Irenebrination: Notes on Architecture, Art, Fashion, Fashion Law, Science & Technology

Creative Blossoming & Assemblages of Materials: "Rewilding" @ Kunsthaus Baselland, Münchenstein, Switzerland

In the previous post we mentioned assemblages of garments in a Haute Couture collection and Pistoletto's "Venus of the Rags," but the concept of assemblages is also part of three different works currently on display as part of the exhibition "Rewilding" at Kunsthaus Baselland in Münchenstein, Switzerland. The exhibition draws inspiration from "Rewilding" by Paul Jepson and Cain Blythe, a volume urging action amidst today's environmental and societal challenges by reintroducing extinct plant species.

Curators at Kunsthaus Baselland wondered instead how to create conditions that are more hospitable to creativity and encourage a creative blossoming. The concept of rewilding and replanting has also got an architectural angle in this case as it hints at the architectural transformations with the Kunsthaus Baselland's relocation to the Dreispitz area. But the revitalization suggested by the curators extends beyond physical spaces to encompass the artists showcased. Despite their stylistic diversity, these artists collectively address themes of responsibility, social justice, and sustainable resource management.

El Anatsui's monumental installation "Drying Line" (2021) exemplifies this ethos, utilizing flattened bottle caps interconnected with copper wire to create textile-like assemblage sculptures.

Symbolizing global trade dynamics and historical oppressions, El Anatsui's work invites contemplation on memory and identity intertwined with material histories. The bottle caps hint at the movement of goods and the interdependence between the Western world and the global South. Originating from spirits and drinks brought to Africa and used as currency during the slave trade, these caps are repurposed through collaborative processing, underscoring Anatsui's commitment to exploring the boundaries of art over time. In exploring the global South's history and its complex relationship with the Western world, El Anatsui aims to contribute to an ongoing narrative of memory and identity tied to materials, natural resources, consumer goods, and their global trajectories.

Similarly provocative is Pipilotti Rist's "Central Hong Kong Chandelier," a chandelier made of underpants neatly arranged along the structure of the chandelier that playfully illuminates both interior and exterior spaces of the Kunsthaus, like a giant jellyfish, blending seduction with profound commentary on gender.

This is not the first time Rist deals with this material as she already opted for undies for other similar chandeliers. The choice of material can be easily explained: Rist conceives underpants as temples of the abdomen, considered by the artist as sacred, the site of our entrance into the world, the centre of sexual pleasure and the location of the exits of the body's garbage.

Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger contribute to the exhibition "Altar des Prekären,” (2024)" a multifaceted installation celebrating fragility and transformation. Integrating local craftsmanship and community engagement, their work invites viewers to discover narratives of resilience amidst the seemingly mundane.

The structure in this case is a sort of altar with branches that extend upwards, while its shelves are filled with a series of objects and bric-a-brac. The artists' installation at Kunsthaus Baselland is part of a larger project to establish a pilgrimage route around Schönthal. This initiative actively involves local residents, utilizing their craft skills, and seeks to connect with the Camino de Santiago. The installation's multifaceted and multilayered elements, serving as an altar for the precarious (in the previous post we looked at ephemeral fashion; here we have instead the theme of precariousness). Described by the artists as an altar dedicated to the fragile, delicate, and overlooked, worthless items are turned in this way into precious objects, while viewers are invited to imagine through this assemblage of objects, medicine men, hasty ghosts, jellyfish, and little monsters.

Controversial & Ephemeral High Fashion: Balenciaga Haute Couture A/W 24

Haute Couture sets itself apart from ready-to-wear through the fabrics used in the collections, the materials, embellishments, and techniques employed to create a garment by hand. Therefore, you'd never see a piece of fabric wrapped around a model's body and held together with staples. Well, unless you're at Balenciaga.

