Cavarzere is a sleepy Italian town about twenty-two miles southwest of Venice. Until the 1950s its main business was agriculture, but eventually it became a part of the fashion and textile manufacturing powerhouse that the province of Veneto grew into during the second half of the 20th Century, and that is now also dying or being transformed thanks to the two Frenchmen who are keen on buying up as much of Italian manufacturing as possible.
This year as sales for many luxury fashion brands have dipped in key markets like China and the US, there has been much talk about fashion finally moving from product-driven, sellable but uninspiring fashion that has brought record profits for the fashion industry, but also made it into a lackluster, uninspiring discipline that by all accounts lacked creativity. To add to fashion’s tarnished image, we have seen appointments and subsequent quick exits of buzzy young designers like Rhuigi Villasenor at Bally and Ludovic de Saint Sernin at Ann Demeulemeester that has shown that hype does not equal talent and discipline required to run a major fashion brand. In such a time of reckoning the industry has two choices – to create excitement by taking creative risks or to seek refuge in bland commerciality. Much to the dismay of many fashion observers, it has chosen the latter.
We are back with our regular guest Philippe Pourhashemi to review the Spring / Summer 2024 women’s season.
This fashion season has been one of going through way too much effort in terms of just being at the shows. Invitations went missing or showed up at the last minute or even after a show. Editors and buyers are increasingly being relegated to second row in favor of celebrities and influencers, of whom there is an ever-increasing number. Some said that this could be because of the Hollywood strike, but I think we are seeing a permanent shift, in which the only metric that matters is your Instagram following. It looks like many brands just want amplifiers of their image, and don’t care for, or are actually afraid of engaging in a conversation about their output. If it’s the latter, they are not wrong, considering what a parade of mediocrity the fashion month has become. But not in Paris, at least not yet. This season virtually all of the brands that I hold in high regard delivered – it was an uplifting fashion week and a wonderful reminder that fashion can still evoke emotion, create beauty, and make one think. And if it’s the PR agencies that spoil everything with their lack of professionalism, then, well, even though I still absolutely love being at a good show, in 2023 I can do this from the comfort of my home.
We would like to present to you Junya Watanabe’s Spring/Summer 2024 Women’s collection.
Photography by Matthew Reeves.
Images may not be copied without expressed permission.
We would like to present to you Noir Kei Ninomiya’s Spring/Summer 2024 Women’s collection.
Photography by Matthew Reeves.
Images may not be copied without expressed permission.
We would like to present to you Yohji Yamamoto’s Fall/Winter 2023 Women’s collection.
Photography by Matthew Reeves.
Images may not be copied without expressed permission.
We would like to present to you Comme des Garçons’ Spring/Summer 2024 Women’s collection.
Photography by Matthew Reeves.
Images may not be copied without expressed permission.
We would like to present to you Sacai Spring/Summer 2024 Women’s collection.
Photography by Matthew Reeves.
Images may not be copied without expressed permission.
We would like to present to you the Y/Project Spring / Summer 2024 Women’s collection.
Photography by Matthew Reeves.
Images may not be copied without expressed permission.