Mood board: The overt, glossy sexiness of the 1990s was all over Sernin’s A/W 2019 collection, like the scent of last night’s slow drag on a Marlborough Red. Tom Ford’s Gucci insolence; Helmut Lang’s perversions of cotton basics; McQueen’s inventive lowering of the waistband. The refined bondage of Hervé Léger. This was the essence replayed on athletic bodies fit for a new gender-fluid age. Sernin has nurtured such frankness since launching his debut in 2017 after a stint working at Balmain. His appeal is that his work seems to beg for a return to a more corporeal time. The collection had a halcyon brutality. The sculpted line of corseted trousers cinched the waist. There were nipped-in jackets, low-cut trousers, faux astrakhan jeans. White, turquoise and black silk shirting had no buttons and billowed over bare chests. A sheer fabric wrapped around a bicep. A taut naked thigh ran up into a Swarovski crystal lace-up brief. An asymmetric white singlet scooped under the nipple.
Scene setting: The staging was reminiscent of a reductivist cabaret. A huge spotlight lingered over the models as they walked out to snippets of interviews with Naomi, Kate, Nadja et al. Recorded during the start of their now legendary careers, the icons revealed their youthful insecurities. Charming soundbites of innocence now lost in a hi-definition digital age. Sleazy, slowed down mixes of Madonna’s ‘Erotica’ and ‘Nobody’s Perfect’ played. A minimal sensualism pulsated throughout the space. Crystal encrusted handkerchief tops, sheath dresses and briefs twinkled in the light.
Best in show: A dégradé of crystals was embroidered onto a nude, sheer tank. Trousers were ruched, shearling was strict and minimal in buttery caramel, which stroked bare shoulders. A white knit had a dramatic oval cutaway: it was as if the spotlight had burned a hole to reveal the chest. In reference to Yves Saint Laurent’s 1969 collaboration with the artist couple François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, Sernin cast parts of the male body and reproduced them in ceramic. They were wrapped around high-waist trousers. Or left to dangle around the neck. §
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Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekMuch of our team was in Copenhagen for 3 Days of Design this week. For those left basking in the London heatwave, it was architecture workshops, photography exhibitions and two very different performances: ballet and Britpop
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The best bars in London for bartending greatnessFrom chic hotel cocktail classics to game-changing flavour combinations, our resident drinks correspondent, Neil Ridley, explores ten of the best bars in London
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Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2026: live updates from the Wallpaper* teamFrom 20-23 June, Milan Fashion Week Men’s arrives in the Italian fashion capital. Follow along for a first look at the shows, presentations and other fashion happenings, as seen by the Wallpaper* editors
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Donna Trope celebrates the power of the Polaroid in Paris‘Polaroids used to be my rejects, and now they are my holy grail,’ says the beauty photographer, as she shows rarely seen images in a Paris exhibition
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Horace’s new men’s scent is the linen shirt of the fragrance closetVetiver Primavera, the new fragrance from men’s grooming brand Horace, is casual but elegant, says Wallpaper’s Mary Cleary – a citrussy scent for summer
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‘Don’t forget to get the bread!’ Serge Lutens writes an ode to a singular perfumePublished exclusively by Wallpaper*, Serge Lutens writes an ode to Jeux de Peau, a singular perfume of his creation inspired by a childhood memory of baking bread
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What did Christian Dior’s favourite ‘invisible’ flower smell like?Dior’s Francis Kurkdijan recreates the scent of a rare lily of the valley species in Le Muguet, the first olfactory chapter of new perfume collection Les Récoltes Majeures
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Inside Camperlab’s Harry Nuriev-designed Paris store, a dramatic exercise in contrastThe Crosby Studios founder tells Wallpaper* the story behind his new store design for Mallorcan shoe brand Camperlab, which centres on an interplay between ‘crushed concrete’ and gleaming industrial design
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This perfume bottle archive was nearly lost. Now, it offers a rare whiff of fragrance historyFifty blueprints from a forgotten French crystal manufacturer will be for sale as part of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair
