053: Mayan Toledano is wearing grandma's gold at the beach
Plus Eveliina Vintage x J.Crew, Hanrej on sale, and "DAP" is back.
We’ve shifted into the second half of the season, meaning the sun will start setting before 8pm, fall first deliveries are hitting stores, and I’m wrapping up “summer hours” on the newsletter. Back to a weekly cadence, and back in New York.
I spent the better part of the past month between Italy and Israel, and my time in Tel Aviv lined up perfectly to link with this week’s feature. Mayan Toledano, who you’ll hear from below, splits her time between TLV and NY (among other places), and she’s just the person to talk to about surfing an endless heat wave.
Gmail’s length constraints are barring me from an overly chatty intro, but plenty of meandering shopisms are to be had beneath the fold.
What’s new
The Musacchia family—twin sisters Emilia and Amanda and their mother Eeva—have been behind some of the most romantic and tastefully updated antique silk dresses since their brand Eveliina Vintage was introduced in Finland in the ‘70s. Their garment-dyed slips and children’s book frocks are one-of-one, which has meant being first in line at their Miami studio showroom or via Instagram or TikTok, lest your perfect match gets bought out from under you by a competitor shopper. A just-released collaboration with J.Crew harnesses the twins’ creative talents for a collection that draws upon all of the best details from their ultra-femme and color-savvy archive. The Yelena Yemchuk-style campaign perfectly captures the buoyant Midsommar idealism of the line, and the seven equally covetable styles—in sizes 00 to 24—are fully stocked at time of writing.
Nili Lotan’s entry into menswear is signaling a tapering off of the influence of streetwear, at least according to some. And it makes sense: If any designer were to wean the culture off of its high-end athletic apparel crutch while bridging the gap with heavily tailored luxury brands like Brunello Cucinelli, it would be Lotan. Known for her relaxed silhouettes and exceptionally soft fabrics, the Israeli designer turned out a line that’s convincingly wearable across occasions and looks not-uninfluenced by American greats like Ralph Lauren.
Rosie Assoulin’s bridal cargo pants may be the latest affront to the NYT’s sense of propriety, but the silk gazar trousers in question are just one component out of 17 un-improvable propositions from Assoulin’s debut wedding collection. Like her color-washed RTW, the gowns (and of course non-gowns) are outspoken, creative, and clever without veering into the needlessly intellectual.
The Gap x Dapper Dan hoodie, reading “DAP” in the brand’s classic varsity lettering, is back for a limited time in celebration of the Harlem legend’s birthday this week. The new drop follows several instances of total sell-outs, including at its debut when it was snatched up by shoppers within minutes. It’s built some hype around it, likely somewhat related to the concurrent Yeezy x Gap by Balenciaga collection, signaling a greater wave of relevance for the brand that supplied our baseball caps and sleeveless tees in the ‘90s.
Home necessities brand Public Goods carved out a space for itself as the American Muji, so it clicks that the two are finally collaborating. In fact, the line of household soft papers and refillable self- and home-cleaning liquids embody the two “brandless” brands’ identities so equally, it becomes difficult to retrain your eye to tell them apart. Public Goods provided the product, while Muji designed all-new packaging that meshes with PG’s existing style, and labels were created employing the signature Muji minimalism. Both brands’ commitment to health and sustainability has shone through in the attention to ingredients and sourcing.
Kara Jubin’s adventure-centric KkCo finds a fitting partner in Urban Outfitters’ Urban Renewal with her exclusive KkCo Outside collection. The line of hand-reworked vintage North Face, Patagonia, and Gramicci employs her signature tie-dye and crochet. Nicole McLaughlin is smiling somewhere.
There’s also: Mansur Gavriel releases the Giraffe Bag, a smart compact tote with an exaggerated shoulder strap, also available in Mini; Reformation adds more sneakers to its lineup since launching the category in June, including a blue toile style; Saks OFF 5TH partners with Rent the Runway to sell pre-owned styles from over 60 designers at up to 75% off; Bonita Kye’s lingerie brand KYE Intimates enters the swimwear category, plus launches an ankle-length sheer slip dress that I of course recommend wearing out with very little underneath; Cou Cou Intimates also expands with a pointelle cotton Cami slip dress; Lisa Says Gah launches the Plaid Capsule, an early harbinger of fall; Tory Burch (reminder: cool now) launches a new fragrance collection melodramatically dubbed Essence of Dreams; in partnership news that just makes sense, Parade teams up with Urban Outfitters on an exclusive, limited-release collection; and A.P.C. is reasserting its relevance with a slew of new leather handbags, the latest of which, Virginie, is what in my mainstream media days I would have called “work-perfect.”
