Plus Loro Piana’s cozy cashmere capsule and Tiffany & Co.’s lock collection
Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL
Stellar Cast
The graphic prints of Frank Stella figure prominently in Stella McCartney’s Fall/Winter 2022 ready-to-wear collection, a collaboration with the Massachusetts-born artist known for his minimalist abstract paintings and sculptural maximalist work. The line, aptly called Stella by Stella, features vibrant prints inspired by the 1994 Spectralia lithograph and pieces that evoke his geometric-shaped canvases, as well as dresses and slim flannel suits bearing the artist’s famed color-blocked linework. Though Stella spent most of his career in New York, he worked on and off in Los Angeles for Gemini Graphic Editions Limited making prints in the 1960s. The patterns McCartney applies throughout the collection are arresting, spanning the artist’s broad-ranging career. Knitwear twin sets and masculine wool coats feature lines from Stella’s V Series lithographs from the 1960s, while fluid stretch viscose dresses showcase his Moby Dick-inspired 1980s Ahab prints. Silk dresses with embroidered gunmetal chain fringe evoke the artist’s metallic sculptures of the 1990s. stellamccartney.com.
Spot On
In collaboration with Disney, Givenchy’s new capsule collection celebrates the beloved spotted dogs of the 1961 animated film 101 Dalmatians with styles including spotted destroyed denim, two-tone Cut Out bags, rubber platform slides, leather sneakers and heart-shaped jewelry. “I think it’s important in the creative field to have magic and wonder inside your heart,” says designer Matthew M. Williams, who developed the trove of ready-to-wear for men and women. He notes that house founder Hubert de Givenchy, a devoted dog owner who loved animals and commissioned Diego Giacometti to make small sculptures of them, led to the selection of this particular film for the capsule. For the occasion, Disney animators developed a hand-drawn animated short of the dogs on holiday in Paris—where they meet an animated Kate Moss while getting a first look at the new designs in a Givenchy boutique window. South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, 714-545-2185; givenchy.com.
The Book of Abloh
Encompassing the arc of eight seminal menswear collections, Louis Vuitton: Virgil Abloh (Assouline, $120) immortalizes the French fashion house’s artistic director of menswear, who passed away last November at age 41 after a battle with cancer. Written by the designer’s close collaborator, Anders Christian Madsen of British Vogue and i-D, the book traces Abloh’s early days as a visionary entrepreneur who trained as an architect and later founded the brand Off-White. Abloh, the first African-American to hold the role at Vuitton, based his practice around a child’s outlook on life. Balloons, paper planes and kites fill his dream-like sets, and his core questions—“What is art, who makes it, where does it hang, and who gets to look at it?”—continue to resonate, as do the shoes. The volume’s expanded iteration includes a compendium of sneakers, down to Abloh’s 2022 Air Force 1s. Trainers, he said, evoke our childhoods, invite us to recall certain eras and “are linked so much to emotion.
Softly does it
The dreamy soft separates in Loro Piana’s latest collection are designed to gently envelope our bodies throughout the day, for moving fluidly through our lives at home and out in the world. The Cocooning Collection is comprised of everyday pieces made from sumptuous materials, spanning cashmere slip dresses, trousers and shorts mixed with crop tops, camisoles, hoodies, turtlenecks and ribbed cardigans, plus ideal-for-fall thigh-high socks and slippers. The loungy looks for meditative moments or coffee runs have a muted, earthy color palette attuned to shades of autumnal foliage and the seasonal changes ahead. If ever there were a look signaling calm, this is it. loropiana.com.
In Action
Independent activewear brand Magnlens recently opened its first brick-and-mortar boutique in Los Angeles to house its sustainably produced line. The 1,600-square-foot store is stocked with monthly drops featuring Vice President Creative Director Andrew Buckler’s breathable and moisture-wicking men’s and women’s clothing, footwear and accessories. The high-performance textiles and knits are made from bark, wood pulp, leaves and other plant-based materials that are milled to create soft viscose, modal and lyocell yarns, in addition to recycled polyester, wool, rayon, bamboo and cotton. The moody, minimalist space, designed by Natalia Coll and Santiago Hinojos’ Laseu Studio, will host pop-ups and live online sales directly from the store, where you can find everything from blazers, varsity jackets and sweater vests to snap-front polos, crop tops, sweats, anorak dresses and all manner of T-shirts. Westfield Century City, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A., 424-284-3350; magnlens.com.
Best of Lock
The padlock, always an inspiration at Tiffany & Co., returns to the forefront of the storied jewelry house’s latest collection. The all-gender Tiffany Lock bracelet, in 18-karat yellow, rose or white gold, reinterprets an archival design as a sleek and modern accessory. The company had made functioning padlocks in the late 1800s and memorably employed the motif in its midcentury designs for key rings, money clips, brooches and necklaces, later reintroducing the shape in recent collections such as Tiffany HardWear. Today, the new Tiffany Lock bracelets’ click closure evokes the sound of the earliest fastenings. The handsome ovals—the company’s nod to inclusivity and togetherness—are available in diamond-embellished or metal-only styles. tiffany.com.
Star Struck
Van Cleef & Arpels has a history of putting its own spin on Western Zodiac signs, and once again the French jewelry house is looking to the heavens and the earth for its latest two Zodiaque collections. In homage to an archival classic pendant design from the 1970s, a new group of rose-gold necklaces has debuted, each one depicting a celestial symbol alongside ornamental stones evoking water, earth, air and fire. Also, a new set of yellow-gold medals—riffing on a 1950s house collection—is launching in smaller dimensions. Formerly produced as charms and cufflinks, the polished gold 21-millimeter pieces include zodiac depictions and dates in relief. vancleefarpels.com.
Parts of this story originally appeared in the Fashionable Living 2022 and Men’s Edition 2022 issues of C Magazine.
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