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STOCKHOLM FASHION WEEK

FASHION

Whyred’s boys battle with an identity crisis

Whyred's love of contrasts was evident on Tuesday, not in the differences between men and women – as the collection was, as to be expected, largely androgynous – but in a smart vs. casual approach for the boys with undertones youth discontent.

Published: 28 August 2013 06:56 CEST
Whyred's boys battle with an identity crisis

Last season’s boy-meets-world thread continued throughout this collection but winter 2013’s dark, moody, even at times grungy looks were lighter, starker and cleaner. Clinical white and cloudy grey came from Whyred’s inspiration for spring/summer collection, Fårö and Ingmar Bergman’s Through A Glass Darkly. Whilst the sharp construction of the boys tailoring found its origins in the work of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.

IN PICTURES: Mercedes Benz Stockholm Fashion Week Whyred Men’s spring/Summer 2014

Whyred’s lads for spring/summer 2014 were transitional Peter Pans; caught somewhere between boy and man. Confusion was further implemented in Neo-camouflage caps worn with matching shirts, sneakers and loose-fitting suits in stone, steel and strait-jacket white.

Whyred’s signature parka made an appearance over dapper tailoring, in the designers’ own words, “to confront the sharp dressed with the casual”. It worked. Any notion of the impeccably-dressed gentleman was down-played with caps, that most divisive of trouser – the harem – worn with a slim-fitting blazer and knee-high socks.

FOR FULL FASHION WEEK COVERAGE: Dagmar, Carin Wester, J. Lindeberg and counting – reviews and galleries of Sweden’s top fashion designers here

Whilst the girls had a more extensive palette of peach Bellini and moss green to play with, the men were either sober in white, angsty in black or nonchalant in pale grey.

IN PICTURES: Mercedes Benz Stockholm Fashion Week Whyred Women’s spring/Summer 2014

Highlights included matching silk tee and trousers in dappled Whyred Red – comic book villain crimson – with a matching pyjama suit for the girls; a nod to something beneath the surface.

The contrast between content and confusion, youth and maturity, casual and sharp played out well. At first glance, things appear simple; introduce muddled prints and the intentionally restrained use of colour and Whyred boys for spring/summer 2014 aren’t really sure who they are.

Victoria Hussey

Follow Victoria on Twitter here

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FASHION

Paris exhibition celebrates 100 years of French Vogue

A new exhibition in Paris will tell the story of 100 years of French Vogue - from the post-war 'New Look' of Christian Dior through the sexual liberation of the 1960s to the dangling-cigarette waifs of the 2000s.

Published: 7 October 2021 08:21 CEST
French Vogue celebrates 100 years
French Vogue celebrates 100 years. Photo: Thomas Olva/AFP

But as well as celebrating the magazine’s storied history, the exhibit comes at a time of turbulence for the publication.

Just last month, it was confirmed that its editor of 10 years, Emmanuelle Alt, was out and wouldn’t be replaced.

She was not alone.

Looking to cut costs, owner Conde Nast International has axed editors across Europe over the past year, and put international Vogue editions under the direct control of global editorial director, Anna Wintour, in New York.

New York-based Anna Wintour now has overall control of French Vogue. Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

Like much of the media industry, Vogue is struggling with tumbling sales and ad revenue in the digital era.

But the latest twist is also part of the endless push and pull between New York and Paris going back to its early days.

“The whole history of French Vogue is one of back-and-forth with Conde Nast in New York – growing more independent for a while, then being reined back in,” said Sylvie Lecallier, curator of the new exhibition, “Vogue Paris 1920-2020″, which opened this weekend after a year’s delay due to the pandemic.

The Paris edition was often the loftier, more bohemian sibling to its more hard-nosed New York version.

But it was also the hotbed in which much of 20th century style and womenhood came to be defined.

“Paris was the place to hunt out talent and content and bring it to New York,” said Lecallier.

The exhibition charts the evolution from art deco drawings of the 1920s through the erotic image-making of photographers like Helmut Newton in the 1960s and 1970s.

Its last peak was under editor Carine Roitfeld in the 2000s, who brought back a provocative Gallic identity by ridding the newsroom of foreign staff and becoming a fashion icon in her own right.

Her successor, Alt, was a quieter presence, though she still oversaw key moments including its first transgender cover star, Brazilian Valentina Sampaio, in 2017.

But internet culture has created “a perfect storm” for Vogue, says media expert Douglas McCabe of Enders Analysis.

“The first 80 years of Vogue’s life, it had the market to itself, it was the bible for fashion,” McCabe told AFP.

“But online today, there are so many other ways to get your information. Influencers, Instagram, YouTube — everyone’s a threat.”

In a world where new fashion trends can blow up around the world in seconds, it has become much harder for a monthly magazine to set the pace.

“It’s not that they can’t survive for another 100 years — but they will be differently sized,” McCabe said.

Vogue has tried to branch out into different areas, including events.

“I used to work for a magazine, and today I work for a brand,” Alt said on the eve of French Vogue’s 1,000th issue in 2019.

But the big money was always in print, and Vogue Paris sales are dropping steadily from 98,345 in 2017 to 81,962 to 2020, according to data site ACPM.

It is perhaps unsurprising that the new top job in Paris, redefined as “head of editorial content”, went to Eugenie Trochu, who was key to building the magazine’s online presence.

She declared herself “thrilled to be part of Vogue’s international transformation”.

For the curator of the exhibition, it is ironic timing.

“We had no idea it would end like this when we started work on the exhibition,” said Lecallier.

“Who knows where it will go from here.”

The exhibition Vogue Paris 1920-2020 is at the Palais Galliera in Paris’ 16th arrondissement. The gallery is open 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays. Tickets for the exhibition are €14 (€12 for concessions and under 18s go free) and must be reserved online in advance. 

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