What’s on sale
The nature of Colbo’s merchandise would generally point to a store that never goes on sale. Experimental high-end menswear and expertly curated emerging talent serve a niche audience and deserve to be paid full price for. But! The movements of today’s market mean virtually no collection is immune to the occasional need to set discounts, and so us shoppers can celebrate this extremely rare opportunity to find Hed Mayner, Connor McKnight, Adish, and Colbo’s in-house line on sale both in-store and online.
Hanrej, the brand behind my newest, favoritest sunglasses ever that I wrote about last send, is having a 40% off sale ahead of archiving certain styles. The discounts cover jewelry (no sunnies), and prices range from $64 to $640. I’m already lamenting the thought of these designs being retired, because it’s rare to catch a collection that captures a hyper-present feeling the way this one does. But at the same time, I have enormous respect for creators who can quit while they’re ahead. I’m keeping an eye toward what’s coming to take these pieces’ place—keep tabs on their site or SSENSE.
100 Percent Silk Shop’s sale made me go “ooooh” about as loud as I could in my head without actually saying it out loud. (I could have exaggerated here but I didn’t, and that’s my commitment to you: honest editorial.) I’m constantly impressed with the way the shop refuses to typecast or pigeonhole itself with the “kinds of brands” this “kind of store” tends to carry. Yes, they have MNZ, but you won’t find Baserange anywhere. Meanwhile, Ciao Lucia finds its rightful place among the armpit-hair brands, and Story MFG gets treated like the art garb it is, as opposed to streetwear. All those things and more are discounted quite sweetly right now.
If you’ve been meaning to invest in new flatware—playful, photogenic, MoMA-store-but-less-obvious—Sigil Shop has likely made an appearance across your screen. Post-hiatus, these design objects, plus space age thermoses and plexi utensils, are 25% off with BACKBABY25 while the brand makes space for new merchandise.
There’s also: J.Crew’s sale receives an added bump, with a selection eligible for an extra 70% off with SHOPSALE; get an extra 25% off Shopbop sale with HEAT25 (among the deals are Isabel Marant, Sea, and Acne Studios); Shaina Mote is ready to end its sale, but not before offering an additional 15% off with LASTCHANCE15; Levi’s sale also gets an extra 50% off supercharge, auto-applied at checkout; Bergdorf Goodman’s Designer Sale now hits as high as 75% off, and it’s calling this one the “finale”; funky Barcelona-based knitwear and leather brand Gabriel for Sach is hosting a sample sale in its “archive” section that goes up to 50% off; Israeli jeweler Sapir Bachar is secretly running a 15% off sitewide sale with SUMMER; Collina Strada’s seasonal sale is now 75% off, plus new markdowns—as an aside, clicking through this sale is a nice between-season reminder of how much I appreciate the Hillary Taymour’s universe; the Beaufille pieces you’ve noticed everyone on Instagram wearing are up to 60% off; save 20% on underwear sets (of three) with a CUUP bra purchase; and Urban Outfitters is having a 25% off sale on bedding, with lots of t-shirt-soft jersey options.
Mayan Toledano colors inside her circles
Keep your friends close and your Manolos glittery.
Mayan is a fashion photographer and filmmaker whose work and personal style dare onlookers to try something a little bolder, a little brighter. She’s been featured in Vogue, Interview, W, so many others. Her newly released feature film, Smadar, follows a bedizened seamstress outside of Haifa, whose one-liners (“Do I need someone who’ll fart in my bed?”) are as staunch and attention-grabbing as her endless collection of coordinated fruit-punch skirt suits and tilted hats. You can’t help but find traces of Mayan in this sensitive portrait, a woman who reveres fashion and digs her (baroque, bedazzled) heels in with what she knows to be right. Keep an eye on Mayan’s Instagram for updates on screenings of Smadar in New York and beyond.
M: I just got two skirts from my friend who does Oori Ott. I shot her first campaign that she put out, and we’re actually planning her next one now. She lives in LA, so I don’t see her as much as I would want to, but every time I see her I want another thing from the collection, because she makes really easy, sexy ready-to-wear loungewear. You put it on, and it's like you can sleep in it and you can wear it. I went one weekend to Jerusalem last time I was visiting, and I forgot to pack a t-shirt. I like to sleep only in white t-shirts, but I forgot one, and I realized I had my Oori Ott dress. It's really soft cotton, so I slept in it. You know, it has all these cutouts and ties, and still it's the most comfortable thing in my closet. I just bought these two skirts that have little shorts under, and they tie on the side. I bike a lot in the city, and obviously it's hot, so a skirt with shorts under works really well for me. I got one in pink and one in black and white.
