Did you know that next winter you can leave your pants at home? This is the suggestion that S.S. made from the catwalk. Daley and Jonathan Anderson for JW Anderson, although the latter had already previewed the gesture in his Loewe collection for this winter. If Anderson, the industry’s golden man, insists, it is well worth considering a movement that is both daring and liberating.
Also on the list of proposals that only a few will wear are fur coats (Giorgio Armani, Givenchy, Dsquared²) and patent leather or extra-shiny leather (Gucci, Egonlab, Zegna).
The good news is that there is something that can return before the reader has stopped wearing it: slim-fit pants. Miuccia Prada is, in Internet jargon, the mother of all, so it is a matter of time (approximately two years) before the change in silhouette becomes effective.
The other most anticipated shows, those of Gucci and Louis Vuitton, have been accompanied by controversy on the Internet. Sabato De Sarno’s proposal for the Italian house, homologous to its women’s collection presented in February and which includes a reproduction of the bag that the playwright Samuel Beckett carried in 1971, has been classified on X (formerly Twitter) as “nothing new” . In fashion it used to be the worst thing they could say about you, but lately “nothing new” seems to be the button to press to increase sales.
Pharrell Williams’ third collection for Louis Vuitton was a tribute to the American West. “We usually only see some versions of the jeans, but we never get to see what the original jeans actually looked like. “They look like us, like me, like black people, like Native Americans,” commented the artistic director after the show. Although in the development of the garments he carried out “creative exchanges” with artists from the Dakota and Lakota nations, there are those who saw traces of cultural appropriation in the proposal. There is no unanimous answer to whether involving the appropriate parties is appropriation or not.
Each in their own way, both collections respond to the same problem: the fall in demand for luxury fashion. Williams’ proposed look may be a bit much, but both the Timberland collaboration bags and boots are likely to practically sell themselves. De Sarno’s proposal may not have anything groundbreaking, but the garments are extremely well made. In times of uncertainty, luxury will always lean toward safety.
Less mainstream, but essential to know what is happening in men’s fashion are the collections of Rick Owens, Lemaire and Setchu.
On another catwalk with many more visual impacts, that of TikTok’s “For you”, a new fever has emerged this week: the mob wife aesthetic. The style that in film and television was attributed to the wives of gangsters seems to have arrived to leave behind the clean girl look that Hailey Bieber popularized last year. The new hashtag has already accumulated 80 million views, so we can get familiar with the voluminous hair and the excessively marked eyes and lips. Even Francis Ford Coppola has echoed the trend.
Speaking of mob wives: Marchesa, the fashion brand of Georgina Chapman, Harvey Weinstein’s ex-wife, was in charge of dressing Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) and Padma Lakshmi on Emmy night. After four years of silence, Chapman has even spoken to the North American editions of Elle and Harper’s Bazaar. Her brand fell from grace with the Weinstein scandal in 2017, and although Anna Wintour defended her in Vogue a year later, she has not shone like she did in the past. Weinstein, who has been sued for sexual assault in Los Angeles while serving a 23-year sentence in New York, always maintained that he had not been involved in the company of his ex-wife. However, Daily Beast reports about SeaMarch Creations, Inc., whose name is an anagram of Marchesa and where Weinstein was listed as president, showed otherwise.
Succession has been one of the big winners this awards season, and 236 pieces of props used in the filming of the series have been auctioned in Dallas for a total sum exceeding $600,000. Burberry’s famous “absurdly large” bag sold for $18,750. Only a fan would pay that sum for an absurdly large bag that can be found on eBay, Vinted or Vestiaire Collective for less than 200 euros. Bonhams in London is rubbing its hands in anticipation of its The Crown auction on February 11, which, in addition to dresses, paintings and furniture, includes a reproduction of the golden state carriage and an ’87 Jaguar .
In the category of luxury conglomerates, it has been confirmed that as of February Sidney Toledano, 72, will be succeeded as head of LVMH Fashion Group by Michael Burke, 66. Toledano, who held the position since 2018 after two decades at the head of Dior, he leaves the group’s executive committee, but maintains the role of advisor. Burke had become an advisor in 2023 after leaving the position of CEO of Louis Vuitton that he had held since 2012. The two have proven to be faithful and loyal to Arnault, but only Burke has been considered as a possible heir to the group’s creator.