So the story goes, in 1936, when the Swiss artist Meret Oppenheim displayed a cup and saucer covered in gazelle fur as part of an exhibition at New York’s MoMA, such was the impact of the surrealist object that a woman fainted right in front of it. ‘She left no name with the attendants who revived her – only a vague feeling of apprehension,’ reported the New Yorker of the incident at the time.

This is fur’s visceral power: when worn, it becomes a heady meeting place of signifiers – luxury, wealth, power, but also protection, armour against the elements, an ancient and primal urge to be swaddled in the spoils of the hunt. It can provoke equal outrage and desire, but also an underlying perversity – the surreal wrongness of wearing another’s skin, one which Oppenheim‘s work duly captures. ‘[It is] one of the perverse and pleasing sculptures of the 20th century,’ wrote the critic Andrea K. Scott.

And, Oppenheim’s legacy lives on: as part of the recent Frieze week in London, the buzzy Irish-Australian artist and jeweller Leo Costelloe presented a deer-pelt-covered jug as part of his exhibition ‘Kitchen’ at The Shop, Sadie Coles HQ. He called it his ‘ode to Meret Oppenheim’, part of a series of works which mind the ‘fantasy and unease’ of the domestic realm. ‘I’m naturally drawn to themes that tread the line between aspirational fantasy and desperate reality,’ he told Wallpaper*.

Fur was all over the A/W 2025 runways, too – in illusory form, at least. For the past decade, fashion’s luxury houses have largely done away with the use of fur in their collections: in 2021, the Kering group – which owns Bottega Veneta, Gucci and Balenciaga, among others – banned fur, alongside brands like Prada, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana and Valentino. Whether evoked through hyper-realistic imitation furs, cleverly manipulated shearlings (shearling is a by-product of the meat industry, rather than farmed) or fluffy fronds of feathers, it was the undeniable material of the season, appearing on both the men’s and women’s runways.

In the collections, designers mined fur’s connotations, suggesting at once a heady, bygone glamour, but also a want for protection against the elements – whether real or existential. At Prada, which featured shearling ‘fur’ trapped under layers of clear plastic or erupting into strange protrusions at the neckline of a coat, co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons said the material evoked the ‘raw glamour’ at the heart of the collection. ‘Glamour was something we were attracted to, instinctively, and its connection to femininity,’ said Mrs Prada at the time. ‘We asked ourselves – what is feminine? What is feminine beauty? What is femininity today? It is a constant questioning, an examining of femininity – what does it mean?’

Here, as selected by the Wallpaper* style team, ten imitation fur and shearling pieces – from classic coats to bandeau tops and accessories – which capture the raw, twisted glamour which ran through the A/W 2025 collections.

Following in the footsteps of Yayoi Kusama and Paola Paronetto, French fashion designer Simon Porte Jacquemus is the latest creative tasked by French champagne house Veuve Clicquot with reinterpreting La Grande Dame.

Its premium cuvée is a tribute to Barbe Nicole Ponsardin, also known as Madame Clicquot, who took over her late husband’s wine business, becoming the first female champagne producer and introducing several innovations into the champagne-making process.

Jacquemus has worked with the 2018 iteration, the 25th vintage of the cuvée launched in 1972. ‘I have always admired Veuve Clicquot, its savoir-faire and history,’ says the designer. ‘I wanted to create a collaboration that brought together both of our worlds in a meaningful way. Jacquemus has always been a lifestyle brand, going beyond fashion. That’s why this project interested me so much: to work on the world around the bottle with Jacquemus codes and share our mutual values of French culture.’

For his interpretation of the bottle, Jacquemus draped the vessel in a white Toile du Marais canvas, a gesture designed to evoke the elegant simplicity of heirloom textiles drying in the sun, ‘a human, simple touch’. On the canvas, yellow embroidery marks the vintage’s momentous release. ‘Yellow is my favourite colour, and has always been a key focus in my collections,’ says the designer, noting the connection with the champagne house’s own visual codes. ‘Veuve Clicquot has owned this colour since 1877, and I loved the idea of wrapping the bottle in this warmth, like sunlight stitched into fabric. It became a thread throughout the project.’

Born and raised in the South of France, Jacquemus’ work is heavily influenced by his Mediterranean upbringing and the region’s luminosity, and this collaboration is no exception, particularly as the current cuvée is described by its maker as ‘a wine with a sunny soul. Its colour is bright and luminous. Its precise style is characterised by a subtle finesse and freshness, expressed through its salinity.’

For the 2018 cuvée, Jacquemus created a collection that is intended to reimagine the ritual of drinking and sharing champagne. The hero piece is a modern take on a French 18th-century classic, the rafraîchissoir, a large vessel designed to keep champagne cold. ‘The shape came from Medici vases, which I love, but also from my childhood memories: the trompe-l’oeil fish and the hammered texture are a wink to the Mediterranean,’ says the designer. ‘The handles’ details are square and round, a Jacquemus signature.’

The exquisite silhouette of the rafraîchissoir (a limited-edition piece made on request) was brought to life by artisan Camille Orfèvre, a recipient of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France, the highest accolade recognising exceptional craftsmanship. ‘Camille is incredible, one of the last great metalsmiths in Paris,’ says Jacquemus. ‘His atelier in Le Marais is full of history. I loved working with him because he understands about detail and tradition. Like in couture, every gesture matters. We talked a lot about celebrating savoir-faire and perpetuating traditions.’

Each piece takes more than 40 hours to create, using antique techniques that include polishing, engraving and lacquering. ‘This project is a tribute to true craftsmanship, and that’s what makes it so special.’

Le Rafraîchissoir and La Grande Dame by Simon Porte Jacquemus are available from Harrods, POA

Earlier this month, the Q2 Lyst Index was released – the shopping app compiles the quarterly report through online searches and catalogued social-media data – seeing the Miu Miu boat shoe land at number four on the quarter’s hottest products (fellow top-tenners were a Skims white tank, Adidas sports shorts and the renaissance of the Isabelle Marant heeled sneaker). Miuccia Prada has long had a soothsayer-like quality – recent seasons have seen her sliced-away mini skirts, hanging bag charms, and ballet shoes achieve style ubiquity – and though the boat shoes were first shown in her S/S 2024 show for the Prada sister brand, it has taken a year for them to achieve true virality (Miu Miu released further iterations for Summer 2025).

The boat shoe’s appeal can be broken down by two prevailing trends: first, the rise of low-effort, off-duty footwear (The Row’s flip-flops or spa-style jelly shoes are examples, as is the rise of the Charvet slipper), second, the re-emergence of a preppy uniform (Jonathan Anderson’s first Dior Men collection featured cable-knit sweaters and schoolboy striped shirts, and a similar collegiate mood was struck at Michael Rider’s Celine debut earlier this summer). The boat shoe – traditionally designed to be worn on boats and yachts to prevent scuff marks on deck – has long straddled these two worlds, making it ripe for revival. And, while the Sebago or Sperry Topsiders remain the classical blueprint, fashion’s take on the style is altogether more eclectic – here, the Wallpaper* style team select ten of the best boat shoes of the season, from studded to slip-on, square-toed to two-tone.

This summer, the runway leads to the Riviera. Primarily across Europe, luxury hotels are quietly slipping into their seasonal roles as extensions of major fashion and lifestyle brands. Behemoths such as Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana are migrating from urban fashion capitals to the coast in the coming months, trading marble flagships for fresh ocean air and beachfront real estate. The formula is straightforward: exclusive pop-up boutiques flanked by monogrammed loungers and umbrellas, and occasionally, chef-led restaurants. Here are some of the hotel takeovers making a splash this summer – where you too can pop up in style.

Fashion hotel takeovers happening this summer

Burberry at The Standard Ibiza

Hot on the heels of its takeover at The Newt in Somerset, Burberry is off to embrace the Mediterranean sunshine, landing at The Standard, Ibiza, until October. The hotel’s seasonal rooftop bar and restaurant, Up, has been Burberry-ified with a bespoke check pattern in bright yellow. This energising design adorns the site’s loungers, parasols, and seating, as well as a photo booth in the lobby. Starting in mid-July, weekly DJ nights, featuring guests such as Phil Mison, Eric Duncan, and Nicolas Matar, will be accompanied by a curated cocktail menu. For those who can’t get enough of the partnership, Burberry and The Standard also propose a summer capsule collection ‘for warm days and balmy nights’, with swimwear, sunglasses, and hats available for purchase.

The Standard, Ibiza is located at Carrer de Bartomeu Vicent Ramon, 9, 07800 Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain.

Dior at Jumeirah Capri Palace

For the fifth time, Jumeirah Capri Palace, which recently unveiled new suites by Patricia Urquiola, welcomes the return of Dioriviera to its seafood restaurant, Il Riccio. The breezy setting, surrounded by Anacapri’s rocky cliffs and adjacent to the island’s magical Blue Grotto, is now decorated with Dior’s Toile de Jouy pattern and animal statues. Guests can choose to sip limoncello spritzes on the beach club terrace or dine at the restaurant, on dishes such as spaghettino with sea urchins. Meanwhile, a Dior boutique pop-up features a summer-ready wardrobe.

Il Riccio is located at Via Gradola, 4, 80071 Anacapri, Italy.