L: You’re someone who isn’t afraid of color, which I think is really cool. M: Yeah, I always prefer to wear color. It makes me happy. I like seeing people wear colors, so I tend to do that. I work with this brand Sherris almost every day, basically. It's another friend of mine. She recently started making thong bikinis, which also go with the Oori Ott skirts. I packed them both for my trip.
I actually got back to New York, and I had a package in the mail waiting for me that I totally forgot I ordered—this Just Cavalli tank top that's super cute, but I think it's gonna be too much. A blue floral tank with a little base ruffle on the side. For no reason the straps are leather, but then there's a lace trim. It works somehow, but it has these extra elements. And I know what I'm gonna wear it with. Just now I saw my uncle who also works in the flea market in Haifa. Since I was a child, I would always dress differently, and I was always looking for old pieces. He connected with me—also, he bought me my first camera. I started shooting in a way because of him, so he's an important figure in my career and in my life. But he just brought me two really baggy Levi’s; the regular 501s. I used to wear them really tight, and now I like to wear them baggy. He's a serious collector, and he has maybe 100 pairs, so over the years I'm like, ‘This year I want a size 25. This year I want a size 32.’ It just depends on where I’m at, and he has a magical way of always finding that.
I still wear tight things, though. You know, Sherris, all of her crop tops and halter tops are tight, and so colorful—that's why I like wearing those—but then if I'm wearing something tight on top then I’ll wear something loose on the bottom, and vice versa.
Coming out today, I just shot for other friends from Mexico City, their brand called Tiempos. I love it. It’s really sexy tops, baggy pants, little bitchy bags. I did the photos and got the collection in exchange, so I got a bunch of stuff from them. I still haven’t finished wearing all of it. Today, we got the photos on Vogue.com, with an article. I have these parachute green pants, and they have cut-out tanks with barely any fabric on them—there’s barely anything there, and I love it.
Ah also! Made Me is back. The owner and designer of Made Me, Erin, is a friend, so I always like to wear her stuff, and I just got a pink purse from her. She just launched bags—we did the photos, and they should be out in the next month. I have a sample bag so it’s not the final one, but I like that. L: I love that you shop so closely within your circles. It’s such a nice way to find your unique style just by supporting the immediate people around you that are doing exciting things. I’m really hearing a lot of that from you. M: Yeah, always. I shoot for all of them because they’re my friends and I love what they do. We come up with the concept together, and once I’m there, I want to wear it too, obviously.
But outside of that, I shop online all the time. Shoes I would buy on The RealReal. I’ve always been really particular with shoes, so online is easier because I look for specific things. I recently bought thong flip-flops with a heel. They’re Manolos with beautiful rhinestones. I love a sparkle.
L: Do you have any fall shopping plans or are you still in summer mode? M: I think my existential being is always in summer mode. I don’t really get shopping for cold weather. I tend to escape, so I don’t really worry too much about the weather. Except I do have good coats, I like shopping for coats, but the whole turtlenecks, sweaters… I can’t connect with it so much. L: You’re an Israeli girl at heart. M: A summer beach girl for sure.
L: Here’s a thing that I’ve been trying to wrap my head around, that I would love to get your take on, is fashion in Tel Aviv. M: Are you talking about the industry, or about style? L: I guess the industry, because people here definitely have style. M: People definitely have style, and it’s this ingrained thing of like, it’s hot, you wear your mother’s or grandmother’s gold and a tank top, and you go to the beach. It’s very casual. No makeup, natural hair. I love seeing it. Every time I come, I’m always like, ‘Wow, everyone’s so beautiful.’
But in terms of the industry, there’s a bunch of small brands that I think are doing really well, and I think you would also like their stuff. One of them I’ve known since we were 18, really sweet girl, but there are three women doing Tres. L: Oh, Tres, yeah I’m actually in touch with Noy. M: Yeah, Noy! She’s so sweet. Their store is really cute, you go into their store and you feel like you’re in Paris in the Middle East for a second. There are definitely people that are trying to do things that communicate more with the world. I think it’s happening.
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