Demna Gvasalia's fourth high fashion collection for Balenciaga confirmed his role as a dissenter who rejects Haute Couture's formality and conventions. Casual garments dominated the collection, but they received the Haute Couture treatment by increasing volumes or pairing them with saucer-like hats, sometimes randomly covered by a T-shirt for an effect suspended between trash can lid and lampshade.

A gargantuan coat and column dresses seemed to be made from what may have been leftovers from previous collections. Garments made from sections of discarded clothes often appear on the runways of designers who support sustainability (think about Marine Serre). In this case, rather than collaging one section of a garment with another to create a wearable Frankenstein's monster, the designer opted for a multi-layered approach.

Some dresses appeared to be made from random garments as if the models had absorbed the pile of discarded rags you may see in Pistoletto's Venus of the Rags, not to save the world, but to capture the public's attention. More exercises in layering were seen in an oversized T-shirt paired with loose denim trousers incorporating a built-in jacket around the waist. Some evening gowns characterized by more classic couture silhouettes were refashioned out of denim trousers, and one dress was made entirely of Balenciaga belts (not a new concept when you consider that Margiela repurposed belts in his Artisanal collections).

The Haute Couture twist in the garments came through textile interventions such as silk tuffetage embroidery in oversized designs, denim, leather, outerwear, and hoodies bonded with satin scuba to create sculpted forms. Heavy-metal concert T-shirts were hand-painted, not printed (apparently, it took 70 hours to hand-paint them), and a faux-fur coat in a blue reminiscent of Sesame Street's Cookie Monster was entirely made of synthetic hair embroidered onto silk organza (the coat was given a haircut and it took 13,0000 hours to fiish it).

A seamless black velvet column dress, covering the model from neck to toe, was conceived by Gvasalia as a display case for a piece of jewelry: the model wore indeed a Balenciaga's archival necklace from 1960. Most looks were paired with sharp pointed shoes (they say stiletto heels can kill, but in this case it was the pointed toe that was as sharp as a dagger...).

Yet some dresses made you ponder about the state of fashion and of couture in particular: one dress was made from melted plastic shopping bags molded onto the body, while another, a swirling mass of 47 meters of black nylon, was intended to evoke Cristóbal Balenciaga's precious gazar. However, that was likely the only thing it evoked, as the fabric was held together with staples and the dress was constructed just before the show, making it a piece of "ephemeral couture."

The staples weren't the cringing point, though: the real cringe came from the fact that the design would be accompanied by three Balenciaga staffers who will assembly it (using staples, I'm guessing) on the body of the client. And that's when you wonder if you're witnessing a genius taking the piss by managing to sell wealthy people a roll of fabric with three hired assistants to mold it onto the client's body, or if Gvasalia is simply being conceptually lazy.

The black evenining gown is divisive because for some the dress may not be consider a proper Haute Couture design; but others may see it as the essence of couture, something that can not be duplicated and that is made to measure according to the body of the wearer who will use it only once as the stapled dress will have to be disassembled to be removed. 

Was the dress a distant homage to Loïe Fuller (evoked also by the butterfly masks in the collection) as photographed by the Reutlinger Photography Studio, her swirling skirts captured by the camera forming a vortex and hinting at dynamism and fluidity in choreography? Who knows, but maybe we're reading too much into it and that was just a black ball of gazar, held together by staples, an idea that maybe would not pass muster if crafted by a student for a graduation collection (as it would be deemed too lazy). Yet, kudos to Gvasalia if he made it to take the piss out of wealthy couture clients. They deserve it. 

Olympian Tribute (for Able Bodies): Dior Haute Couture A/W 2024

Blissfully ignoring the political turmoil in France, where Sunday will see the first round of a snap parliamentary election called by President Emmanuel Macron, following the rise of the far-right National Rally at the recent European elections (polls predict that Marine Le Pen's far-right anti-immigration National Rally will get the largest number of seats in the French parliament), Haute Couture week kicked off on Monday in Paris.

In the world of high fashion, everything is fantasy after all, everything is grand and at times surreal, and nothing is politicized to secure the support and money of the wealthiest clients, regardless of their political orientation.

Yet there is another imminent event that is currently capturing the fashion industry's interest  - the Olympic Games - set to begin in Paris at the end of July.

Sports and fashion are certainly great themes, and Vogue celebrated this connection with a unique event in its Vogue World series on Sunday evening.

Held in the open air at Place Vendôme, the event explored fashion and sports from each decade since 1924, the last time the Olympics were held in Paris.

It opened with dynamic 1920s looks, nodding to the first sportswear designs by creative minds such as Jean Patou, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Gabrielle Chanel. This grand fashion pageant featured designs by the most famous fashion houses, along with performers, fashion figures, and Olympic athletes. There was great diversity at the event, but Paralympic athletes appeared only towards the end of the show.

Sports were also celebrated at Dior's Haute Couture runway, where Maria Grazia Chiuri revisited the Greek origins of the Olympic Games. This nod to the past was reminiscent of Chiuri's first Dior collection in 2016, which had a fencing theme, and Dior's Cruise 2022 show that took place at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, and that featured peplos-inspired dresses matched with sneakers.

There’s nothing wrong with drawing from antiquities and ancient Greece, themes that can lead to wonderful inspirations (or to creating an improptu draped tunic or top from your bedsheet...).

In this collection, classic garments such as the himation, chiton, and peplos were reinvented into draped white or black silk jersey or metal jersey gowns, asymmetrically anchored to anachronistic tank tops. The result was more Olympian goddess or vestal than athleisure and the starting point for some of the designs was a 1948 chiffon peplos by Dior (but there was also some Madame Grès thrown in). Fluidity also characterized the pantsuits, featuring peplos around the trouser waistband.

The idea was to allow the body to move and perform, molding the dress on the body rather than sculpting the body with the dress, even when the shapes and silhouettes were inspired by rigid architectural features (think Doric columns). For maximum movement, excess fabric was secured with strategically placed leather straps.

There were numerous references to the 1920s, especially in the bugle bead fringed dresses and in a flapper evening dress, as well as in some of the bodysuits, like the striped one with a polished silhouette reminiscent of the swimmers photographed by George Hoyningen-Huene. Another inspiration here was the mosaic depicting the "bikini girls" in the ancient Roman villa near Piazza Armerina in Sicily.

The 1920s were intended by Chiuri as a symbolic decade since female athletes began participating in the games, partly due to the arrival of new fabrics and textiles that facilitated body movements.

Runner, rower, and swimmer Alice Milliat was also featured on Chiuri's moodboard as she fought to include women in competitive sports (and managed to get women's track and field competitions in the 1928 Olympics).

The gold, silver, and bronze metallic designs in the collection aligned with the main theme as they referenced athletes' medals, with the collection including draped tunics like an asymmetrical gold lamé dress pleated by hand and suspended from a leather strap, and a bodysuit covered in golden feathers.

This piece suggested strength, performance, and armor, and called to mind the Winged Victory rather than Hollywood glamor or the golden swimsuits donned by aquatic icon Esther Williams in "Million Dollar Mermaid" (the golden feathers were instead reminiscent of Alexander McQueen's feathery coat from his last A/W2010 collection View this photo - was this accidental or done on purpose considering that recently Chiuri's style for Dior's ready-to-wear collections has been verging towards Sarah Burton for McQueen?). Further dynamism was ensured by flat lace-up gladiator sandals.

Art was referenced in the sports-themed mosaics inspired by U.S. artist Faith Ringgold, who did not see the results of this collaboration as she passed away in April. There was also a commercial aspect: Dior is part of the LVMH Moët Hennessy group, a partner of the Olympic Games. Both Dior and Vuitton will provide designs for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Besides, Dior has named 18 athletes as brand ambassadors, including Paralympic fencer Beatrice "Bebe" Vio Grandis, who already appeared in the past in Dior campaigns and events.