Dolce & Gabbana at Four Seasons Hotel Taormina

Despite occupying its privileged hilltop position for centuries, San Domenico Palace, Taormina, entered the modern zeitgeist in 2022 after serving as the fictional ‘The White Lotus’ hotel. The property, which was acquired by Four Seasons in 2020, is also a beloved part of the Dolce & Gabbana universe, as the Italian brand has taken over its pool area for a couple of years in a row. The now familiar bespoke Blu Mediterraneo theme, seen across parasols, cushions and towels, seeks to reflect the region’s vibrant seaside blues and celebrates the artistry of handmade Sicilian ceramics. Wallpaper’s fashion features editor Jack Moss visited the activation last month to celebrate Dolce & Gabbana’s ninth collaboration with Mytheresa, describing the experience as ‘a day of sunshine, food and spritzes’. Until the end of the season, guests will also be able to browse an exclusive pop-up boutique offering a selection of clothing and accessories, including some location exclusives.

San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel is located at Via S. Domenico, 5, 98039 Taormina, Italy.

Herno at Phi Beach

The rugged granite landscape of Baja Sardinia provides the perfect backdrop for Herno’s sophisticated take on exploration, travel, and outdoor living. In collaboration with Phi Beach, the Italian brand is showcasing its vision of seaside leisure for the second consecutive summer, lasting through the first week of September. Alongside dressing the exclusive club’s cabanas and deckchairs in sandy, deep brown tones, Herno has also introduced its first fully designed restaurant, Herno Suite. Here, chef Claudio Marenzi presents culinary delights on ceramics inspired by the Erno River, paying tribute to the brand’s roots. With a focus on natural aesthetics and sustainability, bill holders, menus, and coasters are made from natural cork sourced from Sardinia. A selection of ‘open-air accessories’ is available for purchase, including beach towels, tote bags, water bottles, baskets, and hats.

Phi Beach is located at Via Forte Cappellini, 07021 Arzachena, Italy.

Jacquemus at Monte-Carlo Beach Club

As part of a strategic transformation of the area, Monte-Carlo’s emblematic beach club has reopened for the season with a complete redesign of its deck and pool area by French interior designer Dorothée Delaye. Adding a burst of Provençal panache, a sun-kissed collaboration with Jacquemus is underway until 7 October. Inspired by ‘La Croisière’ collection unveiled in Paris in January, the takeover dresses sunbeds, towels, and parasols in banana-yellow, coconut milk, and black stripes. This theme extends to the adjacent Pool Café, which features speciality brews and an Olympic-sized pool, as well as two newly opened Jacquemus boutiques, featuring sketches by Renoir and Matisse on their walls.

Monte-Carlo Beach Club is located at Av. Princesse Grâce, 98000 Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Monaco.

Louis Vuitton at White 1921 Hotel

For the third consecutive year, the Arnaud Donckele & Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton restaurant has returned to the White 1921 Saint-Tropez hotel for the season. Michelin-starred chef Arnaud Donckele and chef pâtissier Maxime Frédéric present a bountiful menu, available for lunch, tea time, and dinner, spotlighting local, seasonal produce and creative twists. Think dishes such as grilled blue lobster enriched by a shiso-infused sauce, or Wagyu beef served in a fragrant bouillon. The restaurant’s interior features natural macramé touches paired with rattan furnishings and tables dressed in seasonal Louis Vuitton tableware. Crockery is adorned with interpretations of the maison’s signature Monogram Flower.

The Arnaud Donckele & Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton restaurant is located at Hotel White 1921, Trav. des Lices, 83990 Saint-Tropez, France.

Missoni at JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa

Nothing embodies summer quite like Missoni’s signature zig-zag motif, a warm-weather staple cherished by many for its cheerful, multicoloured hues and light texture. On the private Isola delle Rose in Venice, the Italian label has established a bijou pop-up store at the JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa, making it convenient for guests to stock up on its beachwear essentials. A serene blend of blue and azure, combined with warm ochres and beige, dominates an exclusive collection of men’s and womenswear, ranging from swim trunks and bowling shirts to bikinis and long cover-ups. This same pattern features in the shop’s sofas and pouffes, as well as the large-scale bunny welcoming visitors. The pop-up is open at JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa until 15 September, with another Missoni Resort Club takeover occurring in Oku Ibiza in the form of a branded poolside lounge.

JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa is located at Isola delle Rose, Laguna Di San Marco, 30133 Venice, Italy.

Alo at Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum

Turkey is familiar territory for Alo Yoga, which launched its first Istanbul brick-and-mortar store last year. This summer, the lifestyle brand has set its sights on the Aegean coast – in particular, Mandarin Oriental Bodrum’s private shoreline, to debut a second boutique, an immersive beach club experience, and wellness workshops. Complementing the oak and pine beach umbrellas are branded cotton towels and seating in an earthy hue, while a customised cart offers refreshments served in coconut cups. Until September, international Alo instructors will lead a wellness programme for hotel guests, including sunrise yoga and pilates alongside sound healing and meditation sessions.

Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum is located at Gölköy, 314 Sokak No.10, 48483 Muğla, Turkey.

In 2019, the micro-sized version of Jacquemus’ ‘Le Chiquito’ bag – so small it could fit into the palm of your hand with proportions less than the size of a credit card – briefly became a viral sensation, dangled from the fingertips of celebrities and influencers, the protagonist of many a street-style photograph. It captured a mood for the miniature which had defined accessories of the late 2010s – a playful riposte to the hefty and unwieldy handbags of a previous generation, with the understanding that all you really needed to carry was your phone.

Half a decade on, the demands of contemporary life have shifted thanks to the pandemic: now, our bags have become vessels for hybrid working, hauling laptops, chargers, papers, gym kits and the various accoutrements of workplace life between office and home (and back again). It’s why the XXL bag has replaced the micro, ushering in a generous new class of oversized shoppers, carry-alls and totes – from Loewe’s ‘Puzzle’ tote and Prada’s ‘Buckle’ bag, to the resurgence of the Hermès Birkin, which was originally designed to cater to the lifestyle of its namesake, actress and singer Jane Birkin, after a chance encounter with Jean-Louis Dumas, the former chairman of Hermès, on flight (as a young mother, she had struggled to find a leather bag large enough for her belongings).

It’s why the XXL tote also doubles as a reliable travel companion – with an easily accessed top opening and spacious interior, it makes navigating trips through airport departures or cross-country train journeys simple (and, for the over-packer, can carry more than you will probably ever need). In time for such escapes, the Wallpaper* style team has collated ten of the best supersized totes and shoppers – from the slouchy and nostalgic to the playfully surreal.

Ten of the best supersized tote bags and shoppers

Jacquemus is developing a beauty line in partnership with L’Oréal. Whilst rumours of the French fashion brand’s expansion into this category have swirled in the industry for a while now, today’s announcement (7 February 2025) finally makes it official.

The recent Jacquemus’ 2024 Holiday campaign, shot by Lisa Jakhovic, starred Alex Consani at a surreal winter wellness retreat. One image even features the model with cucumber slices layered over the entirety of her body, courtesy of make-up artist Lauren Parsons. (Whether the campaign’s theme was a hint towards today’s news remains to be seen).

Jacquemus is launching a beauty line: what might it look like?

‘15 years ago, I began dreaming of and creating Jacquemus, with perfume and beauty always part of my vision for the brand. Today, I am proud to continue shaping this dream with the leading beauty group, L’Oréal. I’m excited to see what the future holds for us,’ Simon Porte Jacquemus, who founded the label in 2009 at the age of 19, said in a statement.

The partnership is the first time that Jacquemus has explored the beauty arena, joining a roster of other fashion houses banking on make-up, skincare and fragrance of late. Prada and Celine launched a range of make-up products in 2023 and 2024 respectively, with Miu Miu announcing that it would also branch out to beauty later this year. In addition, Bottega Veneta under the creative direction of Matthieu Blazy — who has since left the Italian leather house for the top position at Chanel, succeeded by Louise Trotter — put out a perfume collection last year.

‘We are thrilled to welcome Jacquemus and unleash together its outstanding luxury beauty potential,’ says the president of L’Oreal luxe, Cyril Chapuy. ‘With its singular brand positioning, fuelled by sensational creativity and social first playfulness, Jacquemus will perfectly complement L’Oréal Luxe’s portfolio of iconic brands and reinforce our worldwide leadership.’

Certainly, Jacquemus — which has remained independently owned since its inception — is well placed to create a beauty line with plenty of buzz. Porte Jacquemus grew up in Salon-de-Provance, with his aesthetic codes built around the climate and culture of the French Mediterranean. This is not just reflected in Jacquemus’ clothing design, which treads a playful line between minimalism and whimsy, but in stores (notably represented in the brand’s latest London bolthole on Regent Street, designed with OMA) and the staging of collections.

The Jacquemus S/S 2020 show, for example, was set in a Provançal lavender field. Here, models walked a runway made from over 5,000 ft of cerise pink fabric, images of which swiftly went viral. The almost comedically tiny Mini Chiquito bag is now considered a cult accessory, spurring memes around what items could possibly fit in its miniscule capacity.

A timeline for the beauty launch, or details of exactly what the products will be, has not yet been shared. But a Jacquemus-branded lipstick or lavender-scented fragrance – designed to slide neatly into a Mini Chiquito – are just a couple of Wallpaper* predictions.

jacquemus.com

Common wisdom says that wearing black in summer is a sartorial no-go, the light-and-heat absorbing hue a recipe for torrid and uncomfortable afternoons in the sun. Though, as the many year-round aficionados of the colour will attest, such is black’s timelessness – it is arguably the shade most synonymous with style and taste – that even when it comes to the summer months, it’s never too hot to wear black.

Taken from the June 2024 The Travel Issue of Wallpaper*, photographer Valentin Hennequin and Wallpaper* fashion and creative director Jason Hughes take a trip to Amanjena – the Moroccan outpost of the Aman hotel group – with Estonian model Katlin Aas and a handful of the S/S 2024 season’s most dramatic looks to make a case for summer blacks.

