The Social Fabric
The Social Fabric
March 24, 2023 - March 31, 2023
Welcome to the second edition of the This Week in Fashion newsletter! I think I am going to stick to sending these out on Fridays, but, as I'm sure you know, fashion news doesn’t stop for the weekend, so these overviews will cover news spanning from Friday to Friday. It may be a bit of an adjustment (probably for me more than anybody), but dates will be listed in the subheading for clarity!
Beyonce x Balmain :
Olivier Rousting, creative director of Balmain, teamed up with his long-term muse and legendary artist Beyoncé to create a couture collection inspired by her seventh studio album Renaissance. Each collaborative design is directly inspired by one of the sixteen songs on the album; bringing to life a world of characters based on Beyoncé’s lyricism.
This collaboration comes at the perfect time seeing that it was just a few days ago that Beyoncé and Adidas terminated their 5-year long collaboration for her fashion line, Ivy Park. The Hollywood Reporter stated “the Grammy-winning entrepreneur and the German lifestyle brand have mutually agreed to part ways. There has apparently been major creative differences between Ivy Park and Adidas, and Beyoncé is excitedly looking to reclaim her brand, chart her own path and maintain creative freedom.”
The looks for this collection will not be for sale, instead they have been created solely for Beyoncé’s use, as already seen on the April 2023 cover of Vogue France, and as of now a certain Cuff It-inspired look appears to be missing at the moment… Met Gala debut, maybe?
LVMH Prize Finalists :
LVMH — the high fashion and luxury goods conglomerate that oversees brands like Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, and Fendi — announced the finalists for their 10th annual LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers. This award aims to platform young creatives through endowments and mentorships and is open to any emerging designer, ages 18-40, who has created at least two collections. During the final selections, at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, the finalists will meet the LVMH Jury who will audition and select the prize winners.
The winner of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers will receive a €300,000 endowment for their brand as well as a tailored mentorship through LVMH, the winner of the Karl Lagerfeld Prize will receive a €150,000 endowment and one-year mentorship through LVMH teams, and 3 finalists will also be selected for a €10,000 endowment as well as an opportunity to join a design studio at one of the LVMH houses for one year.
Previous winners of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers have included the likes of Nensi Dojaka (2021), Peter Do & Chopova Lowena (20201), Thebe Magugu (2019), & Marine Serre (2017) and the LVMH prize has springboarded former nominees such as Christopher John Rogers (2021), Ludovic de Saint Sernin (2018), Glenn Martens of Y/Project (and now creative director of Diesel) (2016), Simone Porte Jacquemus (2015), and Shayne Oliver of Hood By Air (2014).
The 2023 LVMH Prize Finalists are as follows:
Aaron Esh:
Aaron Esh is a London-based contemporary menswear designer who started his namesake brand in 2022. Before pivoting to fashion, Esh studied graphic design, but quickly changed course after receiving the Alexander McQueen scholarship for Central Saint Martins’ MA Fashion Programme, from which he graduated one year early
Esh’s designs aim to encourage the average working man to broaden their understanding of men’s clothing. His brand leans towards more androgynous silhouettes that subvert the traditional design codes of menswear, such as ruffled-neck button-ups or suit jackets that have been fashioned into halter tops.
Esh’s designs are born out of a lot of world-building. His Spring 2023 collection was inspired by idealistic romance, the French actor Alain Delon and his love letters to Romy Scheinder and the discography of Amy Winehouse, which he then modernized and put into an economically conscious post-Brexit world that equates for the challenges of being young and worn out. In other words, his collections are a bildungsroman coming-of-age story that longs for a life of glamour and love.
Bettter by Julie Pelipas:
Julie Pelipas is a Ukrainian designer who launched her London-based brand, Bettter, in 2019. Before her design career, Pelipas worked as a stylist and fashion producer of special projects for Harper’s Bazaar (Ukraine) and as the Fashion Director of Vogue Ukraine. Since 2019, she has worked as the ambassador for the No More Plastic Foundation which parallels her sustainable clothing brand.
Bettter promotes a circular textile economy and ethical labor practices by upcycling deadstock fabrics with likeminded artisans and design studios. The brand is committed to transparency and traceability, providing information about their materials and production processes while bringing awareness to enviromental injustice and labor exploitation on their website and Instagram.
Bettter caters to chic women's workwear and suits that are inspired by classic tailoring such as Phoebe Philo-era Céline and the wardrobe of Fran Leibowitz, but ultimately it extends much further than a fashion label; its a community-oriented upcycling system that aims to educate customers on sustainability and workers’ rights as well as provide practical solutions to the fashion industry’s contribution to the climate crisis.
