257: Roman shoe secrets
Plus Fforme loses Paul Helbers, &Daughter does underwear, and an SSENSE sale edit at its deepest discounts yet.
I ate my breakfast of a ruby red this morning with the most compatibly shaped grapefruit spoon bought at E. Dehillerin in Paris, and I thought, there are things yet unsaid about my treasure hunts in Europe!
One point that’s further percolated since last week’s largely underwear-oriented shopping guide concerns the many fantastic, untapped Italian shoe brands. Some already rank within the American footwear consciousness to varying degrees.
Arcopedico’s Sec V knit slippers had a moment early last year with the rise of the mesh shoe wave, which in turn drew some towards the brand’s other styles—a wedge slipper, a lace-up sneaker, a Sandy Liang-ish bow-tied version. (In Rome, I saw an excellent knit sandal that seems not to have made its way over yet…)
Based on the PR emails I’m getting, Mar Soreli is doing a push in the US right now, though its colorful fabric shoes are definitely still more familiar in their homeland. They’re among the narrow edit of brands stocked at Florence’s Quercioli & Lucherini, alongside Oscalito. The style is actually pretty typical of the Friulane region, and the brands Vibi (a more neutral palette) and Scarossa also put out popular versions.
Drogheria Crivellini, which you might’ve met through its collaboration with Attersee, also belongs in this category, though it’s more adventurous, putting out heeled, silk, mesh, and even tabi versions beyond the traditional flats and Mary Janes.
Rome’s Calzature Campo Marzio store introduced me to a feast of Italian-made shoes of this ilk (I regret not buying anything when I was there, but I’d just dropped a few $ on loafers from Atelier Bomba, alas). Their best styles are made in collaboration with artisans under the in-store brand and can’t be found online—beautiful colored leather, sturdy heels, ample footbed cushioning, so much personality—next time I will patronize you!!
Thankfully the store also helped me identify the third-party brand field shoes worn by Le Coste’s winemaker on a tour of their vineyards in Gradoli in the days prior (New York knows them best by their party-friendly Litrozzo). I’d snapped a pic, thinking how smart they were, and recognized the frog logo on the closed-toe sandals. They turned out to be from El Naturalista, exactly the kind of footwear you’d expect on a French woman working the land in the Italian countryside.
And as far as unfinished European business goes, I’ve added all of the shopping spots in Florence, Rome, Marseille, and Stockholm shared here in previous weeks to my AmiGo page. I also threw in some of the great restaurants and wine stores I passed through along the way, which join my ever-expanding lists for Paris, Copenhagen, and my very own Brooklyn. (There’s a waitlist to join the app, but you can use my code LAURAREILLY to bypass it.)
With News Editor
What’s new
We don’t know why, but Fforme’s CD Paul Helbers has been suddenly replaced at the brand by Frances Howie, most recently Stella McCartney’s Design Director and previously at Lanvin as assistant to Alber Elbaz. I have nothing to go on to predict what the brand will be like under Howie, but up to this point it’s safe to say that Fforme WAS Helbers. Whatever the next iteration is may be compelling, but it will never be Helbers’ Fforme, which provided direly needed sophistication to the New York fashion landscape at a weak point in its history. Helbers’ FW24 collection lands on site at the same time as this shocking news, becoming an instantly historic capsule of this fleeting, beautiful point in design.
Marlies Grace is confidently asserting itself as more than a girlie pop Instagram brand (though it’s captured the interest of exactly those kinds of flirtatious dressers), hosting showroom appointments in Paris during fashion week and now launching an exclusive capsule on Moda Operandi, only a year or so into its journey. Tonal, femme dresses and separates evoke la bella figura with fittingly antique-inspired finishes.
Less bittersweet than the traditional pre-fall collection, &Daughter’s new “Underpinnings'' celebrate transitional weather instead of bracing for it: straying from its usual cotton knits, this selection of sweaters is made with superfine cashmere designed as a comfortable warm-weather option on its own or a layering piece in the cold. Eggplant-purple cardigans, aquamarine knit “t-shirts”, navy polos and more create a suite full of mix-and-match potential.
Sophie Buhai’s FW24 collection is fixated on curves—huge discs of carved carnelian on leather cords to hang around the neck, thick cylindrical cuffs in sterling silver, fitted collars to embrace the neck, satin evening pouches weighed down with silver droplets, and more pieces reflect the curvaceousness of naturally-occurring shapes.
Gabriela Hearst designed a limited-edition collection to costume the San Francisco Ballet's production of Carmen, and now it’s available to us laymen, its dancerly sensibilities emerging in the slinky movement of a groundbreaking knit trench coat, a goldenrod sweater’s extra-wide neck, body-sculpting rib-knit flared pants, and Hearst’s take on the iconic red dress worn by Carmen’s titular character, this one knit in merino wool and designed to move even when the wearer stands still.
Altuzarra’s 15th anniversary FW24 collection is beginning to trickle in, its first delivery arriving to the brand’s site. A few runway pieces I loved are either present—as with this brooched, twist-front dress worn by Irina Shayk and envelope clutch—or hinted at (the floppy-collar knit shown in this ecomm is not available yet, but but daintier version is). When pre-sale for the collection was live for about a week after the show, I was pretty taken aback by some of the prices; Altu always skews a bit higher than I feel it should, so I assume the brand is trying to space out some of those multi-thousand-dollar pieces between drops as to not tinder any blowback.
Bettter, the editor-helmed upcycling brand I wore in this weekend’s send, has collaborated with Fila on a sporty departure from its usual tailoring. It’s all very chic and vintage magazine-y, especially fitting in our current climate of collecting vintage Olympics everything.