A case for wearing black in summer

With it, rules for embracing black in the heat of summer: keep layers diaphanous and fluid, like the sinuous line of Rick Owen’s gently ruched asymmetric evening gown, or Givenchy’s floating, sheer organza layers. When it comes to covering up, less is more: look for cutaway silhouettes (like Louis Vuitton’s open-back blouse) and plunging necklines (à la Alexandre Vauthier), or opt for black swimwear, arguably the simplest way to wear black in summer (our choice: a classic black bikini from Chanel). As is a simple black sweater in the lightest of cashmere – like that from Italian knitwear producer Luca Faloni – made for the onset of coolness on a summer evening (or overly air-conditioned hotel rooms and airline cabins).

And, when it comes to the evening, black remains the choice for taking to the resort bar in dramatic style, whether in a richly adorned dress from Prada – its glimmering surface replete with metal eyelets for a chic take on ventilation – or a body-clinging body-suit from British designer Supriya Lele, whose S/S 2024 collection included dissolving mini dresses and swimwear cut in the designer’s gently subversive style. Or, indeed, the sculptural silhouette of a stomach-bearing set from Jacquemus – a French label well-versed in seductive summer style.

Complete the look with bold stacks of bangles, like those from New York designer Alexis Bittar – their oversized and dramatic forms the balm to break up otherwise consuming expanses of black – or Goossens’ choker-like golden chains. And, if all else fails, simply resort to the nearest shade, sunglasses on, and channel your inner femme fatale.

Model: Katlin Aas at Supreme Management. Casting: Ikki Casting at WSM. Hair: Noelia Corral at Blend Management using Kevin Murphy Spain. Make-up: Eny Whitehead at Wise & Talented using Chanel Beauty. Photography assistant: Pietro Lazzaris. Fashion assistant: Lucy Proctor.

A version of this article appears in the June 2024 Travel Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.

‘I was surprised when Amica asked me about it,’ says the esteemed British photographer Martin Parr, recalling his fashion industry inauguration. ‘But Ic thought I will take on the challenge, and have never looked back.’ While today Parr shoots several fashion stories a year – from high-end brand campaigns and portraits to magazine editorials and backstage imagery – that first shoot in 1999, for the Italian women’s monthly, was the earliest example of Parr’s distinctive, oftentimes humorous, and aesthetically deliberate way of navigating the world of fashion.

Martin Parr: ‘Fashion Faux Parr’, published by Phaidon

Recently published by Phaidon, the joyfully titled Fashion Faux Parr is an exhaustive survey of the subsequent fruits of this relationship. High colour and boldly executed (it was designed by frequent collaborator Melanie Mues), the new fashion book serves to remind fans of how this unique partnership has played out over the past 25 years.

Alongside the well-documented campaigns for Gucci under former creative director Alessandro Michele – including the now-iconic image of a silver-haired sun enthusiast wearing bright white sunglasses at Cannes – is a queue of models pictured at New York’s famous Katz’s Delicatessen, part of a wider tourist-style portfolio commissioned by Vogue USA in 2018, and at Versailles, a backstage project for Jacquemus shot last year. Earlier street-led scenarios in Senegal, Cuba, Bristol and Broadstairs also feature, as well as accessories specials and British designer portraits.

While style has long been a core strain of Parr’s documentary work, organically acting as a signifier of a season, place, era or society, his fashion work more closely observes trends and particular moments, largely realised in tandem with art directors, stylists and beauty teams. ‘It varies,’ he notes, reflecting on the collaborative nature of the work. ‘With editorial fashion, you have more freedom and I enjoy bouncing ideas around with the art director. With commercial the script is pretty much established by the client, so it is a much tighter shoot.

‘I enjoy doing fashion and of course it brings in income, which helps me keep the foundation going,’ he continues, alluding to the Martin Parr Foundation, the gallery and archive space he opened in Bristol in 2017. ‘So my relationship [with fashion] is a good one.’

Indeed, while Parr maintains his own universe is very much still that of a documentary photographer – and it’s this work he’s best known for, as the designer Patrick Grant illustrates in the book’s introduction, identifying that he ‘takes pictures of old blokes staring at walls, socks and sandals, bottles of ketchup…bad weather and sunny tennis matches, Christmas dinners, chic interiors’ – the fashion world has been particularly positive of the match. Fashion Faux Parr might be his first fashion volume proper, but Gucci (which also collaborated with Parr on its Gucci ArtWalls series in 2020) and Louis Vuitton have also both co-signed monographs, and in 2005 Parr published a more tongue-in-cheek title, Fashion Magazine, in which he appeared on the cover.

As in his documentary work, there is plenty of charm and a certain richness in Parr’s fashion pictures; a particular warmth that gives the images, and perhaps the wider industry, a sense of accessibility, closely tied to his frequent practice of involving real people in his shoots. His approach is also often fairly straightforward – his perspective is what he offers – and he employs his surroundings to shape the narrative, rarely shooting in a studio. In previous interviews, Parr has spoken of the societal changes he’s observed in his decades-long career (mainly, the arrival of mobile phones), but what about the challenges he associates with fashion photography?

‘If there are a lot of models, it's tricky to get everyone looking good and in position,’ he explains, relaying a hurdle similarly common to anyone instructed to take a family portrait. ‘You have to persist in shouting out instructions.’ Inevitably this perseverance pays off, and as the designer Tabitha Simmons remarks in the book, recounting a shoot day with Parr, he’s left ‘an indelible mark on the fashion industry’.

’Fashion Faux Pas’ is published by Phaidon, and available from phaidon.com now. Also available from waterstones.com

martinparrfoundation.org

Join us as we take a flick through the fashion books currently taking pride of place on the Wallpaper* style desk – from visually enticing monographs and photographic tomes to limited-edition titles, they will act as elegant accompaniments to the coffee table or bookshelf of any style savant.

Here, selected by the Wallpaper* style team, a comprehensive guide to the best fashion books – including a lush new tome on the work of Irish designer Simone Rocha, an exploration of how directors dress from indie film producers A24 and a rare monograph from seminal designer Jil Sander.

The best fashion books for style savants

‘Jil Sander by Jil Sander’ (Prestel, 2024)

Seminal German designer Jil Sander’s new monograph, ‘Jil Sander by Jil Sander’, sees her consider an influential career with a kaleidoscopic visual journey through her collections. Hoping to evoke the energy of a runway show, the colourful images are curated alongside designer Irma Boom. ‘The mood of the book is true to the frenzy which overtook us every time we prepared a show,’ she told Wallpaper* in a rare conversation. ‘I knew that I didn’t want to achieve a classic coffee table book, so it was trial and error until we got there. The book packages all the shows into one.’ Read more.

‘Jil Sander by Jil Sander’, published by Prestel, is available from waterstones.com and barnesandnoble.com.

‘Loro Piana: Master of Fibres’ (Assouline, 2024)

Celebrating 100 years in business, Loro Piana’s luxurious new tome, ‘Loro Piana: Master of Fibres’, is a ‘story of excellence, savoir-faire, and passion for the extraordinary, passed down for six generations,’ according to author Nick Foulkes. Recounting the history of the Italian house, which is best known for its work in the so-called ‘noble fibres’ of cashmere, alpaca and vicuña, it takes readers on a journey through the family’s early years as wool traders, all the way to its status as the luxury mega-brand it is today. Part of Assouline’s ‘ultimate’ collection, it is housed in a case covered in Loro Piana Tela Sergio fabric and is entirely hand-bound.

‘Loro Piana: Master of Fibres’, published by Prestel, is available from assouline.com.

‘Simone Rocha’ (Rizzoli, 2024)

A new Rizzoli-published book explores the work of Irish designer Simone Rocha, who since graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2010 has become one of London fashion’s most celebrated designers for her romantic, folklore-infused collections which straddle the sweet and the subversive. The lush tome – which draws on Rocha’s publishing expertise, having released numerous zines over the last decade – features an expansive catalogue of imagery, alongside contributions from figures including artist Cindy Sherman, photographer Petra Collins and the critic Tim Blanks. It also pays ode to two eternal influences to Rocha: the artist Louise Bourgeois, and Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo.

‘Simone Rocha’, published by Rizzoli, is available from waterstones.com and barnesandnoble.com.

‘O lovely one, girl that fell from a star’ (Dover Street Market)

Róisín Pierce calls her art book ‘O lovely one, girl that fell from a star’ a ‘love note to femininity, creativity, craft, and motherhood in its myriad forms’ – much like the Irish designer’s collections, which weave ancient Irish craft with a romantic vision of womanhood. Comprising a series of images photographed for the project by Jody Rogac of figures like Serena Motola, Frances von Hofmannsthal, Sinead O’Brien and the designer’s mother, Angie Pierce, the all-white ‘pocket book’ (‘a keepsake, a token’) also features interviews and poetry. ‘Imparting their wisdom throughout, their thoughts and views are allowed to flourish, unfiltered,’ says Pierce of the subjects. ‘Among the pages, they invoke the romantic nostalgia of the Gardenia, the sweetness of living in harmony with an uninvited mouse, the joy of being a voice in a choir, and the hope in resistance and revolt. There is no formula to femininity, and this book welcomes its abundance.’

‘O lovely one, girl that fell from a star’ is available exclusively at Dover Street Market Paris (doverstreetmarketparis.com).

