Mood board: Last season, Maison Margiela presented its menswear collection just as the results of the EU referendum were announced. This time around, the brand’s presentation fell on the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration. So who knows what we can expect come June this year? In times of political uncertainty, as always, the response from the creative community has been to make more art. Following a major exhibition last summer at the Pompidou Centre, the designers at Margiela looked to the Beat Generation – that oft-referenced period in the 1950s which saw hordes of city-dwelling teens reject the conventional in favour of self-expression and bebop. This was a brave new world of poetry, philosophy and pizzazz.
Scene setting: The Beat Generation 2.0 sat in peaceful protest. A milieu of artists and philosophers had been cast, wearing clothes that were unapologetically French; a Rive Gauche loucheness. The house’s well explored military references were here made a little softer and free of anger and violence. The clothes all had a worn-in, confident wit to them. One boy sat quietly bent into his copy of Henri Bergson’s The World of Dreams, studying a chapter on space and homology. Our future will perhaps seem a little less bleak wearing a grey Prince of Wales check overcoat and split cuff trousers.
Finishing touches: With its cerebral dedication to the process of making, the label chose to leave many of the clothes incomplete, as if their creators had been interrupted. The shoulders of a tailored jacket were left with their topstitching and with unfinished prints. Split shirting, cord-tied outerwear and hand knit sweaters or natural shearlings were sprayed with positive, upbeat colour.
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Il Sereno’s new Listening Suite is what phonophiles’ dreams are made ofDesigned by Patricia Urquiola, the new Lake Como-facing suite unites Japanese listening culture with Italian design
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Y.Z. Kami's meditative, architecturally-inspired Domes take over Gagosian Beverly HillsA collection of Kami's Dome and Messenger paintings are currently united at Gagosian Beverly Hills
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Bees can now check in at Kew’s new pollinator hotelAt Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden, artist Kristina Pulejkova unveils four functional sculptures that tell the hidden story of seeds and act as a refuge for bees during the heat of summer
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Haute Couture Week A/W 2025: what to expectFive moments to look out for at Haute Couture Week A/W 2025 in Paris (starting Monday 7 July), from Glenn Martens’ debut for Maison Margiela to Demna’s Balenciaga swansong. Plus, ‘new beginnings’ from JW Anderson
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Donna Trope celebrates the power of the Polaroid in Paris‘Polaroids used to be my rejects, and now they are my holy grail,’ says the beauty photographer, as she shows rarely seen images in a Paris exhibition
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Palace unites with Rapha to celebrate inaugural Tour de France FemmesMarking the first time women will compete in the historic cycling race since the late 1980s, this new collaboration sees Palace Skateboards and Rapha create uniforms for both on and off the bike – including an ‘outlandish’ pair of Crocs
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Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022: Chanel to Miu MiuIn this extended report, Wallpaper* updates you live from Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022 shows, with rolling coverage as runway events unfold
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Scene-stealing runway sets from S/S 2022 womenswear showsFrom giant roulette wheels to Olympic diving boards and multi-city synchronized extravaganzas – our pick of the best fashion show sets from S/S 2022 womenswear
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Louis Vuitton A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's -
Chanel A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women’s -
Y/Project A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's