Burç Akyol:
Burç Akyol is a Turkish-French designer based in Paris. He graduated from the l’Institut Français de la Mode in Paris in 2007 and went on to work for several brands such as Christian Dior under the direction of John Galliano and Balenciaga under Nicholas Ghusquière before working as head of collections at Esteban Cortazar’s brand in 2014.
In 2019, Akyol stared his own eponymous label for which he won the highly coveted Fashion Trust Arabia Prize for in 2022. His brand adheres to the language of Haute Couture and presents off of the traditional fashion week calendar, ensuring that his collections are not rushed and allot the appropriate time to showcase the extent of his creativity and craftsmanship.
In the past, Akyol has designed for celebrities such as Cardi B and Zendaya who perfectly fit his brand identity of dramatic glamour and feminine seduction.
Diotima by Rachel Scott:
Diotima is a New York City-based brand created by Jamaican designer Rachel Scott. Diotima, named after the female philosopher who taught Socrates “the art of love” in Plato’s Symposium, explores the same conversation of intellect and intimacy inspired by community and Caribbean identity.
Scott has a wide range of knowledge in the design process, working as an assistant designer at both Costume National and J. Mendel, as designer for Mary-Kate and Ashley’s first brand Elizabeth and James, and as the Vice President of Design at Rachel Comey before starting her own brand in May of 2020.
As a Jamaican designer, Scott is passionate about advocating for the autonomy of communities in the global south and protecting them from the front lines of the climate crisis, so for that reason Diotima only releases two collections a year that are all made-to-order.
Luar by Raul Lopez:
Raul Lopez is a Dominican-American designer based in Brooklyn, New York. Before launching his reverse namesake brand in 2016, he worked as co-founder and designer of Hood by Air with Shayne Oliver. In 2018, Lopez was a finalist for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and in 2022 he won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund's American Accessory Designer of the Year award after the rise in popularity of the brand’s signature Ana Bag
Raul Lopez’s designs are highly inspired by his Dominican-American identity, hip-hop, ballroom culture, and queerness. His brand specializing in combining classic 80s tailoring with with the “glamour and flamboyance of the Dominican Republic.”
As a self-made designer who pioneered his own way, he is also a known advocate for platforming young talents. For his Spring/Summer 2023 show, he open-casted independent models through Instagram instead of going through the traditional route of agencies.
Magliano by Luca Magliano:
Luca Magliano is an Italian designer based in Bologna which he describes as the “perpetual home of the Italian underground.” He founded his eponymous brand in 2017 and won the Vogue Who’s On next award the same year and now regularly presents his collections at Milano Men’s Fashion Week.
His brand is heavily inspired by queer identity and the styles of the 90s and early 2000s. At the very core of his brand Magliano is “committed to independent organizations that fight for minorities’ rights.” This is done through tasteful collections with strong messages such as his Fall 2023 Menswear collection, No, which brings awareness to the dangers of complacency.
Paolina Russo by Paolina Russo and Lucile Guilmard:
Paolina Russo is a London-based brand founded by Paolina Russo and Lucile Guilmard. Since completing a BA and MA at Central Saint Martins, receiving the L'Oréal Creative Young Talent Award and establishing a multi-project collaboration with Adidas, Russo and Guilmard have been increasingly defined by considerate craftsmanship, sustainability and innovation in textile development. The designers are currently finalists in the 2023 International Woolmark Prize, as well as part of 1 Granary's support and mentorship programme.
Committed to the sustainability and mindful production, this knitwear brand uses upcycled and unconventional materials to create avant-garde sportswear that “taps into a familiar nostalgia for the boredom, uncertainty, and naiveté of growing up.”
Quira by Veronica Leoni:
Following her debut at Jil Saunder, her years under Phoebe Philo at Celine, and working as lead designer at 2 Moncler 1952, Veronica Leoni officially launched her own brand, Quira, in September of 2021 at Milan Fashion Week.
This Rome-based brand brings an innovative and sensible perspective on contemporary womenswear by elevating classic staples to one-of-a-kind designs by merging 90s minimalism with its modern interpretation of the avant-garde. Pieces like rib knit cardigans with elongated sleeves, sculptural trench coats, and skirts with deconstructed layering exemplify the brand’s experimental approach.