‘How Directors Dress’ (A24, 2024)

Indie film production agency A24 adds to its burgeoning imprint with ‘How Directors Dress’, an exploration of the working uniforms of film’s best-known auteurs, from Sofia Coppola to Spike Lee. Comprising a series of essays – contributors include Hagop Kourounian (aka @directorfits), Rachel Tashjian, Lynn Yaeger and more – alongside archival imagery, A24 promise to use clothing ‘to tell exciting new stories about directors, their lives, their movies, and the times in which they were made’. The 256-page book also features a foreword from director Joanna Hogg, and an afterword from legendary Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto.

‘How Director’s Dress’, published by A24, is available from shop.a24films.com.

‘Norbert Schoerner Prada Archive: 1998-2002’ (IDEA Books, 2024)

A new book published by IDEA, ‘Prada Archive 1998-2002’, documents the campaigns photographed for the Italian fashion house by German image-maker Norbert Schoerner. ‘I hear all the time, from art director friends, that [these are] the campaigns they see most frequently on moodboards,’ Schoerner told Wallpaper*, speaking on the legacy of his work with Prada. ‘It's a great compliment, to have had that sort of impact on photography, but by no means could we have anticipated that 20 years later [the campaigns] would have such a ubiquitous presence in visual culture.’ Art directed by Jonny Lu, Schoerner’s clean, hyper-real imagery is collated in the book, featuring era-defining models Angela Lindvall, Freddy Drabble, Mateo Renoir and David Annand. Read more.

Norbert Schoerner: Prada 1998–2002’s first run of 750 copies have sold out, though the book will be distributed to global retailers in the coming weeks. You can sign up at the IDEA Books website to be notified when new copies are available.

ideanow.online

Born in Oasi Zegna: The Book (Rizzoli, 2024)

‘Born in Oasi Zegna’ celebrates the history of the Italian house, tracing its roots back to the Biella Alps in Piedmont, northern Italy where Ermenegildo Zegna opened his first wool mill in 1910. Now designated a natural territory, the locale marks not only the birthplace of Zegna, but also a symbol of its ongoing dedication to the natural world: since the mill’s opening, Ermenegildo would begin planting conifer trees to foster the area’s ecosystem, which now number over 500,000. Combining archival imagery and contemporary illustrations, the book combines dramatic images of the Oasi Zegna landscapes with archival imagery from the house, alongside illustrations by Paolo Bacilieri, Cecilia Carlstedt and Giuseppe Ragazzini. Accompanying texts, meanwhile, are contributed by Italian journalist Chidozie Obasi. Read more.

’Born in Oasi Zegna: The Book’, with texts by Chidozie Obasi, is available now from zegna.com.

Dior Scarves: Fashion Stories (Thames & Hudson, 2024)

’Dior Scarves: Fashion Stories’ grants a closer look at one of the French house’s defining accessories, the silk scarf. A fascination of Christian Dior which has been adopted by the various designers who have helmed the house in the decades since – most recently, current womenswear creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri – the Maria Luisa Frisa-edited tome provides an ’atlas’ of memorable Dior scarves, organised thematically. These include ‘Paris’, ’Optical Effects’ and ’Cosmogonies’, among others, with accompanying photographs by Brigitte Niedermair. The result, says Dior, is ’an enchanting portfolio... a pluralistic odyssey’.

’Dior Scarves: Fashion Stories’, edited by Maria Luisa Frisa, is available now from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Grace Wales Bonner: Dream in the Rhythm (MoMA, 2024)

Last November (2023), British fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner was the latest participant in MoMA’s ‘Artist’s Choice’ series, which drafts an eclectic raft of creatives to curate an exhibition of their choice at the New York museum. Wales Bonner’s was titled ’Spirit Movers’, and comprised works which centre on sound, movement, performance and style ’in the African diaspora and beyond’. An accompanying book, published by MoMA, is titled ’Dream in the Rhythm’ and is deemed by Wales Bonner ’an archive of soulful expression’.

‘In this exhibition, ”Spirit Movers”, I was thinking a lot about what becomes embedded into artworks and materials,’ Wales Bonner told Wallpaper* when the exhibition opened. ‘I was thinking a lot about materials that have some kind of past life or the passing of time being evident in artworks. One of the things that has always been fascinating to me is how sound can be captured through different forms.’

‘Grace Wales Bonner: Dream in the Rhythm’, published by MoMA, is available from Waterstones and MoMA Design Store.

Fila: Timelapse (Rizzoli, 2024)

Fila: Timelapse, published by Rizzoli, provides an unorthodox, genre- and era-traversing history of the Italian sportswear brand and its enduring influence. Dreamt up by Italian journalist and fashion critic Angelo Flaccavento, the aim of the intriguing tome is to ’tunnel both past and present into a single, forward-looking vision’ including archival imagery of figures like Björn Borg – the tennis player would put Fila on the map – alongside essays, fiction and poetry from contributors including Charlie Fox, Silvia Calderoni, Jeph Burton, Rahim Attarzadeh and artists Karl Holmqvist and HB Hoyo. A foreword, meanwhile, comes courtesy of Fendi menswear and accessories creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi. Read more.

’Fila: Timelapse’, conceived by Angelo Flaccavento, is available to pre-order from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble (out 30 April, 2024).

Issey Miyake: 1960 to 2022 (Taschen, 2024)

Conceived by Midori Kitamura, one of Issey Miyake’s longtime associates, a new Taschen-published book provides a comprehensive guide to the Japanese designer’s innovative and imaginative collections. Visually rich, the book collates the most important moments from across the late designer’s expansive career. including the development of his signature polyester micro-pleats (which would later become Pleats Please Issey Miyake) alongside collaborations with photographers from Yuriko Takagi to Irving Penn. ‘Miyake liked to convey his ideas visually, so we used that framework as our starting point,’ Kitamura told Wallpaper*. ‘Miyake left us with a clear roadmap to follow, going forward. We have and will always carry this map in our pockets as we move forward, always carrying his dreams and his vision into the future.’ Read more.

‘Issey Miyake: 1960 to 2022’, initiated and conceived by Midori Kitamura, is available now Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Karl Lagerfeld: A Life in Houses (Thames & Hudson, 2024)

A new book, Karl Lagerfeld: A Life in Houses (Thames & Hudson), offers an unprecedented glimpse into the dramatic residences of the iconoclastic German fashion designer, best known for his tenures are Chloé, Fendi, and, of course, Chanel. The glossy coffee-table tome features a photographic portfolio of the various homes, from a gleaming Memphis-filled apartment in Monaco to 51 rue de l’Université in Paris, an opulent 18th-century hôtel particular he called home for several decades. Among it all, an extraordinary array of objets and art, a reflection of the eclectic inspirations behind his prolific career in fashion. Read more.

‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Life in Houses’, with text by Patrick Mauriès and Marie Kalt, is available now from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Gabrielle Chanel (V&A Publishing, 2024)

Gabrielle ’Coco’ Chanel is the subject of an expansive new book published by the V&A to coincide with its blockbuster exhibition on the influential French couturier, Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto, which opened last September (until 26 February 2024). Titled, simply, ’Gabrielle Chanel’, the book spans her six-decade long career and pays particular focus to the garments themselves, which would mark a liberated new era for women’s fashion.

‘It’s about chic, simple clothing, looking at movement and the body,’ Oriole Cullen, who co-edited the book alongside curating the exhibition, told Wallpaper*. ’These elements she creates – the jersey, the little black dress, the suit – these are the things she comes back to time and again and refines them.’

‘Gabrielle Chanel’, edited by Oriole Cullen and Connie Karol Burks, is available now from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Givenchy Catwalk: The Complete Collections (Thames & Hudson, 2023)

Thames & Hudson’s ‘Catwalk’ series was made for the style enthusiast: each edition turns its lens on a fashion house or designer and documents their entire runway oeuvre, from Prada to Versace. The latest addition is Givenchy, which explores not only house founder Hubert de Givenchy’s tenure – defined by a demure Parisian elegance encapsulated by his seminal gowns for Audrey Hepburn – but those who followed at the house, including John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Riccardo Tisci and Clare Waight Keller, alongside Matthew M Williams, who exited Givenchy in 2023. ‘In all its purity, I think Hubert created one of the most complex legacies in fashion, because it reaches far beyond dressmaking,’ explained Anders Christian Madsen, who co-authored the book, to Wallpaper*. ‘It’s synonymous with sophistication and good taste, and those ideas are hard to mess with.’ Read more.

Givenchy Catwalk: The Complete Collections, featuring texts by Alexandre Samson and Anders Christian Madsen, is available at Waterstonesand Barnes & Noble.

Yves Saint Laurent: Gold (Abrams, 2023)

The couturier Yves Saint Laurent was well-known for his bold, expressive use of colour, which included gold, a hue he called ’magical’. ’When reflecting a woman, it’s the colour of the sun,’ he once said. This magpie-like fascination is explored in Yves Saint Laurent: Gold, which provides the accompaniment to the exhibition ‘Gold, les ors d’Yves Saint Laurent’, which took place at Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris in late 2022. It holds up as a standalone book, though, featuring suitably glamourous imagery starring a phalanx of Saint Laurent muses, from Catherine Deneuve to Zizi Jeanmaire.

Yves Saint Laurent: Gold, featuring texts by Yvane Jacob and Elsa Janssen, is available at Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Shoes A-Z, the Manolo Blahnik Edition (Taschen, 2023)

Shoes A-Z, which explores the enormous archive of footwear at The Museum at FIT in New York City, has long been one of been of fashion’s most comprehensive tomes on the history of the accessory. A new edition of the landmark book – which features designs from Ferragamo, Saint Laurent, Vivienne Westwood and many more – comes complete with three prints by perhaps fashion’s best-known shoemaker, Manolo Blahnik. The limited-edition version – no doubt a collector’s item in the years to come – is completed with a ribbon-fastened portfolio to store the Fabriano prints, providing the perfect gift for any shoe aficionado.

