Sarah Burton shows a rough and romantic collection at Alexander McQueen and J.Lo pulls the Versace jungle print out of her closet – again
Can someone please get Donatella Versace a meet and greet with Blur? It’s been two decades since her team mistakenly flew Blue into Milan for a Versace show and the designer has yet to catch up with her Britpop faves. Sharing, bizarrely, a loveofhuns post to her Instagram story, the designer wrote “well… I still haven’t met Blur!” It doesn’t quite feel right that Donatella has now crossed into the world of Natalie Cassidy, Gemma Collins, and Kim Woodburn. Or, in actual fact, does it?
Also pissed off this week is the family of the late fashion designer Halston, the subject of Ryan Murphy’s latest TV enterprise, who have lampooned the show for being “inaccurate” and “fictionalised”. The series gets its release today on Amazon Prime. Elsewhere, Pyer Moss has been invited to show couture in Paris, the first Black designer to do so, while Gucci is gearing up for a November show in LA. The Brits gave us a mixed bag of looks, too, this week, reaching its height with Rina in Balmain, Dua in Vivienne, and Haim, who looked like the lovechildren of Phoebe Philo and Bill Gates in The Row.
Check out the gallery below for the rest of the fashion news that you missed this week:
HUNTER SCHAFER, XAVIER DOLAN, AND PRADA GET TOGETHER
Baby’s earning her fashion stripes! Fresh off the Mugler runway, Hunter Schafer is the new face of Prada in a Xavier Dolan directed short. The film, which showcases the label’s Galliera bag, flits between a granny-ish boudoir and sleek studio sets as Schafer lounges in front of a TV, prances about with a bag on her head, and maniacally tidies her clothes-strewn bedroom. Moving at breakneck speed, the video is an anxiety-inducing comment on the fickle nature of our times. “A reflection of the obsession of our age for shifting, endlessly, from idea to idea, a sequence of micro-narratives, like captured thoughts, loves, emotions or dreams, in constant dialogue with one another,” as Prada explained in an accompanying statement. Should tide us over until season two of Euphoria, at least.
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN UNVEILS ITS PRE-FALL OFFERING
A collection rampant with McQueen’s standard dichotomies – severity v. levity, beauty v. decay, formality v. transgression – it was also very pretty. This pre-season, Sarah Burton and her team put forward an array of hybridised pieces, seen in tailored jackets, which burst into parka peplums, and camel coats exploding with bomber sleeves. But, rather than becoming hard-edged and utilitarian with all this splicing, these pieces veered towards the saccharine (albeit with a badass shoe and chunky jewellery). Think sweetheart necklines, truck loads of puffed-sleeves, and frilly-skirted dresses in deep reds, sapphire, and emerald.
J.LO REVEALS YET ANOTHER JUNGLE PRINT LOOK
There are presumably only two things on Jennifer Lopez’s rider – a rotation of nude shimmer lip glosses and that damn jungle dress. In an Instagram video celebrating US Mother’s Day over the weekend, J.Lo stood hand on hip in a bathrobe version of the infamous green Versace number she wore to the Grammys in 2000. As she prepped BTS at a photoshoot, it was further proof of how the “Let’s Get Loud” singer is truly in shackles to that jungle print. Not that we needed the evidence, mind. Jenny was caught with the print emblazoned on a silk blouse in Miami in 2020, there was a mini-dress iteration just a few months prior in Milan, and then of course, was the moment she revived the very original for Donatella’s Spring 2020 show. And now, with new insight into J.Lo’s life at home, god knows how many more there must be. Must be like a bloody Rainforest Café in there?
FRED PERRY AND RAF SIMONS REIGNITE THEIR FLAME
Known for its modish style and iconic polo shirts, the preppy British label with countercultural notoriety, Fred Perry, is reviving its collaboration with Raf Simons. When it comes to the party scene, there isn’t a subculture which Raf will not inhabit, plumbing his ardent fascination with youth and drugs like a fashionable Talk to Frank. For this capsule, the Belgium designer has turned his attention to London’s nightlife in the early ‘80s, in particular the images shot by club aficionado Brian Flynn as he rampaged around the early hours of Oxford street in his 20s. Flynn’s polaroids are printed onto raw-edged patched, tacked onto polos, hoodies, sweats, t-shirts, as if they were band merch. “A polo shirt is a polo shirt,” says Raf, explaining his alliance with the British brand, “but the Fred Perry polo shirt always brings a vibe of youth subculture”. Peruse at your leisure here.
ZENDAYA’S LATEST VALENTINO CAMPAIGN IS OUT
Yes, another one! Shot by David Sims at the Palace Theatre in Los Angeles, Zendaya continues her ambassadorship with Valentino, fronting the label’s Roman Palazzo campaign. Here, Pierpaolo Piccioli returns to the darkened abandon that was the focal point of his AW21 show, which was set in Milan’s Piccolo Teatro. Under the gaze of Valentino, these vast buildings give way to intimacy, spaces which have been shuttered for over a year due to the pandemic are imbued with life. Placed centre stage is Zendaya, lit only by a gap in the curtain, an image of an artist who embodies “the values of equality and inclusivity that Pierpaolo Piccioli and the Maison stand for, but also conveys a contemporary romanticism”.
