by Alex R. Travers It was Dior’s first Pre-Fall runway show and its Belgian designer, Raf Simons, wanted to present the collection in an urban landscape in Japan. The street would have worked, but it wasn’t practical. So instead he chose Tokyo’s Ryōgoku sumo stadium, a venue where many buy tickets to watch sporting events …
by Alex R. Travers Photography by Margaret Gibbons Wearable tech is hitting stores. Genetically modified babies are being produced. The Internet is monitoring our every move. It appears that the opening of artist Rachel Lee Hovnanian’s exhibit, “Plastic Perfect,” a look at the relationship between digital technology and human interaction, couldn’t have come at a …
by Alex R. Travers You’ll have to take your eyes off the fluorescent summer furs to navigate the creative twists in Gilles Mendel’s latest collection. For his J. Mendel spring 2015,the designer collaborates with Enoc Perez, an artist whose signature works are large-scale paintings of modernist buildings. Bear with me. What’s interesting about Perez is …
by Alex R. Travers Ralph Lauren walks on water. Except unlike in Matthew 14:22-33, Lauren’s fashion disciples aren’t terrified at the site. They’re excited, marveling at the designer’s questing spirit and uncanny abilities. OK, time out. You may have some questions. He walks on water? Yes, but it’s a digital projection, lit on a cascading …
by Alex R. Travers If anyone asks you where the best and brightest young designers are coming from, point to Wes Gordon. His landmark spring 2015 collection signals the arrival of a designer who’s developed a love affair with sumptuous fabrics and straightforward silhouettes. He may not be the hottest ticket in town right now, …
by Alex R. Travers Symmetry is beautiful. It contains a sense of harmony and balance. But when it comes to clothes, asymmetry can have a certain offbeat charm. It’s supposed to trip us up: Manipulated hemlines. Curved zippers. Oddly placed pockets. These geometries demand our attention. BCBG designers Max and Lubov Azria understand this, carefully …
by Alex R. Travers Before Dunhill was praised for its men’s wear, England’s Alfred Dunhill had become an icon of the automotive and tobacco industries, a gentleman who celebrated creativity and claimed to sell “everything for the car but the motor.” He peddled horns, lamps, leather overcoats, goggles, picnic sets, and timepieces, developing a new …