Shoes A-Z. The Collection of The Museum at FIT. Manolo Blahník Edition, an edition of 1000, is available from Taschen.

Christian Dior, Christian Bérard. Joyful Melancholy (Gallimard, 2023)

‘Christian Dior, Christian Bérard. Joyful Melancholy,’ is a Gallimard-published book – created in association with Dior – which charts the couturier and painter’s lives in a unique joint biography. First meeting in the 1920s, the ‘designer of dreams’ Christian Dior and ‘painter of despair’ Christian Bérard became close friends and collaborators despite their contrasting personalities and approaches, with Bérard going on to decorate Dior’s first boutique, Colifichets, on Avenue Montaigne (the design included toile de Jouy motifs, now a house emblem). Alongside images by Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Lee Miller, and Irving Penn, as well as pictures of archival documents and objects, the book is a richly crafted narrative about the pair’s unique relationship. ‘All of Dior is in Bérard, all of Bérard is in Dior,’ says author Laurence Benaïm. ‘This book is not a two-headed biography – it is a meandering in the heart of a history haunted by dreams, affinities, and secrets sewn in the lining of vanishing time.’

Christian Dior, Christian Bérard. Joyful Melancholy, by Laurence Bénaïm, is available now from Waterstone’sand Barnes and Noble.

Thom Browne (Phaidon, 2023)

Thom Browne’s first monograph is released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the American designer’s eponymous label, featuring both original imagery of archival looks as well as explorations of Browne’s theatrical runway shows. Photographer Johnny Dufort has collaborated on the project, while Andrew Bolton – head curator of the Anna Wintour Costume Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art – curates the various looks and provides the book’s introduction. The book is a design object in itself: enclosed in a clamshell box, the Irma Boom-designed tome features Browne’s grosgrain striped ribbon as a bookmark. ‘This is a must-have for any Thom Browne fan,’ says Phaidon. Read more.

Thom Browne: The 20th Anniversary Book, by Andrew Bolton and Thom Browne, is available from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Chopova Lowena: Conversations with Angels (2023) 

Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena – the designers behind London-based fashion label Chopova Lowena – release their third book this July, titled ‘Conversations with Angels’ and starring actress Chloë Sevigny. In it, Sevigny stars as a version of the Snow Queen from the Danish fairytale (here reimagined by poet Precious Okoyomo), one of Lowena’s favourite stories as a child, while the pair’s A/W 2023 collection, inspired by 70s skiwear, appears throughout the Charlotte Wales-shot book. ‘We love creating books because it gives us a chance to completely express our vision in such a meaningful way,’ say Chopova and Lowena. ‘This one was such a special one, working with our long-time collaborator Charlotte Wales and the incredible Chloë Sevigny. It was so exciting to work with Chloë on Conversations with Angels, we are huge fans of her work and it was a dream to work with her.’

Limited edition.

Dior by Raf Simons (Assouline, 2023)

Published by Assouline, a new tome celebrates Raf Simons’ acclaimed tenure at Dior, where he was creative director from 2012 to 2015. Part of a six-part series exploring the Parisian house’s various artistic directors, the book documents Simons’ ‘infinitely contemporary purity’ which married the house’s heritage with a subversive modernity which has defined the Belgian designer’s work since the founding of his eponymous label in 1995. It also explores the passions that Simons shares with Christian Dior – architecture, art and gardens among them – and features ‘dress portraits’ by Laziz Hamani and texts from fashion journalist Tim Blanks.

Dior by Raf Simons, by Tim Blanks, is available from dior.com

Burberry (Assouline, 2023)

Burberry entered a new chapter last month when Yorkshire-born designer Daniel Lee began his tenure at the brand with a debut collection that drew inspiration from eclectic British dress codes (‘you walk down the street and you’re surrounded by people from so many walks of life, all living together,’ he said after the show at London Fashion Week). He also looked towards the British institution’s roots in functionality – Burberry was founded in 1856 to create clothing which would protect its wearer from the country’s unpredictable weather – a heritage which is celebrated with the publication of new book ‘Burberry’ (Assouline). Across five chapters, fashion critic Alexander Fury charts Burberry’s 165-year history for an exploration of ‘innovation, adventure and Britishness’ alongside 200 illustrations. Says Carly Eck, Burberry brand curator, archive: ‘This book, the only one to be endorsed by the brand in recent times, presents a panorama of the company’s extraordinary heritage, which deserves to be widely celebrated. It’s the stuff of legends.’

Burberry, by Alexander Fury, is available from burberry.com.

Macro (Jil Sander, 2023)

The latest in a series of books created by Lucie and Luke Meier in collaboration with international artists and photographers, ‘Macro’ sees the designers unite with Chris Rhodes who captures the brand’s A/W 2022 collection in a number of still-life images. A long-time collaborator, Rhodes reveals the unseen details of the Meiers’ collections – the aluminium heel of a black pump, lapis lazuli stones in a silver necklace, a heart-shaped ornament on a handbag – in the intimate images. ‘Macro is the testimony of a journey, of an idea that adds a different dimension to the purpose of Lucie and Luke Meier’s work,’ say the brand, ‘a suggestion on how design can be unconventionally perceived and displayed’.

Limited edition.

Chloé Catwalk (Thames and Hudson, 2022)

Coinciding with the house’s 70th anniversary, a new Thames & Hudson-published book provides a comprehensive history of Chloé and those who have shaped it – from founder Gaby Aghion to a young Karl Lagerfeld, and the slew of influential female designers who have helmed the house in the years since, among them Martine Sitbon, Phoebe Philo, Stella McCartney and current creative director Gabriela Hearst. Collating over 130 collections and 1,100 looks, ‘Chloé Catwalk’ provides a vivid portrait of the pioneering house that has sought ‘modernity, ease, vibrancy, optimism, freedom’ from its beginnings. ‘All I ever wanted was for Chloé to have a happy spirit and to make people happy,’ Aghion is quoted as saying in the book. It is the latest addition to Thames & Hudson‘s blockbuster ‘Catwalk’ series, this time authored by Lou Stoppard and featuring a preface by fashion critic Suzy Menkes.

Come Stai? (Bottega Veneta, 2022)

Earlier this year, Italian designer Gaetano Pesce created the set – including 400 entirely unique chairs – for Matthieu Blazy’s sophomore outing at Bottega Veneta. A new limited-edition book from the house, launched as part of Design Miami, documents the process. Alongside images of the set’s creation by Stephen Shore and Sander Muylaert, Hans Ulrich Obrist interviews Pesce about the project’s ‘ideation, approach and process’ as well as contributions from Blazy and Wallpaper* Milan editor Maria Cristina Didero. Like the chairs, each cover of the book is entirely one-of-a-kind.

Acne Paper Issue 17 (Acne Studios, 2022)

After a seven-year hiatus, Acne Paper – Stockholm-based fashion label Acne Studios’ cult print magazine – was relaunched last November as a ‘hybrid between a book and a magazine’ across 500 pages. This year, for its 17th issue, the brand says it is taking this idea of a hybrid ‘one step further’ – ‘[it is] part biography, part novel, part cultural art journal, part fashion magazine,’ describe the brand of the latest issue, which centres around a character named Atticus, ‘a fictional personality in the art world who [is celebrating] his 100-year birthday’. Across five chapters, his ‘memoir’ narrates a ‘cultured life’ which sees him journey from a dancer under choreographer Merce Cunningham to a luminary of the contemporary art scene. The biography also centres on Atticus’ relationship with partner Desmond, ‘[reminding] of a time when men who loved men, and women who loved women, were considered delinquents… [and recalling] the dramatic Aids epidemic and the many loved and talented people who perished with it.’ As such, a portfolio in the issue pays tribute to the work of real-life artists Darrel Ellis, Arch Connelly, Jimmy Wright, and Larry Stanton – the latter who will be celebrated in a special capsule collection by the brand – while contributions from contemporary photographers Luis Alberto Rodriguez, Paul Kooiker and an intimate self-portrait series by Ibrahim Kamara are intersected throughout.

Hand in Hand (Fendi, 2022)

Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Fendi Baguette, a new book from the Italian house sees the iconic handbag style reinterpreted by 30 artisans across Italy in a celebration of centuries-old craft – from brocade, embroidery and crochet to works in wood and marble. In the book – titled ‘Hand in Hand’ after the 2020 initiative of the same name which originally tasked the artisans with reinterpreting the accessory – these works are captured by Italian photographer Lorenzo Vitturi and accompanied by texts by art critic and curator Eugenio Viola, artist Aldo Bakker and ‘upcyclist’ Orsola de Castro. ‘It pleases me to work on certain techniques that, to me, seem unchanged – and then to observe how, when working by hand, an error can become a virtue. Indeed, an error can become the idea for innovation,’ says the bag’s original designer Silvia Venturini Fendi in an interview about the project in the book. ‘[It] is a couture initiative, because it presents Baguette bags that will not be replicated.’

Akris: A Century in Fashion Selbstverständlich (Rizzoli, 2022)

To coincide with Akris’ 100th-anniversary celebrations – the house was founded a century ago in St Gallen, Switzerland – a new book, ‘A Century in Fashion Selbstverständlich’, presents a history of the house through the lens of current creative director Albert Kriemler (grandson of Akris founder Alice Kriemler-Schoch). The large-format photobook features a portfolio of vintage Akris styles photographed by Iwan Baan at the 1960s brutalist extension of the university of St Gallen, alongside an essay by Swiss author Daniel Binswanger, comments by Kriemler himself, and archival imagery. ‘Selbstverständlich is the one single German expression [that] best encapsulates the Akris spirit for me,’ says Kriemler of the book’s title, which loosely translates to English as ‘natural’ or ‘self-evident’. ‘It perfectly conveys our aesthetic ideal of clothing, embodying an effortless modernity.’

