PRETTY IN PINK.
The Baroque-obsessed duo of Dolce&Gabbana have put out a serene, floral-themed collection for pre-fall 2019, abloom with a distinctive blown-up lily print and a colour symphony built around pink. Shades of blush, carnation, and peach worked their way into nearly every look, whether it was the luminous, rose-gold satin dress that evoked the ’80s with its ruffled excess, or the pastel wool-crepe skirt suit reminiscent of Jackie Kennedy’s iconic style of the ’60s and ’70s. Elsewhere, there were shin-grazing circle skirts cinched at the waist, with silk headscarves making an unmistakable nod to vintage ’50s glamour. It was almost as though the pair worked their way through each era, capturing the zeitgeist of the times. Released without the fanfare of a runway show, the collection speaks for itself with its delicate balance of sophisticated silhouettes and floral flamboyance. Coupled with statement accessories in the form of oversized, blossom-laden earrings, velvet-covered lambskin shoulder bags and bejewelled sunglasses, the entire collection is a happy reminder that Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are nothing if not kings of glorious, unabashed exuberance.
WORK OF ART
The exhibition runs at the Dallas Museum of Art until September
Dallas and Dior? Yes, you heard right. The county of extremes meets the House of couture. Their Museum of Art is now housing the “Dior: From Paris to the World” exhibition, celebrating the heritage of the French luxury House. Focused on the brand’s seven decades of haute couture history, the exhibition showcases over 200 pieces of couture, original sketches and atelier prototypes, chronicling the rise of Christian Dior as a young designer. Decked out to look like the flagship store on 30 Montaigne Avenue, the exhibition also displays the work of his successors, including Marc Bohan, John Galliano, Raf Simons and current head Maria Grazia Chiuri. The clothes are displayed alongside the various pieces of art that inspired each designer, ranging from paintings by Jackson Pollock and Alessandro Allori to surrealist works by Leonora Carrington.
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
For pre-fall 2019, Stella McCartney paid tribute to her father Paul McCartney with a collection called “All Together Now”. Inspired by the animated Beatles film Yellow Submarine, McCartney mined its treasure trove of psychedelic visuals to dream up silk shirts and dresses printed with patchwork dancers in all the kaleidoscopic brilliance of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, a faux fur coat with a jacquard portrait of The Beatles on the back, and sweaters embroidered with “All Together Now” in multiple languages. Using eco-friendly materials like organic jersey and denim, regenerated cashmere, recycled nylon, and a new type of fully recycled cotton, this collection not only honours the legendary band, but also serves as a loving homage to her parents and glorious ’70s style.
REMIX-ASAURAUS
Rexy, the dinosaur mascot of Coach, is back with a twist in China, where the brand’s pre-fall runway show took place. Reimagined by a group of Chinese creatives, Rexy is rendered in ink by painter Zhu Jingyi and playfully transposed into the centre of a logo by music collective Yeti Out. Sculptor Sui Jianguo’s statuette of the raptor was turned into a distorted photo-print while graphic artist Guang Yu gave Rexy the graffiti treatment with an exaggerated, hand-drawn print.
"Signature Dreamer 21 with Rexy by Yeti Out, $750, Coach"
PREHISTORIC CHIC
"From left: Bill holder, $830; case, $1,300, Dior"
DINO-BOT
"From top: Cotton jumpsuit, about $616; cottongauze top, about $796; canvas espadrilles, about $286, Isabel Marant at Net-a-Porter"
HOT LIST
TULLE KIT
It was a flurry of tulle on the red carpet at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Miles and miles of the misty material in every colour of the rainbow were seen swathing models and It girls, foaming out behind actresses as they shimmied down the red carpets. Juror and style chameleon Elle Fanning was stunning in an ethereal Reem Acra gown with a bejewelled tulle cape, as well as old-school Dior look with a tulle skirt that took 450 hours to complete. Then there was supermodel Kendall Jenner, showing off her endless legs in a tiered, fluorescent pink gown from Giambattista Valli’s new collaboration with H&M. From Aja Naomi King in polka-dotted peach by Zac Posen, to Bella Hadid in frothy Dior couture, ethereal volume—lots of it— seemed to be every starlet’s pick this spring.
"Cube bags, $230 to $390, Longchamp x Nendo Le Pliage"
PAPER CRANE
The Japanese art of origami played a key role in inspiring Longchamp’s Le Pliage back in 1993, and now, through a collaboration with Tokyo-based design studio Nendo, the foldable nylon carry-all revisits its roots. This series of totes takes on a new visual identity with three distinctive shapes. One transforms from a square to a spacious cube with a removable insert. The second, inspired by the traditional Japanese furoshiki wrapping cloth, morphs from a flat circle to the familiar tote. The third takes the form of a cone with a single strap that can be looped around the wrist or hung from a hook. As flexible as they are eye-catching, these innovative bags bring the classic Le Pliage into an imaginative new age.
"The staircase curves around a sculpture reminiscent of a glittering snake"
CLEAN SLATE
Since he took over CELINE in 2018, Hedi Slimane has overhauled more than just the clothes—a crop of boutiques with his signature brutalistmeets-minimalist aesthetic have been popping up across the globe. Closest to home is the Tokyo boutique, which features visual artist Elaine CameronWeir's sinuous golden scales that drop dramatically down a stairwell. Together with the sleek, suspended steel clothing racks, mirrored surfaces and tubular lighting, the redesigned interiors with site-specific artworks elevate the experience of shopping at CELINE into an art form.
Edited by Chandreyee Ray
