A very hungry caterpillar
Great quotes about a collection that wasn't so great, Substack predictions, plus a few realizations
Since announcing a very slight change in the newsletter’s format, it has gained a few new subscribers. Welcome! As mentioned last week, each letter will contain links to fashion and culture articles (peppered with personal commentary) and then end with a few other things I can’t stop thinking about. It is made for you to easily read during your commute to work or your coffee break. I just like to lurk online like you guys, only to complain about my screen time later on.
Weekly roundup
A lack of sex appeal
After seven years, Calvin Klein is back on the runway, with Veronica Leoni, previously at The Row and Celine, at its helm. While the collection displays her years of experience and her eagerness to pay homage to the archives, it felt that something was lacking: the sensuality that was so ingrained in the brand. “For a brand so seminal in linking clothes to our most libidinal selves, I was left with the impression it had flown the coop judging by a lineup of rigid, overworked clothes,” writes Martin Lerma of No Sale. “The Calvin Klein of the 1990s (the latter half of the decade, in particular) has been plundered, rifled through, recycled, quoted, copied and rehashed to oblivion,“ he adds later in his piece.
Let us now turn to the great fashion critic Cathy Horyn, who echoes a similar sentiment in her review, pointing out that the collection needed a lot more sex appeal. She also adds: “It’s nice to be respectful to a founder and a legend, one whose taste influenced style and advertising in the 1980s and 90s. However, in my view, Leoni and the Calvin Klein company needed to make a clean break again, as Simons did in 2017. Leave the past in the past. And instead, give us a strong sense of change.“
With the pace of the industry today, people expect either a big name or an instant hit. At the same time, I also think creative directors need time to grow into their roles. Success doesn’t always happen overnight, even though we’d all love it to.
Copycats aka the Rowdents
There are some topics I feel I talk about a little too much: filmmakers or authors I’m into at the moment, Sex and the City, RHONY, and the enigmatic Olsen twins. Having said this, it should come as no surprise that I devoured Rachel Tashjian’s piece on copycats being the biggest trend at NYFW—the copycats in question knocking off the twins’ 19-year-old brand, The Row. She mentions brands such as Colleen Allen (“the most Instagrammed“ of the season), Khaite (does well in stores but is “a pale and pretentious imitation, shown in self-serious settings“), and Altuzarra, the latter being the brand she feels does the best among the ones mentioned. It also mocked those of us who are Olsen-obsessed, which made me laugh: “The Substackian lust for ‘having taste’ always seems to go back to these two petite women, so private they don’t use social media or even bow at the close of their show, whose stores are decorated with rugs by Jean Lurçat and art by Julian Schnabel.“
More brands are predicted to join Substack in 2025
Last week, The Real Real launched its Substack by an anonymous writer, in a tone blatantly inspired by Gossip Girl. It’s interesting to see brands veering towards this direction. Feed Me’s Emily Sundberg spoke to Kristen Naiman, The Real Real’s Chief Creative Officer, about their decision, and then got this answer: “Whether you’re reading the work of Lady Whistledown or Gossip Girl, an anonymous writer is a compelling narrator. And if we’re being honest, we found the perfect person to write it- a real power user who doesn’t work here. And we thought anonymity would allow them the freedom to be completely candid.“
Last month, GQ hired an anonymous writer as well, although on their website and not on Substack. I’m curious if you think the companies you work for would be willing to do the same.
A reminder, before I go on about silly things again
A few friends had informed me about the unexpected passing of restaurateur and award-winning Filipina chef Margarita Fores, the person behind restaurants that helped define Manila’s culinary scene. I would even go as far as to say that her dishes—like Cibo’s Telefono (a childhood favorite for many) and Lusso’s indulgent Lobster Roll—made a significant impact. News of her passing came the day after reading a particular chapter of My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard, a book I’ve been struggling to read at my usual pace. Knausgaard records the minute details of his life with crystal-clear memory, so keeping my phone at arm’s length does not help—it demands one’s full attention to reach a sort of meditative state. Just when I felt the urge to reach for my phone, I found myself fully immersed, reading about him burying a parent. His vivid details brought up the anxieties we all have about our parents getting older. I closed the book. I shed a few tears. I opened it again, feeling better because crying is a release, and then kept reading. If anything, these instances were reminders that life is fleeting, unexpected. It is important to enjoy and tell the people you love that you love them.
I can’t stop thinking about…
Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance. The audacity perform Not Like Us when his team probably persuaded him not to. SZA’s voice. Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam. The perfect slouch of his Celine jeans, which will likely inspire many people to grab their old pairs of bootcut jeans. I watched it twice in a row! Now I want to watch him and SZA together live.
Kim Kardashian’s new SKIMS ad, where she plays a Fairy Butt Mother. I love seeing her not take herself so seriously.
Jeans. I wrote a little about jeans two newsletters ago and recently stumbled across this article on The Cut, which lists opinions of different cuts of jeans. Barrel-leg has been a 2024 favorite that I am still bringing with me this year. I also might consider more low-rise jeans, after realizing a bit later that my torso falls on the shorter side.
Miyako Bellizzi’s place in the last issue of Apartamento. In another life, I’d love to have her job, which is the marriage of fashion and film.
Last but not least, here is a screenshot from a conversation with friends:
See you next week!
P.S. After months of putting it off, I’ve finally edited my website/portfolio. Any comments on how to better tweak it are welcome.
I feel smarter already!