Dior by Sarah Moon (Delpire & Co, 2022)

A new book from Dior celebrates the Parisian house’s relationship with French photographer Sarah Moon – ‘a delicate ode to multifaceted femininity, sublime in its complexity,’ as the accompanying blurb describes. Across three consecutive volumes, Moon captures pieces from the Dior archives – mostly at Fondation Le Corbusier or inside the archival spaces themselves – creating evocative images which ‘communicate the strength which emanates from the architectural silhouettes designed by Christian Dior and his successors’. Current creative director of the women’s collections Maria Grazia Chiuri, who has continually commissioned women artists during her tenure for collaborations or show-set design, is a particular focus of the tome, with a 38-image portfolio of Chiuri’s work making up the book’s final volume.

The Colors of Sies Marjan (Rizzoli, 2022)

‘The Colors of Sies Marjan’ explores the brief but colourful history of Sander Lak’s cult New York label Sies Marjan, which shuttered in June 2020 after four years in business. The ‘highly personal’ book, as Lak describes, features archival imagery of Sies Marjan with a particular focus placed on the designer’s vivid and unexpected use of colour which was the bedrock of his work (‘Cookie Monster blue’, ‘Baskin Robbins pink’, ‘Lakers purple’ and ‘Post-it yellow’ are all described in the book). ‘The intention of a lot of books about fashion houses is usually within a marketing or PR-filled context, like an anniversary or store opening, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but this was something very different,’ Lak says of the book, which features contributions from artist Elizabeth Peyton, author Donna Tartt, and architect Rem Koolhaas, among others. ‘It was a chance for myself to give this chapter some closure.’

Annie Leibovitz (Taschen, 2022)

Originally published as part of Taschen's Sumo series – in which seminal cultural figures, including Helmut Newton, David Hockney and the Rolling Stones, are celebrated with limited-edition supersized monographs – Annie Leibovitz is rereleased in a new unlimited version. The comprehensive tome draws on 40 years of the American photographer’s work, from photojournalism for publications like Rolling Stone to her best-known celebrity portraiture in Vanity Fair and Vogue, as well as a number of photographs never before seen. ‘This is not a retrospective. It is a kind of potpourri. A roller coaster,’ Leibovitz says. ‘As you go through it, you forget what you saw in the beginning. You’re in another place toward the end.’

The Fendi Set: From Bloomsbury to Borghese (Rizzoli, 2022)

British designer Kim Jones became head of Fendi couture and womenswear in September 2020; his first collection for the house, the following January, melded Fendi’s famed Italian craftsmanship with his own British roots, looking towards the Bloomsbury Set for inspiration (particularly – Virginia Woolf, and her novel Orlando). The link, he said, was the way they were drawn to Rome – to its ancient monuments and Renaissance treasures – a journey he explores in a new Rizzoli-published book The Fendi Set (first released in January in the UK, it will arrive in the US at the beginning of April). Exploring Jones’ relationship with the culture-shaping group of artists, intellectuals and writers, it sees collaborator Nikolai von Bismarck photograph their famed gathering spots – Charleston House, Knole House, and Sissinghurst Castle – before heading to the set of the haute couture show in Paris, and then to Rome’s Villa Medici and Villa Borghese, where the histories of Fendi and the Bloomsbury Set meet. The photographs capture Jones’ own contemporary ‘set’ – Christy Turlington, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell among them – alongside original letters, diary entries and excerpts from Bloomsbury members.

GANNI: Gimme More (Rizzoli, 2021)

Ganni girls embody a celebratory, spontaneous, community and eco-aware spirit – one that has been captured within the pages of the Copenhagen-based brand's debut monograph GANNI: Gimme More. The vivid volume, published by Rizzoli, dives into the world of the sustainability-focused, pattern- and print-celebrating label. Look out for a photo essay documenting Ganni's home city, shot by longtime collaborator Ana Kraš; an insightful conversation with the label's creative director Ditte Reffstrup and a vivid visual collage piecing together the brand's raising-the-roof house parties. Laura Hawkins

Versace Catwalk: The Complete Collections (2021)

In recent years, Versace catwalk shows have well and truly broken the internet. For the label’s Milan Fashion Week S/S 2022 offering in September, its campaign star Dua Lipa opened and closed a scintillating runway show, which featured a profusion of its signature motifs: tropical foulard silks, oodles of neon, safety-pin embellishments and a steamy hit of bare skin.

With the release of Versace Catwalk: The Complete Collections, fashion fans can ogle their favourite catwalk collections from the brand – be it the animal-print and power-shouldered silhouettes of the S/S 1983 offering, or the cyber glamour of the S/S 2012 couture show. The volume, authored by esteemed fashion critic Tim Blanks, is paged chronologically and brings together more than 40 years of fashion shows, kicking off with Gianni Versace’s 1978 debut, in a carefully curated edit of some 1,200 images. LH

OBJECT-FORM.FORM!, by Samuel Ross (2021)

Samuel Ross' interdisciplinary mindset – that sees him bridge not only his fashion label A-Cold-Wall* but also his art and design practice SR_A – culminates in Object – Form. Form!, Ross' first major book celebrating the range and extent of his projects and collaborators. Leaf through this visual history of Ross' projects to date, which also features a gallery of short texts by friends, mentors and peers, including Virgil Abloh, Takashi Murakami, Daniel Arsham, Hans Ulrich Obrist and David Adjaye. LH

Vivienne Westwood Catwalk (2021)

Vivienne Westwood vanguards, unite! A veritable treasure trove of images and inspiration, Thames & Hudson-published Vivienne Westwood Catwalk celebrates 40 years of the legendary British designer’s runway collections. Take a coveted seat at the catwalk of over 70 collections and delight in 1,300 looks, that celebrate the historicism-rooted, renegade, punk and environmentalist aesthetic of Westwood. The volume, released in celebration of Westwood's 80th birthday, features an introduction and collection texts by fashion critic Alexander Fury, with contributions by Westwood herself and her partner in life and work Andreas Kronthaler. The book is bound with the brand's iconic tartan, first produced in 1993 and officially recognised by the Scottish register of Tartans. LH

Familiarity (Jil Sander, 2021)

Creative director and husband-and wife-duo Lucie and Luke Meier have collaborated with a cohort of legendary image makers, teaming up with Joel Meyerowitz on Sander's recent A/W 2021 campaign. Now the label has released Familiarity, a limited photographic volume, which sees five image makers, Anders Edström, Olivier Kervern, Chris Rhodes, Lina Scheynius and Mario Sorrenti, personally interpret the the Meiers’ designs. These images offer five distinct visual takes on the Sander aesthetic, which are united by Sander's clothing. The images have been captured inside photographers’ homes and gardens, bringing a sense of intimacy to the photographic series, and a notion of familiarity to elevated fashion. LH

Peter Lindbergh. Azzedine Alaïa (Taschen, 2021)

‘We met in 1979, I believe. Ever since, Azzedine and I are hand in glove. I photographed his collections and I have countless portraits of him,' said renowned German photographer Peter Lindbergh of his longtime friendship with Azzedine Alaïa, before he passed away in 2019. Alaïa and Lindbergh were united on many creative passions: a love for black and the celebration of the female form.

Now, a grayscale Taschen volume – launched in conjunction with the exhibition Azzedine Alaïa, Peter Lindbergh at the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa in Paris – celebrates the creative output of the two artist's, spanning atmospheric settings including the lamp lit streets of Paris and the windswept beach of Le Touquet, and featuring models and musicians including Naomi Campbell, Kristen McMenamy, Madonna and Tina Turner. The book – a must for Alaïa or Lindbergh-obsessed bibliophiles, also features contributions from Fabrice Hergott, director of the Musée d’Art Moderne de la, photographer Paolo Roversi and Olivier Saillard, fashion historian and director of the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa. LH

Silicon Valley. No_Code_Life (Rizzoli, 2021)

When Italian label Tod's launched its No_Code trainer project – a line of silhouettes that adheres to technological and fabric innovation, and invites design visionaries to apply cutting-edge ideas to its designs – it demonstrated a synergy with the forward-thinking mindset of Silicon Valley, and its ascendancy of unicorn companies. Now, in celebration of the famed San Francisco location, and the site of spectacular start-ups, the label has launched a Rizzoli-published book which lenses Silicon Valley, in an alternative light, breaks through the venerated veneer of its streets.

