FASHION MONTH A EMPORTER
My ten main takeaways from the season
Strike while the season’s hot! It’s quick-fire reaction time.
Not saying these should be the main takeaways from the AW24 ready-to-wear shows, or even necessarily yours. But here are mine.
Five memorable moments in Paris:
The Row photo blackout. Love it or hate it, it sure got people talking.
I’m on the fence: on the one hand, how utterly snobbish just when we thought fashion had been vaguely democratised, but on the other, a good reminder to put down one’s phone and take things in first hand for a sec before frantically snapping. MK & A have obviously been oppressed by photography from a very young age and I would hasten a guess that this decision was not unrelated. Curious to hear what you think in the comments.
KST Day Tuesday was a big fashion day for one of my very favourite actresses (and my ultimate work-in-French-without-sounding-stupid inspiration: she even acts in her second language!) First, at Chanel, the super-wide brimmed hats felt like a direct celebration of Kristen Scott-Thomas’s character Fiona in Four Weddings, then KST herself appeared on the catwalk at Miu Miu in full force. Brilliant, as I feel she’s quietly been one of the chicest actresses around throughout her long career. Special mention also to Dr Quin (@i_doctor_quin) at Miu Miu too.
Deep open backs for winter at Carven. Merci back-queen Louise Trotter.
That Loewe dress.
Tiny fit-nothing pockets, be damned! New old new Chloe. Loving what creative director Chemena Kamali did with the house’s codes, very impressive first outing.
Feminine mystique at Chloe AW24.
If you have deduced that beyond this there were one or two forgettable things going down this season you are not wrong.
But! Here are the five things sticking in my mind from the other cities too:
Khaite is quickly becoming the hottest ticket in NYC. Also becoming quite Saint-Laurent-y (not a bad thing). Cate Holstein is brilliant at working out what women want to wear out on the town and totes deserves this IMO.
Ludovic de Saint Sernain showing in NY gave the nostalgic vibe of NYFW being a great place for young designers to show again.
London gothique-chic queen Tish Weinstock closed the Conner Ives show in a pretty glorious see-through bridal number …and she was holding an iPod! I hadn’t thought about iPods in so long. Sigh, how I used to love mine. Then in the same week my friend Pandora Sykes revealed that the word “podcast” is a combo of the words “iPod” and “broadcast” which is so obvious but really threw me. Now I wish I’d kepy my nano.
PRADA’s business in the front, saucy in the back skirt business. Obviously a win.
Skirt contains multitudes. Phobe Philo’s daughter Maya Wigram closes Burberry. Also seen walking at Burbs were 00s Brit legends Agyness Dean, Lily Donaldson and Naomi Campbell to the dulcet tones of Amy Winehouse. Wasn’t actually sure about the collection but these details made me nostalgic for ye olde late-nougties UK years. Rollocking great times were had by yours truly, natch.
Weekly Recs!
Cool young Paris brand on the up and up.
What’s it all about? Borrowed-from the boys cargos meet micro-mini skirts in LVMH dead-stock, plus some pretty exquisitely cut new tailoring options this season. Big fan.
Checking back in (as promised) to say these massages continue to be absolutely wizard for the digestive tract. A real life-changer for one’s “second brain”.
As Spring tiptoes in I’ll be crossing town on foot in these babies. Love the classic vintage feel, plus they’re comfy as anything and go with everything.
Love the Row’s decision to ban phones. Cathy Horyn wrote about it perfectly for the Cut:
‘You could say the Olsens were being control freaks or pretentious. But, in practice, they were merely doing what other designers, at corporate brands, say they wish they could: Slow things down. Bring the attention closer to the product and not to the stuff that surrounds fashion. ‘