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK TUSSLES FOR ATTENTION
In an attempt to claw back attention from Milan and Paris, New York Fashion Week has been hard at work, convincing Moschino and Thom Browne to return to the capital for the next season’s event. It comes as increasing numbers of designers have fled across the pond to showcase their collections, leaving the reputation of New York as a fashion capital in peril. Also confirmed to return to NYFW as exclusives are Telfar, Proenza Schouler, Rodarte, and Prabal Gurung. Promising to stay until at least 2022, there was a bit of arm twisting from IMG, perhaps, which will help fund and provide support for a total of 11 designers’ shows or events. The goal is, as IMG put it, “ensuring a bold return and bright future” for New York Fashion Week.
MORE JOY FOR THE SUMMER
More Joy, Broadway Market’s favourite Christopher Kane diffusion line, is back for the summer with a fresh drop of sliders, espadrilles, swimming cossies, and breton striped tops for summers spent lounging at the Lido, or idk, taking selfies in the pool at Soho Farmhouse. With pieces adorned with the brand’s “More Joy” mantra, after the god awful year we’ve all had, it’s perhaps less of a logo and more of a desperate manifestation. Same goes for those “sex” budgie smugglers, too. Getcha mitts on them here.
SSENSE APPROVED DEV HYNES MERCH
In an exclusive with SSENSE, the Blood Orange singer has released an exclusive ‘Time Will Tell’ t-shirt. Part of the Canadian retailer’s SS21 Magazine Collection, the design features excerpts from Dev Hynes’ cover story for the SS21 issue of SSENSE Magazine. “It’s honestly exactly the same. I’m such a fanboy. All the music I’ve ever made in my life, I’ve only made because I want to hear it,” reads the back of the tee, a statement made reflecting on the music of the artist’s teenage years, for which The Smashing Pumpkins, Slipknot, and Blur were headlined. To purchase here.
CHARLI XCX AND BEABADOOBEE ARE THE NEW FACES OF RAY-BAN
Queen of Pop 2, TikTok, and Triple S trainers, Charli XCX, is the star of Ray-Ban’s latest #YouAreOn campaign, in which she dances around her LA condo in a pair of the brand’s Wayfarer frames, canoodling up to her vinyl collection and, you know, just rocking out. “Life’s a party and these players are definitely not wall flowers,” Ray-Ban says. And that’s certainly true of Ms XCX, who loves partying, party culture, raves, having fun, house parties, warehouse parties, and partying. Also on the guest list is Beabadoobee, who sports wire frames as she skips about to the specially commissioned “You’re On” track. There’s also a TikTok dance – the #RayBanElevatorDance – because, of course there is.
FENDI’S VERTIGO CAPSULE
In a second collaboration with New York artist Sarah Coleman, Fendi has unveiled a summer capsule collection inspired by the sensation of vertigo and 70s psychedelia. The collection sees a whole host of mens and womens garments splattered in a newly distorted, somewhat hypnotic, double F motif – as if you had sent a logomaniac hypebeast through a circus mirror. The capsule has already arrived at Fendi’s boutiques and online, so shop here.
NICHOLAS DALEY IS HONOURING HIS ROOTS WITH AN EXHIBITION
Next Tuesday (May 18), London fashion designer Nicholas Daley will be throwing wide the doors to his exhibition, Return to Sligo. The show, hosted at the O2’s NOW gallery, will “celebrate the coming together of Nicholas's multicultural Jamaican-Scottish roots with his passion for music in a multi-sensory installation”. Set to run until July, the exhibit is said to embody Nicholas’ three core values – community, culture, and craftsmanship – via fashion, film, and photography. “Nicholas Daley is giving us the exhibition we need right now,” says the gallery’s curator Jemima Burrel, “a shot of light hearted hedonism and an exploration of what is good in the world”. Tickets and more info on that here.
JAWARA ALLEYNE’S POP SHOP IS NOW OPEN
Every Friday in May, Fashion East newbie Jawara Alleyne is holding a pop up shop at 7 Winkley Street in Bethnal Green. Graduating from CSM’s menswear course in 2020, Alleyne’s designs explore concepts of masculinity and his Jamaican-Cayman heritage through threadbare knits, holey t-shirts, and knotted jersey accessories. The store, which runs from 11am to 7pm, offers the promise of one of a kind, artisanal pieces, handcrafted by the designer himself. In the words of Alleyne, “be there or be square”.
RALPH LAUREN DEBUTS A COLLECTION WITH MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
We’re at the dawn of an American prepster revival. Gossip Girl, the new age of Biden, the all-American Met Ball. Something’s brewing. Also stoking the flames is Ralph Lauren, who has announced a partnership with MLB (major league baseball), designing three collections for a handful of the sport’s most iconic teams. The first capsule, which features baseball jackets, polos, hoodies, crewnecks, and accessories will honour the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. It’s a natural partnership for Ralph, who grew up a Yankees fan during the golden age of baseball in the Bronx. “Our collaboration is both an incredible opportunity and a very natural partnership between two of America’s most iconic brands that have deep, rich histories,” said board member David Lauren.
LILY ALLEN DIGS OUT THE CONTENTS OF HER DIOR BAG
Knowing you were going to reveal the contents of your bag to the public, there’s simply no way that you wouldn’t have a panicked moment of pre-curation. An empty crisp packet, some receipt debris, and a broken lighter is not going to cut it, doll. The first thing Lily Allen pulls out of her Lady Dior? Joan Didion’s Let Me Tell You What I Mean. Someone got the memo! Next up is a musical synthesiser, some Dior sunnies, air pods, a ‘gratitude’ embossed notebook, and a (polished?) tangerine. G’wan Lily.