For Silicon Valley. No_Code_Life, Tod's enlisted Iranian-American photographer Ramek Fazel to document the daily goings on in Silicon Valley. For 10 days he roamed its roads, armed with a Rolleiflex, shooting diverse portraits and panoramic views, from aerial shots of lengthy highways to employees armed with colourful Google-branded tote bags. The result is a colourful and multifarious presentation of Silicon Valley existence, rooted in reality, instead of millennial-infused myth. LH

Craig Green x Jack Davison (Limited edition at Dover Street Market, 2021)

In March 2021, London menswear designer Craig Green teamed up with photographer Jack Davison, on a poetic S/S 2021 visual set of images that captured Green’s sculptural, utilitarian and headpiece-accented designs. Now, in celebration of the project, Green and Davison have launched a print media extension of the collaboration, encompassed as a limited set of four riso-printed and saddle-stitched self-cover books, accompanied by Tyvek sheet posters, printed in a spectrum of colour variations. From midday tomorrow, 13 May 2021, a mere 30 sets of the books will be available, for free, for the public to collect from Craig Green’s space at Dover Street London. LH

Pucci (Taschen, 2021)

One designer who had the ability to imbue escapism into every garment was Emilio Pucci. The Italian designer was a doyen of dramatic, pattern-splashed clothing, which also had a boundary-pushing comfortable appeal, and was sported on the ski slopes and in the chicest summer resorts. Now, a Taschen released tome celebrates the history of the print-swathed Pucci dynasty, in a volume brimming with archival images, sketches and eye-catching ephemera. Pucci, features accompanying text by fashion critic Vanessa Friedman and is wrapped in a tactile fabric cover, with a selection of archive prints abounding in abstract swirls and tropical blooms. LH

Her Dior: Maria Grazia’s New Voice (Rizzoli, 2021)

During her creative tenure at Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri has made feminism an integral part of her aesthetic expression, collaborating with revolutionary female artists including Judy Chicago and Tomasina Binga and creating silhouettes that explore the multi dimensional facets of womanhood. Now, a new publication by Rizzoli New York, brings together a host of female photographers, including Wallpaper* contributor Brigitte Niedermair, Nan Goldin, Sarah Moon and Laura Coulson, in a visual exchange exploring female identity.

‘Seeking a dialogue from the outset with these women artists, writers and activists, they themselves at times distant from me and from fashion, was party and parcel of my focus on the reasons and the situations that I believed we urgent, and that I wanted to put at the heart of my creative process,’ Chiuri explains in the volume’s Introduction. LH

Stazione Termini, Lookbook 2009-2021 (Drago, 2021)

Niccolò Berretta has been drawn to the anthropological bravura of August Sander and Diane Arbus since he first started taking pictures. ‘I see their work as a sort of catalogue of human beings yet with the search for the mysterious,’ he says. In 2009 he began taking photographs of some of the one hundred and fifty million passengers that pass each year through Rome’s Stazione Termini. Now 490 of them have been brought together in a chunky book published by Drago.

The first edition includes a glossy wraparound featuring models striding the streets of Esquilino in the 15th rione wearing REDValentino’s Spring/Summer 21 collection. Between the covers, we see couples dressed in matching shiny puffa jackets, a cigar smoking man in a finely tailored navy suit, stickered suitcases, knitted leg warmers, and sunglasses pushed up onto people’s heads. ‘I do not go beyond the mirror they see themselves in every day,’ Berretta says in the introduction. This is more than just a record of quotidian style, it is an archive of a city and its people in flux. ‘An integral part of this visual process is the environment: the advertisements, the construction sites, the cars, the street signs, the scenography that speak to their time. The subtitle Lookbook 2009-2021 is an ironic reference to the world of fashion in which everything is fleeting, fast and almost does not exist.’ Dal Chodha

MSGM 10! The (in)complete Brand Anthology (Rizzoli, 2020)

The vibrancy, pattern and eclectic flavour of Massimo Giorgetti’s MSGM is synonymous with modern Milanese design, and in celebration of the label’s tenth birthday, the brand has released a Rizzoli-published monogram, majestic in colour and warmth. The volume, which is visually inspired by a fanzine and was art directed by Giorgetti himself, features a mix of fashion-focused and personal memories, from his dogs Pane and Coda to effusive editorial images. With contributing texts from friends and collaborators including Maurizio Cattelan, super stylist Katie Grand and journalist Charlie Porter, this is a must read for any MSGM enthusiast. LH

Images (Jacquemus, 2020)

Simone Porte Jacquemus understands the transportive power of Instagram. The designer has long used the medium to convey the sun-drenched seduction his brand reflects, associated with the sand-lined shored of Southern France. During lockdown the designer even shot S/S 2020 digital campaign images with Bella Hadid, Barbie Ferreira and Steve Lacy, showcasing the uplifting results on the social media channel. Now, in his second publication to date, Jacquemus has released ‘Images’, a book of his favourite 321 Instagram images, edited down from the 85,041 pictures he has stored on his phone. The publication is a soothing snapshot of summer, boasting beachside shots, architectural and food close-ups and Jacquemus-clad portraits. They capture the energetic, warm and downtime-focused essence of the brand, whether you’re browsing the book from a sun bed in its founder’s beloved hometown Marseille, or city-bound on the sofa. LH

Sicily (Jil Sander, 2020)

We’re all in need of a touch of escapism right now, and lucky for us, Jil Sander’s Lucie and Luke Meier have just released a sun-kissed pictorial road trip around Sicily, lensed by photographer Olivier Kervern. The analogue amalgamation was first presented back in February at Milan Fashion Week at the brand’s Via Sant’Andrea exhibition space, and the sleek volume also serves up a series of portraits depicting the brand’s A/W 2020 offering. While road-tripping may feel out of reach, Sicily will feel out of the way enough when this book is held in the palm of your hands. LH

Sportmax (Assouline, 2020)

This Assouline-published volume by Luke Leitch and Olivier Saillard offers a pleasingly pictorial stroll through the five-decade history of the sports and casual wear-focused label Sportmax, founded in 1969 by Achille Maramotti. Sketches and advertising campaign images abound, highlighting the boldy saturated shades that define Sportmax’s aesthetic and capture the style signatures of the creatives who anonymously worked on the brand’s collections, including Nanni Strada, Jean- Charles de Castelbajac, Odile Lançon and Guy Paulin. LH

Prada Catwalk (Thames & Hudson, 2019)

When it comes to a Prada catwalk show, fans of the Milanese label delight in decoding the various archive Prada-isms which appear in each collection, be it S/S 1996’s icky ‘Formica’ prints, S/S 2000’s tessellated lipstick pattern, a heavy brown shoe or a pleated knee length skirt. Now, a new tome houses all of the brand’s catwalk collections in one place, from Miuccia Prada’s debut A/W 1988 runway offering, with its schoolgirl simplicity and utilitarian tailoring, to her S/S 2019 collection, boasting bourgeois takes on its signature nylon fabric, chubby Alice bands and swathes of grunge green satin. The Thames & Hudson published volume, written by fashion critic Susannah Frankel offers commentary on each collection featured, and boasts over 1,300 illustrations, making it the perfect printed tool for Prada fans everywhere, vying to decode the designer’s famed aesthetic, her obsessions and eccentricities and the brand’s boundary-breaking sensibility. LH

Chanel: The Impossible Collection (Assouline, 2019)

It’s fitting that this clamshell-cased tome, measuring nearly fifty centimetres in length, is purchased with a complimentary pair of white gloves. For ‘Chanel: The Impossible Collection' is a bookshelf treasure equal to the house’s signature bouclé tweed suit or its 2.55 handbag. This enormous edition is a tribute to the famed Parisian maison; its glossy pages are packed with fashion show shots, magazine editorials, newspaper cuttings, illustrations and portraits. As part of the volume, author and fashion critic Alexander Fury has also selected 100 iconic looks that represent the house, from the Little Black Dress to the day suit. ‘Let them copy, my ideas belong to everyone, I refuse no one,’ Gabrielle Chanel told The New York Times in January 1971. It’s hard to refuse this book too. LH

Fashion Central Saint Martins (Thames & Hudson, 2019)

Alexander McQueen, Phoebe Philo, Wallpaper* October issue guest editor Hussein Chalayan: some of the most lauded, experimental and innovative designers in the world began their fashion lives in the hallowed halls of Central Saint Martins in London. Fashion Central Saint Martins – published by Thames & Hudson and edited by the school’s programme director of fashion, Hywel Davies, and Cally Blackman, lecturer in fashion history and theory – takes a bold, collaged and archival amble through the art school’s fashion history, which began in 1938, when six years after its fashion school was founded by Muriel Pemberton, it began teaching fashion design and drawing.

Its colourful, cut-and-paste pages are divided into decades, allowing the reader to party alongside the school’s Blitz Kids Eighties alumni, like journalist Hamish Bowles and John Galliano before touring into the 2010s, the era of Craig Green, Charles Jeffrey and Molly Goddard. Expect pages packed with unseen student work, essays from guest writers including Sarah Mower and Judith Watt, and intimate insight into the student lives of some of fashion’s most important figures today. LH

Legaspi: Larry Legaspi, the 70s, and the Future of Fashion (Rizzoli, 2019)

‘It’s me fetishizing him through a fanboy filter’ says Rick Owens of the subject of his latest Rizzoli New York release, dedicated to the work and aesthetic of 70s unsung design hero Larry Legaspi, who created pioneering looks for musical behemoths including KISS, LaBelle and George Clinton. Owens’ men’s and women’s Glam Rock-ready A/W 2019 collection was also dedicated to the designer and featured sinched streamlined tailoring, platform boots and plenty of stage-ready make-up.

For the first ever book documenting LeGaspi’s work, Owens had unprecedented access to his partner’s archives – Legaspi died of Aids in 2001 – and the book is an amalgam of archive backstage imagery, tour posters and sketches, interspersed with newly Owens-lensed images of LeGaspi’s designs, alongside commentary from Patti LaBelle, André Leon Talley and Pat Cleveland. ‘Larry introduced a camp ferocity to the mainstream and helped set a lot of kids like me free,’ Owens adds. We urge you to get introduced too. LH

Store cafes have long been a key part of retail strategy for fashion houses who want to create all-encompassing lifestyle offerings. However, what began as a way to make a brand more accessible and encourage shoppers to stay in stores for longer has quickly become a stepping stone on the way to setting up more extensive hospitality operations.

This year has seen a number of luxury brands launching stand-alone cafés and restaurants that capitalise on the parallels between food and fashion. Both celebrated for their craft or artisanal element, cuisine and couture make the perfect pairing for consumers who care about provenance, quality of ingredients and exclusivity. 