Queen collaborator Ana Kras, after launching her own clothing and homewares brand (Teget, after her old Instagram moniker), is back to her old ways, partnering with Saks Potts on a mesh-forward collection to mark summer’s even sweatier second half.
The latest submission to the cannon of white button downs, this one oversized and drop-shouldered, comes courtesy of Gil Rodriguez’ PF24, alongside new slim-fit cardigans and slouchy V-neck vests in some of its most beloved colorways like crimson and mustard, plus new colors of the label’s beloved capri leggings, dancerly stretch headbands, and more.
The new Bel Air bag by Balenciaga was designed in a lab to elicit covetous responses—huge (especially in its XL iteration), chunky, covered in pockets like a cargo carrier, adjustable shape-wise with clever side snaps, and dotted with hardware that, even more so in its gold-plated version, looks like little glowing windows on a Los Angeles skyline.
Alighieri’s new homeware collection, “Casa,” is a grotto of offbeat, shiny little treasures, from gold-plated, shell-shaped dishes to silverware sporting sand-cast handles in inscrutable, evocative shapes and gnarled bottle openers that look like sea creatures’ tentacles, plus many more similarly compelling table-setting tools.
There’s also: A favorite new jewelry discovery of mine, Dunton Ellerkamp, is now sold on SSENSE; highlights from the latest Tory include these grape earrings; the Camper CD-led Achilles Ion Gabriel launches with a single belt, overlong and finished with copious silver hardware and a punk-ish attitude; Loulou Studio introduces its FW24 collection—sweaters, skirts, and corduroy tote bags; and everyone’s doing an Olympics collection, but Gap’s is actually pretty good.
What’s on sale
SSENSE sale check in time because my wishlist isn’t letting me add more items without deleting some! I still want and am growing increasingly convinced I would actually wear this Alaia hooded bodysuit that’s 70% off; Madga Butrym tapered trousers in black or cream also for 70% off—I’d love either even though my pleated pant phase is slowly ebbing; a perfectly pre-fall Proenza velvet top for an unbeatable $135; surreal, but this Jil Sander dress is literally just three different dresses in one for under $650…that’s like $250 per dress…and there’s a skirt version too for under $600; underrated By Far leather bag for $195 (it speaks Fane’s language); impressive size range left for intrecciato Bottega heels at 70% off; and Auralee’s sexiest dress for $444.
Italist—the perma-sale Italian boutique aggregator (vetted and trusted)—is hosting extra discounts on Loewe and Miu Miu this week, and the savings are even greater than it seems on the site (compare their already lowered “full” prices to those elsewhere). I’m looking at Loewe’s Birken-heels and blurred skirt, plus Miu Miu’s grid-paper pleated skirt and big corduroy coat.
As always, the Maryam Nassir Zadeh vintage/secondhand archive sale is bottoming out quickly, its curated selection of one-of-a-kind pieces you won’t find anywhere else selling out as you read this. Still available are a strapless, art deco-esque Bill Blass one piece (duly styled as a bodysuit); a Prada shirt dress in autumnal, foliage-colored plaid; and a drawstring-cinched, paneled knee-length skirt by SC103, and more thought-provoking finds.
43 pieces are up to 50% off in the annual Posse archive sale, all in the vein of a lazy, late-summer vacation look—oversized, 100% cotton button-downs in saturated emerald green for $140; tiny black babydoll dresses with thick, lacy straps are $195; and a mix-and-match suite of rosy-striped pajama parts includes 100% cotton pants, collared shirts, poplin robes and more, all for under $150 apiece.
Since its sales usually only encompass its brightly-hued bedding, Magniberg’s nearly sitewide 20% off sale, activated by WITHKINDNESS20 is a great chance to explore the brand’s lesser-known clothing offerings, from breezy, striped cupro slip dresses down to $181 with the code to fully lace lounge pants and matching shirts—more sheer and voluminous than most lace sets, not only explicitly created to be genderless but uniquely game for layering.
The Aritzia summer sale takes 50-70% off thousands of past-season pieces by the label itself and its subsidiaries—its business-casual line, Babaton, is especially prominent, offering heather gray, double-breasted blazers ($124) that don’t, like many other affordable suiting options, pull or pucker at the seams, trench coats ($149) that balance sturdy heft and movement, and more transitional-weather options. There are also plenty of pieces from Aritzia’s athletic brand, Tna—$23 sweat-wicking unitards and $12 flare leggings abound.
Perfume bottles and candle holders with slight nicks or imperfections, but full of perfect-quality scents, are available at up to 40% off in the D.S. & Durga annual sample sale. Perfume-wise, Rose Atlantic is an easy bet, a fits-everyone floral scent with a compelling base of saltwater, while our favorite candle is the Big Sur After Rain—for $40 down from its usual $70, the candle lasts for days, carrying the nostalgic scents of petrichor and eucalyptus.
No site’s contents are more exciting to shop than the inventory of oddities on Bungee Space’s, especially when its sale selection is full of discounts on accessory jester D’Heygere’s baubles like a hair pin that can hold a cigarette or flower’s stem, archival quilted vests by Evade House, velveteen tops knotted down the spine via Sample-cm, and pieces by more familiar brands like a loopy silver Paloma Wool choker to round everything out.
There’s also: Cuup offers up to 85% off a selection of underwear and swim supplies, including $20 bikini tops designed to mirror its best-selling, ultra-supportive Plunge bra; Nili Lotan’s annual archive sale takes 70% off a ton of clothes that, in 2010s parlance, “transition from day to night” with aplomb; who knows if this will work for more than one of you, but if you want to use my code for an extra 30% off Ralph Lauren’s Summer Style Event, it’s TDBW4BS9D37PCV64; and Helmut Lang gives us an extra 25% off its summer sale, many pieces hovering around the $100 mark.
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This made me feel un peu European. XO.