Ellen Presbury
Market & Beauty Director
The boots at Valentino. And the head-to-toe chain mail at Paco Rabanne.
First off, the boots just feel like a mood. Like a contradiction when set against the beauty of a Valentino gown. Though the oversized, slouchy pants this season are also worth noting. I guess flat, chunky, thick soled boots are having a moment so nothing new here, but at this show they feel particular covetable.
And secondly, the full-look chain mail at Paco Rabanne is just so ‘extra’, so unwearable (though I’m sure we will see a rapper in it soon enough) and so statement that I can’t resist. If you Google image search Paco Rabanne Haute Couture FW 1995 this feels very like that. A gown that feels like a shield and a metal hardware that looks like art.
Victoria Pearson
Content Director
It was all about the alternative invitations for me this year. Alessandro Michele left guests a voicemail via Whatsapp – a clever way of reducing the carbon footprint that usually comes with a Fashion Week summons – while outspoken vegan and eco warrior Stella McCartney sent her show goers a GIF of two cows copulating above the slogan "Make love not leather." Proof that you can be both sustainable and clever / sexy / tongue in cheek.
Victoria Pearson
Content Director
It was all about the alternative invitations for me this year. Alessandro Michele left guests a voicemail via Whatsapp – a clever way of reducing the carbon footprint that usually comes with a Fashion Week summons – while outspoken vegan and eco warrior Stella McCartney sent her show goers a GIF of two cows copulating above the slogan "Make love not leather." Proof that you can be both sustainable and clever / sexy / tongue in cheek.
Natalie Petrevski
Fashion Editor
I love when winter collections show winter clothing. I can picture myself when it’s cold, getting cosy and wrapping myself up in this dreamy Jil Sander blanket dress. Another favourite was the incredibly oversized leather collar coats at J.W.Anderson. I can also picture myself wearing this while travelling to work in the middle of winter and barging through the crowds whilst keeping a one metre radius from all humans at all times. The grand scale of this warming wonder would give me a scary sense of power that I definitely should not wield. Lastly, notable accessory mentions go the claw hand belts at Victoria Beckham and the pearl drop statement earrings at Prabal Gurung. Please be mine.
Gabriela Hidalgo
Senior Designer
As a child I would look at photos of my mother and think, "Wow. She is so beautiful … but something is not right here. I hate this picture." Later, I realised it was the perm-shoulder-pad-carrot-pant combination (thanks 1980s) that brought on this visceral reaction.
It has taken me close to 20 years to warm even slightly (or rather, to not be repulsed) by anything paying tribute to this era, but the shows of AW 20 have me questioning everything. Is it possible to be gaslit by fashion? Do I like shoulder pads now? Maybe. Thigh high boots worn with shorts? Seems reasonable. Dust coats and blazers that do absolutely nothing for ones shape? You have my attention. Earrings big enough to rip your earlobe, pirate shirts … the list goes on.
On another less confusing note, the matching tweed skirt and bralette set at Chanel, and the sleek minimal leather tube dress at Agnona (think Posh Spice meets The Matrix) both deserve a special mention. I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing cardigans buttoned on the wrong holes (a mistake I often make) at Y Project.
Gabriela Hidalgo
Senior Designer
As a child I would look at photos of my mother and think, "Wow. She is so beautiful … but something is not right here. I hate this picture." Later, I realised it was the perm-shoulder-pad-carrot-pant combination (thanks 1980s) that brought on this visceral reaction.
It has taken me close to 20 years to warm even slightly (or rather, to not be repulsed) by anything paying tribute to this era, but the shows of AW 20 have me questioning everything. Is it possible to be gaslit by fashion? Do I like shoulder pads? Maybe. Thigh high boots worn with shorts? Seems reasonable. Dust coats and blazers that do absolutely nothing for ones shape? You have my attention. Earrings big enough to rip your earlobe, pirate shirts … the list goes on.
On another less confusing note, the matching tweed skirt and bralette set at Chanel, and the sleek minimal leather tube dress at Agnona (think Posh Spice meets The Matrix) both deserve a special mention. I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing cardigans buttoned on the wrong holes (a mistake I often make) at Y Project.
Andréa Tchacos
Deputy Editor
Minimalism. I’m not over it. Winter: have never been into it. My least favourite thing about dressing for this season is that I consistently feel, I don’t know, frumpier, so in counteracting (my version of) that I’ve cultivated a uniform of more masculine shapes and cool-toned neutrals. My favourite thing about winter dressing: layered outerwear. Particularly trench coats. Enter the cool-in-a-good-way collections at Lemaire and The Row with convincing arguments for all-one-colour wardrobe spaces.
Ella Jane
Production Coordinator
Absolutely predictable and absolutely warranted, The Row offered focussed styling cues by way of rich tones and tailoring with assured ease and, despite my budget restrictions, is all I want to be wearing this winter. While I’m partial to a cut-out hip and a glimpse of torso, something about being swathed in neutral cashmere and silk with not an inch of skin on show really gets me going.
Ella Jane
Production Coordinator
Absolutely predictable and absolutely warranted, The Row offered focussed styling cues by way of rich tones and tailoring with assured ease and, despite my budget restrictions, is all I want to be wearing this winter. While I’m partial to a cut-out hip and a glimpse of torso, something about being swathed in neutral cashmere and silk with not an inch of skin on show really gets me going.