A.P.C. Café 

Opening this week at Paris' Galerie Joyce and running until the end of January, A.P.C.'s debut cafe concept marks the launch of the brand's exclusive single origin coffee. The mocha class beans from Ethiopia, which took A.P.C. founder Jean Touitou over a year to source and select, are used to make all of the drinks on the menu.

‘I don't like to have too many choices,' says Touitou - perhaps an unsurprising statement from a man who built his brand on practicality. ‘Too often all of the options are bad and it's like a fake democracy. I prefer to offer one coffee made in the best conditions possible.' 

In addition to coffee, customers at Café A.P.C. can purchase a tight edit of A.P.C. products and enjoy an exhibition curated by designer and A.P.C. collaborator Jessica Ogden that delves into the brand's archives. If the cafe concept is a success, Touitou says that A.P.C.'s coffee could eventually make an appearance at all 88 of its stores worldwide and that other fine foods produced by A.P.C. could follow including capers grown on a slice of land owned by Touitou on the Italian island of Pantelleria, and at a later date perhaps, a natural wine.

‘At A.P.C. we are creating more and more interactions with other brands and creative people,' enthuses Touitou. ‘We want to keep moving forward. We want to wake up in the morning and do something that genuinely excites us.'

Oursin by Jacquemus & Kaspia

With its lime coated white walls, rattan chairs and climbing vines, stepping into the newly-opened Oursin restaurant on the second floor of Galeries Lafayette Champs-Elysées in Paris is like being transported to a sun-drenched courtyard in the south of France.

Its Mediterranean scenery, designed entirely by Simon Porte Jacquemus, is a homage to the region of Provence where the French fashion designer was raised and that is the inspiration behind much of his work.

The restaurant, which opened its doors in a timely manner during September's Paris Fashion Week, is a collaboration between Jacquemus, Galeries Lafayette Champs-Elysées' creative director Clara Cornet, and the high-end gastronomy group Caviar Kaspia. 

Chef Erica Archambault was tapped to design the eatery's mouthwatering menu which is made up of seafood dishes including sea urchin tarama, linguine with clams and Sicilian salsa, red mullet escabeche and mashed potatoes adorned with Baeri caviar and whipped cream.

Café Kitsuné New York

ith six cafes opened in as many years, and its own roastery in Okayama, Maison Kitsuné is leading the way when it comes to blending clothing and coffee.

‘When we created Kitsuné, it was really about doing what we loved and what we were passionate about at that time, all day, every day,' explains Masaya Kuroki, who co-founded the brand alongside Gildas Loaëc in 2002 with the goal of creating a brand that fused a music label and a clothing brand. ‘We took the time to learn and to grow our businesses organically.'

Now with coffee shops established in Paris, Tokyo, Seoul and Okayama, the brand is making its stateside debut with a cafe in New York.

Opened this month in the city's West Village, Café Kitsuné New York boasts a menu created by chef Yuji Tani that includes specialty coffee drinks, sweet and savoury treats, internationally-influenced small plates and natural wines selected by wine expert Billy Smith. 

The interior, designed by Kuroki alongside long-time collaborator TBD Architecture Studio, is a blend of influences from France – rattan bistro chairs by Maison Drucker – and Japan – softly diffused lighting and white oak. Meanwhile the exposed brick walls are distinctly New York.

‘For our three activities, Maison Kitsuné – the clothing brand, Kitsuné Musique – the music label, and Café Kitsuné – our hospitality branch, our goal is to go further, always,' concludes Kuroki.

INFORMATION

apc.fr
jacquemus.com
maisonkitsune.com

Scene setting: What better place to hold an Italian-inspired summer collection than the nation’s embassy in Paris? For his S/S 2019 collection, Simon Porte Jacquemus held a sumptuous open-air show in the gardens of the Ambassade d’Italie, with guests seated on the grass on summery white chairs, facing a glossy elevated catwalk. For the show’s climax the models assembled on the splendid balcony of the building, waving to front rowers below.

Mood board: Simon Porte Jacquemus’ S/S 2019 summer wardrobe ain’t for the faint hearted. You’ll need a lithe limb and a heavy dose of self-confidence to pull off these looks. The designer was considering holiday ensembles for a Jacquemus woman summering on the Italian Riviera. On her packing list? Magenta hot pants and micro baby doll dresses, wool sarongs, tiny bikinis and slashed shirt dresses. Not forgetting strappy stilettos and huge hoop earrings. It was sultry and beachy, exotic and alluring, clothes for making waves on the shores of Cinque Terre or Portofino.

Finishing touches: The huge straw hat from Jacquemus’ A/W 2018 has been an Instagram sensation. Danish model Emma Leth even wore the design to walk down the aisle in June. Social media loves an exaggerated proportion and the micro handbags which Jacquemus has tapped into over the last few seasons nod into this trend. For S/S 2019, he swapped the hat for the holdall. His woman won’t be travelling to the Italian Riviera with a suitcase. Instead she’ll be taking an oversized straw bag, complete with trailing fronds of raffia.

Mood board: Simon Porte Jacquemus has certainly come a long way. From showing a collection of naive, purposefully childlike collections worn by his friend and presented in a swimming pool, his shows have evolved to become what we saw last night: an event at the Petit Palais — one of Paris’s landmarks — filled with photographers and attended by a who’s who of fashion people (even Christian Lacroix, one of the designer’s heroes, was there). Most of them were stealthily speculating what the ‘#newjob’ the designer has been going on about for months on social media could be. Some of us had heard Céline a while ago. Maybe Courrèges? Could it possibly be… Chanel? Well, neither. According to the designer’s sweatshirt when he took his bow after the show — yes, the official announcement came via his sweatshirt — he will be presenting a menswear collection for the very first time next June, a decision he has taken 'because he is finally in love'. Way to get the whole fashion sphere stirred.

Best in show: In 2017, a collection titled ‘Le Souk’ could potentially be a cultural appropriation catastrophe. Nothing further from the truth here. Jacquemus carefully veered away from any reference to Yves Saint Laurent or from taking too literally the shapes or adornments of traditional Moroccan fashion, distilling it instead almost into a structure to be covered by pared-down timeless French chic. In his hands, djellabas turned into extra long dresses, full of lightness but also of texture and body. Long skirts had extra sexy slits — we have to thank the designer for bringing the sexy French woman back, we had missed her — and accessories became extra pure, free of any superfluous adornment.

Sound bite: As the designer explained backstage, the collection was originally intended to be a summer one, and the idea came to him after taking a trip to Morocco following his prior show: ‘I got lost in the souks with just one thing on my mind: I want to make it my next summer collection. I came back to Paris and made my winter of it; my winter collection. Not wasting any more time, my warm winter.’ With all those those light coats, hopefully next winter will be milder than this one.

Mood board: A few months ago, during an interview, Simon Porte mysteriously mentioned that the collection he felt most proud of was the one he would present in Paris in September. Last evening we understood why. Even before the first look made its appearance, it was clear that something had changed: Santana’s rhythmic guitar is something one would never expect on a Jacquemus runway. Nor were the silk pareo-like skirts, dotted and fringed, the cotton gauze dresses held together by tiny straps or the barely-there transparent lurex minidresses. And yet it all felt unmistakably Jacquemus. As the designer said backstage, it was about French island girls, living everywhere from Corsica to the Caribbean. And if the interpretation felt literal, we can’t help but be excited by this new sexy Jacquemus.

Scene setting: As a backdrop for a collection full of Spanish winks (the polka dots, the mantilla style skirts, the music), Simon Porte chose the Musée Picasso, an hôtel particulier with a patio in the heart of the Marais which, inexplicably, had never before been used for a fashion event. It proved perfect, especially for the after party, where guests clad in Jacquemus’s trademark square-and-round heel shoes danced to Tito Puente. While in most fashion parties ‘more is more’ is the rule of thumb, here full effect was achieved with only a few garland lights placed around a lemon tree.

Finishing touches: Last season we witnessed Porte’s first foray into accessories, with cutout-effect bags in apple green and bubble-gum pink that quickly sold out. This time, both new bags and shoes were introduced. The sculpture-like heels looked particularly bankable, as did the long metal and ceramic earrings in the shape of lemons, spirals and Greek columns, sometimes paired with oversize straw hats worn over silk foulards tied to the head. All of which will no doubt be worn with gusto by Jacquemus fans all over the world. 

Mood board: Jacquemus’ Simon Porte  has grown up. His collections are no longer synonymous with childlike innocence, but adult, carefully organised affairs with a very real commercial potential. This transition was even more obvious this season, as models carefully dressed mostly in black graced the catwalk. Boring? Not when the black piece is a capri pant, or a high-waisted torero-inspired skirt, or paired with a pastel coat. Did we miss the old Jacquemus, full of humour and lightness? Almost. But, on the other hand, he's probably the only designer who would make us desperately want to wear ruched capri pants.

Scene setting: Guests clumsily stumbled into a very dark space at the – not very central – Paris Event Center, which magically lit up as the music started playing. A guitar version of Edith Piaf's Sous le ciel de Paris sounded as the lights revealed a bubble gum pink felt catwalk that matched perfectly the black, ivory and pastel pink palette of the collection.

Finishing touches: The French designer might have found his adult voice when it comes to ready to wear, but his old naïveté was still there... in the accessories! Bags were almost omnipresent this time, most of them with colourful leather cutouts, held upside down by bright gold gourmette chains, although there were also rectangular designs in pale green, pink and blue as well as micro bags fit for a single lipstick. And yet, we'd bet our ruched capri pants that they'll be best-sellers.