211: These clothes sell themselves
Plus new Lauren Manoogian (and exhale), Proenza's $1,000-off sale, and who is Bambou Roger Kwong?
It’s a quiet week for fashion discourse—I don’t feel compelled to chime in on the Pierpaolo news or the Kate fiasco and I’ve said my peace when it comes to Dries—which I’m grateful for, if only because this send is already a day and a half late.
Let’s let the news and sales speak for themselves, seeing as how they have more to say that I do right now. Lauren Manoogian’s spring collection (a favorite of mine from my visit to the showroom last year) is finally out, there is more Phoebe and thus more pontificating on Phoebe, and the Proenza archive sale turns out to be even better than Matches’ ongoing out-of-business sale.
If there’s little to say to wrap up the week, there’s no shortage of things to shop. Onward!
With News Editor
What’s new
I track Lauren Manoogian releases like some do The Row: At previews at the brand’s Paris showroom, which I attend as a priority each season, I suss out the pieces to make a run for when the finally land at retail. With SS24 now live on the brand’s site, I’ve spotted my favorites and can feel the uptick in shopper urgency. This ingenious twisted skirt made of a single ream of fabric folded in half at the bottom and connected at the side seams (also as a dress); the swishy, lighteight nylon suit jacket and trousers; a heavy cotton vest with an artfully carved out waist; and the marshmallow-white leather ballet slippers were standouts for me at the in-person viewing, but seeing the delivery laid out on ecomm, that list has expanded to include this imposing trench and these knit shorts for layering and solo wear. I’m feeling spoiled for choice here, especially knowing how much wear all of my past-season LM pieces have gotten.
With every Pavlovian wince at the sight of red type—another piece in the second delivery of the second Phoebe Philo edit must’ve sold out—comes flushes of self-righteous, even perverse, appreciation for the left-behind. Shorts are hard to upsell, given their dearth of actual material and reputation for insidious thigh-framing, but Phoebe’s tailored pair marry the tap silhouette du jour with an edging-on-twee A-line slant that gives everything breathing room without sacrificing Philo’s crisply mature sensibilities. Meanwhile, the butt bisection of strategic paneling imbues a resolutely maxi skirt with the suggestion of literal cheekiness that has defined the decade’s hype-iest minis, though this skirt handily evades the horny police, berry-colored wool puddling a bit at the toes.
Brand to know: The French stylist Bambou Roger Kwong—profiled by
in 2019—launched her eponymous label with Edition 01 in 2022, thoughtfully followed by Edition 02 in 2023. The stylistically contiguous collections use cast-off fabrics from luxury labels (think tightly woven cotton poplin, virgin super dry wool, and yak wool) in shapes that explore relaxed tailoring and boxy, low-intervention construction alike. The brand’s collaborative network, which includes the photo duo Chaumont–Zaerpour and the model Celine (@goeceline), speak to the IYKYK creative forefront it’s standing at (where you will also find Fane, the bag brand counterpart to BRK’s RTW), a substrate where Maryam Nassir Zadeh fans will feel right at home.Since becoming a household moniker this past year (if your household is the basement of the SSENSE warehouse), Edward Cuming’s SS24 has proven that its name isn’t the only pervert Rorschach test the brand offers. Each piece is subtly obscene: an orange knee-length skirt gives new meaning to “knife pleats,” bleeding neon green as if slashed by a switchblade, while a jersey dress’ off-duty neckline leaves the door to a new generation of the nip slip wide open behind it.
To slow its seamstress’ rolls and up its heirloom quotient even more, Cecilie Bahnsen introduced made-to-order pieces that allow for customizable looks to be built from archival fabrics and cuts—the potential for this program is sprawling, but for now it includes options like the bridal-bait Gwen dress with cloudlike detachable sleeves, a fervently magenta bubble dress made from upcycled crinkle parachute, and a cerulean gown in crunchy blue organdy with a structured bodice and cascading hips.