Setchu by Satoshi Kuwata:
Satoshi Kuwata is a Japanese designer based in Italy. Having lived and learned between Kyoto, Paris, Milan, London, and New York, he developed a unique approach to elegance and a profound knowledge and respect for different cultures and traditional craftsmanship.
This appreciation to global design is then poured into his brand Setchu. Named after the Japanese word “Wayo Setchu (和洋折衷),” with “Wayo” referring to Japan and the West and “Setchu” meaning compromise, Setchu as a brand represents the “blending of Japanese and Western concepts - the compromise between the two cultures.”
Jean Paul Gaultier by Julien Dossena :
Since the announcement of his retirement back in 2020, a mere few days before his farewell spring couture collection, Jean Paul Gaultier’s namesake brand has enlisted a series of creative directors to each design under the Gaultier name for one couture collection. This unique initiative has allowed multiple popular designers to reinterpret the Gaultier archives and brand identity through their own individual style and design codes. Former host designers include Chitose Abe (FW21), Glenn Martens (SS22), Olivier Rousteing (FW22), Haider Ackermann (SS23), and in most recent news was the announcement of Julien Dossena for the upcoming Fall 2023 Couture collection.
After graduating from La Cambre in Brussels and interning for Nicholas Ghesquière at Balenciaga, Julien Dossena took over as creative director at Paco Rabanne in 2014. Dossena has since revived the futuristic brand while still managing to maintain its original space-age identity through modernizing some of Rabanne’s most memorable designs like The Twelve Unwearable Dresses from the mid-1960s.
This announcement and collaboration seems like a perfect match seeing that Paco Rabanne and Jean Paul Gaultier are both known for their retrofuturistic designs. This is also the first time Jean Paul Gaultier has collaborated with a designers under the same fashion conglomerate Puig. And since Rabanne sadly passed a month ago at the age of 88, it will be interesting to see how and if Dossena honors the legacies of both revolutionary fashion designers.
AI Fashion Week :
In a tragic continuation of the fashion industry’s incessant need to add artificial intelligence everywhere, mentioned here in last week’s newsletter, the first ever AI fashion week has been announced. Hosted by the AI studio Maison Meta on the 20th & 21st of April, this AI fashion week “aims to push the boundaries of what’s possible in the fashion industry.”
I want to focus on this phrasing because it is the same language that was used in the Stradivarius AI campaign from last week. I find it very misleading to advertise art made by artificial intelligence as something that extends “beyond the limitations of our reality,” not only due to the algorithmic biases rooted in prejudice (which maybe isn’t a part of reality of the ten largest technology companies in Silicon Valley who did not employ a single black woman in 2016, however it is for everyone else), but also because fashion is and always will be an artform rooted in the human form.
Artificial intelligence takes texture, movement, dimension, and — most importantly — the human experience away from art and fashion. It has more limitations than our reality and if you don’t trust my word, you can hear it straight from the horse’s mouth:
“Fashion shows are social events that bring people together and create a sense of community. An AI fashion show could lack the human element that makes fashion shows so engaging and enjoyable, and could ultimately fail to attract and retain an audience. While AI technology has many exciting applications in the fashion industry, an AI fashion show may not be the best use of this technology due to the subjective and personal nature of fashion, the reliance on human creativity, and the social aspect of fashion shows.” - ChatGPT on why an AI fashion show is a bad idea
Kate Spade and Indigenous Appropriation :
Kate Spade is currently under fire with indigenous activists for their appropriation of the traditional Diné ribbon skirt. This skirt is considered sacred regalia in some indigenous communities and has a long history with colonialism in the Americas.
After the Native people were forced to abandon cultural practices, such as making clothing out of the much-preferred animal skins, trade cloths such as linen and ribbon were adopted out of necessity to dress native communities. However the ribbon quickly became a way for indigenous people to display their creative expression and identity through clothing which is why the ribbon skirt still exists as an important part of some native cultures today.
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This is why cultural appropriation is such a major problem. It’s history repeating itself; it actively takes away from the history of adaptation and practices that only exist due to the original cultural genocide of Native people. It also has systemic consequences — traditional arts, such as beadwork and pottery, have sustained the economy of native communities for generations. A report from Racing Magpie, a Lakota art and culture center based in Rapid City, South Dakota, states that “40 percent of households on the Pine Ridge Reservation make a majority of their income through handmade art, artifacts or sales,” now compare that to the estimated 0.6% of Indigenous American & Alaskan Natives who hold design positions in the U.S. fashion industry.
As of Friday (3/31), Kate Spade New York has yet to comment on these accusations, but I think it is still incredibly important to hold the fashion industry accountable and listen to native voices (Follow @denewomanrising on TikTok for more on this situation).
