Sidney Toledano, CEO of LVMH Fashion Group, would grin and stamp his feet madly.) he suit for the club and taking it out.
Victor VIRGIL//fake images
The Marc Jacobs woman has always been someone who wears an outfit that shouldn’t work but does, and I think that’s because there’s a real tenderness towards the Jacobs woman, and Jacobs himself, especially of late (# gratefulnothatful, as she often reminisces about her enviably sick Instagram outfit photos). The human quality of these clothes gave Jones’s delicacy a fresh sweetness.
Christy Turlington, Amber Valetta, Kate Moss and Shalom Harlow in the front row of Fendi.
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Also, the atmosphere at the party was fantastic and downright enjoyable: who can resist Christy Turlington, Amber Valetta, Kate Moss and Shalom Harlow doing it together in the front row, and Linda Evangelista as the encore? It could have felt like a collaborative madhouse: the bags were made with fabulous Japanese bag brand Porter, which you should check out immediately if you haven’t heard of it; and Tiffany & Co. also provided some sparkle; and one of the Baguettes was styled by SJP, but instead felt like a big smooch for LVMH’s cool but eager New York fighter. You are supporting this girl!
The feeling that you’re rooting for the girl is a particularly New York thing. Every season on Collina Strada, you can watch designer Hillary Taymour metamorphose from caterpillar to butterfly, and it’s clear that she’s patiently reaching her emergent monarch stage, if not her adult butterfly stage. (The show was held at a monarch butterfly way station in Brooklyn—join me here, people!)
Taymour is a fascinating woman, the kind of person who moved to New York and really found herself among other misfits who were deeply anxious to change the world no matter how impossible it might seem. For the most part, that sense of environmental purpose has been expressed through baggy, comfortable pants, wildly colored sweatshirts, and oversized tops, but in this collection, Taymour was thinking about how she could expand her red carpet opportunities, which is Smart, because the celebrity landscape has changed a lot in the last five or even two years. Many young celebrities hope that the clothes they wear on press trips say something and, frankly, look like nothing else. Her peplum (essentially, as she put it, upside-down wineglass) shapes, sheer empire-waist dress tops, and floral bras with satin pants are exactly the kind of crazy updates to boring nightwear that a die-hard Zoomer demands for a great night. outside. The nightgown that gorgeous Hari Nef wore in the opening look over plaid pants would also look lovely with a pair of secondhand Manolo Blahniks and earrings from Frank Ocean’s Homer jewelry line (lab grown diamonds! Wear!) in fashion!).
She’s just putting together the craziest, craziest outfit for the club and she’s pulling it off.
You can see her trying to rise above the art school mood she is often lumped in with. The question I was left with after the show was whether her bread and butter will always be those comfy pants and hoodies, quintessentially hiker-rave-chic, or whether she wants to become sexy ecologist Oscar de la Renta. Regardless, what keeps me interested in Taymour’s work is that she’s got guts. She really believes in what she’s doing, and her work, in the messages and the emphatically beautiful clothing itself, leads with sincerity.
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Knowing that the designer feels it makes a big difference. Backstage at the Proenza Schouler show, Jack McCollough and Lázaro Hernández talked about how the latter’s Latino background had inspired the enthusiasm and sensuality of the show. I loved the sexy feel of the opening looks, like a fringe top that slid over a belly extension paired with a puffy miniskirt, or a gold fringe top that bobbed over a gold crotchless skirt. The models’ skin glowed under the crotch and lace (and the casting was great: Shalom Harlow and Bella and Kendall. Yup!) Surprisingly, for such a summery collection, the fitted bouclé coats in striking lime and angel white bitch were the kind of things a woman sees and immediately archives as must-haves (or pre-orders days later on Moda Operandi, the site owned by Proenza’s best friend, Lauren Santo Domingo).
Victor VIRGIL
Victor VIRGIL
But there were too many Bottega-isms in this outing, particularly in the big leather-layered skirts and chunky soft shoe. Paired with some totally oversized bell bottoms, they felt like attempted items rather than what a New York woman wants from Proenza, which is the perfect dress that’s a little weird like the black turtleneck with the big white skirt. from the Fall 2022 collection that is already sold out pretty much everywhere, or just the right coat, or the skirt that looks sophisticated without being a nap. McCollough and Hernandez have a knack for doing something that’s fabulous rather than trendy, and I wish they would improve that knack even more.
Victor VIRGIL
Victor VIRGIL
Rachel Tashjian is the Director of Fashion News at Harper’s Bazaar, working across print and digital platforms. Previously, she was GQ’s first fashion critic and worked as a deputy editor for GARAGE and as a writer at Vanity Fair. She has written for publications such as Bookforum and Artforum, and is the creator of the invitation-only Opulent Tips newsletter.
Source: news.google.com