Much was said this FW season about the Sandy Liang girl becoming “all grown up,” but it’s really High Sport, now available at La Garconne, that epitomizes that distinct flavor of maturity—the gingham we’ve seen at Moda and the “newsletter pants” are there, but so are apron-style tank tops, shapely midi pencil skirts, and tiny crewneck sweaters, all in shades of navy and black and so demure they make New Sandy look like Mugler.
St. Agni’s second drop of the season has arrived like the blushing love child of Peter Do and Christopher Esber (we’ll stop short of fabricating extremely niche but salacious fashion gossip for now), in that it’s equal parts quirked-up business dom and Grecian goddess on spring break, deconstructed pinstripe trousers rubbing elbows with pool blue Lyocell tops slung insouciantly around the neck.
In the realm of vintage finds, there’s a “whole new Maj Kiosk” to discover, and luckily we have the password to infiltrate its HQ: Wwith NUMAJ, you’ll unlock a trove of ‘70s Italian aviators, breast-baring blouses by Diane von Furstenberg that straddle the wide line between Pagliacci and Amazonian warrior (but make it fashion!), slinky Aspesi sundresses, and more finds from brands you already look for and brands you’ll readily add to the watchlist—most under $200.
Aussie brand Matteau’s new RTW launch is in the same vein as Gemsun or Rachel Comey: Iif the clothes could, they’d eat rose-flavored edibles and read Joan Didion on a sun-drenched beach, but since they can’t, you can while wearing them, especially now that the brand offers mix-and-match swimwear in solids and retro para-paisley patterns alongside its polka dot scarf blouses, drop-waist ruched sundresses, and striped stand-neck tunics.
The biggest news courtesy of Janessa Leone’s new SS24 is the return of the bucket hat—sure, oversized and cotton is the most pragmatic sunwise, but the (for lack of a less 2014 term) mic drop of the collection is a pair of bucket hats woven in raffia, one a little structured and jaunty, one louche and easy, and both, crucially, packable.
Banana Republic’s April collection is here, and with each successive release, the brand seems to get it more and more, and for prices that certainly say “get it”: a swingy, pleated maxi dress for $200, a satin cocoon jacket for $350, and a $120 cotton-silk blouse that might find its near-$2k Khaite lookalike dead in a ditch—in the immortal words of a classic YouTube clip, “Sometimes, things that are expensive…are worse.”
In a transcendent union of Turkish and Iranian aesthetic agendas, the new Levant Shop will soon join Gohar World and Sophie Lou Jacobsen in the canon of houseware boutiques that define what we’ll remember as the decor zeitgeist of the 2020s: rich with references (a calligraphic serving bowl alludes to 9th century Nishapur ceramics), tenderly surreal (a Belgian linen napkin’s edge dissolves into the silhouette of a whale), and unimpeachably gorgeous.
In sizes from mini to XL, the Birkin-esque Prada Galleria bag comes in studded, embossed, or straight-up Saffiano leather, with a Telfar-sized array of colors and finished with the perfect Prada triangle—no more nor less branding than an It-bag contender needs.
Erede’s fine jewelry is for sale in a Moda Operandi Trunkshow, each 18k white or yellow gold piece playing with hinges, axels, and clasps to undermine the conception of high-end jewelry as exclusively dainty or chintzily romantic.
There’s also: Exploratory-textile apparel brand Pangaia, which came of age in the pandemic, updates its output from sweats to tailoring to reflect more up-to-date sensibilities with the Fruit Suit, made with a lyocell-pineapple leaf fiber-banana leaf fiber blend; the Lemaire market bag made in collaboration with Filt that I copped in Paris is finally available online in three sizes; Sophie Buhai’s Teardrop Pouch, the ultimate Period Drama accessory, is now available for pre-order in four color options; Patagonia’s new surf and swimwear is where to go if your beach plans hinge upon your swimsuit not falling off (plus most styles have built-in SPF and quick-dry fabrics); Warby Parker taps Theophilio’s Edvin Thompson for a capsule of three translucent-framed sunglasses inspired by the colors and shapes of Jamaican flora; and Diptyque Paris brings back its cult favorite Fleur de Cerisier candle in time for the real cherry blossoms to bloom in such magical havens of nature as Osaka and…Washington, D.C.