Succession vs. Burberry :
Burberry made fashion and mainstream news this week as it was ripped to shreds in the Season 4 primere of HBO’s dark comedy-drama series Succession. This section might contain light spoilers, so skip ahead if you haven’t watched, but intend to!
The discourse ignited after Cousin Greg brought a date to Logan Roy’s birthday party however she made an irreversible life-altering career-damaging mistake, she *check notes* wore a Burberry nova check handbag?
In the scene, Tom pulls Greg aside to let him know that everyone at the party is laughing at his date for bringing a “ludicrously capacious bag,” which he then starts to make assumptions of the contents of the bag and the wearer by questioning, “What’s even in there, huh? Flat shoes for the subway? Her lunch pail? I mean, Greg, it’s monstrous, it’s gargantuan. You could take it camping. You could slide it across the floor after a bank job.”
Now, if you have been here since my London Fashion Week Review, you know that (1) I’m practically Nostrodamus and, more importantly, (2) these comments about fashion in media are always part of a much bigger picture.
I highly recommend going back to read my full Burberry review, but to summarize — this last collection from Burberry was completely void of the brand's signature nova check, instead the patterns typically seen on the inner-linings of their trench coats were displayed as outerwear.
Burberry has a long history of classicism rooted in the signature nova check. The brand constantly shuns and reclaims this universally-recognized pattern as a way of perpetually separating themselves from the working class. Despite it being in fashion as recently as Spring/Summer 2023 (the collection that’s literally in stores right now), the brand has already prepared for the Fall/Winter season as it falls back out of favor with its audience.
Bottega Veneta Show in Beijing :
Bottega Veneta will be re-presenting their Fall/Winter 2023 collection in Beijing on July 20th and will include new looks developed for the Chinese market. Not too much to add on it yet, other than the fact that Bottega Veneta Fall/Winter 2023 was my favorite collection from this past fashion month and I’m so so so excited to see the additional looks.
Now watch as I completely contradict myself by criticizing the brand in the next section:
Bottega Veneta’s New Bag :
Bottega Veneta has announced their newest bag called the Quadronno, which appears to be a canvas bag with leather straps that resembles a classic tote. New bags are released all the time, but this one specifically peaked my interest because it has one very unique feature for Bottega… a brand name.
As many of you know, since the appointment of Matthieu Blazy as creative director in 2021, Bottega Veneta has rebranded itself as a quiet luxury brand that is leading the newly-phrased movement known as stealth wealth which relies less on a name or social media presence and more on the integrity of the designs.
I plan on writing more about how this exists in a larger cultural context later, but as mentioned in my essay When Capitalism Becomes Cosplay and the Succession vs. Burberry section above, there is a long standing history of socioeconomic classes rebranding their dress codes to either mimic or separate themselves from other classes. For the old “quiet luxury” that means minimal logos and innocuous designs that starkly contrast from the flashy wardrobes of the nouveau riche, but what happens when the new money adopts these habits as a form of assimilation? new dress codes.
If class performance were a chess match, it would be a blitz round, seeing that the announcement of this bag and the succession episode are a mere 3 days apart from each other. In other trend-forecasting words, logos might be coming back in for like 3-5 business days!! Or at least until Burberry’s Fall/Winter 2023 collection is available in stores.
Dior Fashion Show in Mumbai :
Dior hosted a landmark show this Thursday by becoming the first international luxury fashion house to do an official calendar runway show in India with their Pre-Fall 2023 collection. This collection was in collaboration with the Chanakya School of Craft who has a long history with Dior’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri.
This show is historic for two reasons, it acknowledges India as a growing buying power in the international luxury market and embraces traditional Indian embroidery on an international stage — meaning India is being recognize as both a global consumer and producer of luxury fashion.
Weekly Reads:
Telfar’s New World by Senam Attipoe, Girl in Brown
Despite Inflation, Gen Z Consumers Are Still Shopping Online by Kanika Talwar, WWD
Uniqlo Executives Hold 'Sustainability' Breakfast by Amy Odell, The Back Row
How 1997 changed fashion forever: From Tom Ford's Gucci G-string to Thierry Mugler's Fly sunglasses, a new exhibition in Paris chronicles a very important year in fashion. by Sarah Moroz, i-D
Something Odd Is Happening With Handbags by Amanda Mull, The Atlantic
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the finalists for the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers were all awarded the €300,000 endowment that was distributed equally amongst the eight nominees.