What’s on sale
Proenza Schouler’s Archive Sale feels like a digital version of the kind of sample sale we’re all in mourning for—at least in terms of pricing as everything seems to be, like, $1,000 off. The deals here have real “everything must go” energy, with most bags including the Small Pipe Bag, Dia Day Bag, and Braid Bag clocking in under $700 (down from $1,800+); plenty of separates like these stretch crepe pants (CC: High Sport wearers) for under $350; and shoes galore in cluding these strappy sandals for under $250.
Matches’ requiem is humming the tune of an extra 20% off its Outlet section, which, yes, includes The Row, Toteme, and in-house brand Raey (I’ve tried finding out what will become of it to no avail—anyone with intel, please reach out!). It’s our job to save these treasures from their doomed fate in the hands of whatever Filene’s Basement-type broker who buys out the retailer’s leftover stock on day zero.
Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen’s having a rare, and glorious, sale, with the infamously butt-crack-baring (though highly adjustable) Tablecloth skirt down to $345 from $675, a stomacher gown that seems like the prototype for some of the best current-season pieces is $625 down from over $1k, and the antique lace bra that is so iconic, you’d have to mime it in charades if the secret prompt were ZGAW, is down to an unprecedented $175, among more deals.
The rules of the Tory Burch spring event are simple: 20% off carts over $200, 30% off $500. Whatever the reverse of a catch is: already-on-sale items are included in the event, so you can theoretically grab logo thong sandals for as low as $83, woven shoulder bags for under $300 down from $648, crepe shirt dresses with perky gold buttons for sub-$250, and so on.
The Studio Nicholson seasonal edit takes 20% off a selection of Grace Kelly-coded scarf dresses, knit kick flare pants ($355…hear that, High Sport?), slithery slip dresses, and more capsule wardrobe catnip.
You must sacrifice one email address (could be yours, but go wild) for access to Hunting Season’s seasonal sample sale, but the gods of good taste will reward you with velvet-satin pouches, mini cognac leather trunk-purses, and even sets of leather bowls at up to 75% off.
In Filippa K’s archive sale, take up to 60% off knits ranging from fluffy to structured alongside geometric aviator sunglasses, snake print shoulder bags, and more chill-with-an-edge clothes and accessories.
The Helmut Lang private sale has plenty of winter fare (think cow print trench coats and leather-trimmed garter pants), but there’s a good amount of summer-ready stuff at a steep discount, too—scrunchy jersey tank dresses and a Barragán-esque layered tee are up for grabs at under $200.
The eight pieces in LoQ’s warehouse sale are all but one under $100 and include sandals, loafers, and boots—we love a climate-agnostic shoe sale.
If you have budding-Magasin-reader children or a sophisticated shrink ray, Rejina Pyo is having an Easter sale “for the kids” full of psychedelic florals on darling Peter Pan collar dresses, $100 chore jackets hewn from recycled cotton that, at full size, none among us would refuse to throw on, and more—everything from bucket hats to preternaturally rakish button-downs and quilted khaki trousers.
There’s also: The Saks Friends and Family sale takes 25% off new arrivals from Norma Kamali, Christopher Esber, Jacquemus, and more heavy-hitters; Italist dropped its prices sitewide by 10%, and on top of that, is running a 50% off sale on select SS24 (it continues to confound me that this happens, but it does!); and the CUUP Spring Event takes $25 off a $125 cart, $50 off $200, and $75 off $300 or more, including new arrivals in shades like icy lilac and cheetah print.
I may earn some money if you make a purchase through one of the links above.
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Got a great tote for <$200 at Proenza Sale - thanks for the tip
I'm nervous about ordering from Matches.