And this was exactly where the show missed a significant opportunity: including Paralympic athletes like Bebe Vio in the runway show would not only have highlighted Olympic, but also Paralympic glory, adding a human dimension to the perfection of couture. It would have reminded us all that the pursuit of excellence, symbolized by the Olympic gold, is a universal aspiration and that greatness is not exclusive to able-bodied individuals, but can be achieved regardless of the obstacles we face.

Advocating Freedom of Speech Through Fashion: Vivienne Westwood x Julian Assange (With Some Auction Highlights)

Julian Assange left Belmarsh Prison in the UK yesterday after reaching a deal with the US Justice Department. The WikiLeaks founder agreed to plead guilty to a single charge of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defense documents, effectively admitting to violating US Espionage Law.

The deal must be approved by a judge during a hearing scheduled for 9.00 am local time (Tuesday evening GMT) on Wednesday in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, chosen for its proximity to his native Australia. Assange is expected to receive credit for the five years he has already served and likely won't face additional jail time. Once the hearing concludes, he will be free to return to Australia.

Assange launched WikiLeaks in 2006, gaining notoriety with the release of a video showing a US Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad and, in 2010, and with the publication of hundreds of thousands of classified US military documents about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with a large cache of diplomatic cables - one of the largest security breaches in US military history.

He was first arrested in London in 2010 on a Swedish warrant for sexual assault charges, which he denied. The charges were dropped in 2019. In the meantime, fearing extradition to the US, Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012 and stayed there for seven years.

In 2019, under President Donald Trump's administration, Assange was indicted on 17 charges under the US Espionage Act for releasing documents leaked by Chelsea Manning, a former US military intelligence analyst who was also prosecuted under the Espionage Act. Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison but was released after President Barack Obama commuted her sentence in 2017, allowing her release after seven years in jail.

Removed from the embassy in 2019 and jailed for skipping bail, Assange has been in Belmarsh high-security prison, fighting extradition to the US. His charges sparked outrage among free speech advocates, who argued that as a publisher and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, he should not have faced charges typically used against government employees who leak information. While his supporters are pleased with the recent developments, they are concerned about the broader implications for journalists. Admitting guilt under the Espionage Act for obtaining and disclosing national defense information could indeed set a precedent for prosecuting journalists engaged in similar activities.

Stella Assange, who mentioned her husband would seek a pardon after accepting the charge, expressed serious concerns for journalists and national security reporters about the guilty plea's ramifications under the Espionage Act.

The late designer Vivienne Westwood was a fervent campaigner for Assange's release. Known for her support of various causes such as free speech, climate change, and equal rights, Westwood often incorporated these themes into her fashion collections. The late designer, who died at 81 in December 2022, often appeared in public or on the runway wearing garments with slogans that appealed for his release.

In 2012 Westwood designed the "I am Julian Assange" T-shirt, donating the proceeds to WikiLeaks. Westwood’s S/S 17 menswear show was dedicated to Assange, while in 2020, she staged a protest dressed in a canary yellow ensemble, locking herself in a giant birdcage with a banner reading "I am Julian Assange" set outside London's criminal courthouse where Assange was fighting extradition (he faced up to 175 years in prison if he were extradited to the US and found guilty). Westwood's yellow outfit in that occasion was a nod to the "canary in the coal mine" metaphor.

Westwood and her husband, Andreas Kronthaler, who is also the creative director of the Vivienne Westwood brand, designed Stella Morris's wedding dress when she married Assange in prison in 2022. The lilac dress featured a veil embroidered with colored messages from friends.

In January 2023, Assange was denied permission to attend Westwood's funeral, a decision that deeply disappointed the designer's family.

A strange coincidence occurred since Julian Assange was released just as Vivienne Westwood’s personal wardrobe was auctioned at Christie's.

The auction, titled "Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection", is divided into two parts: a live auction that took place today, June 25, and that included rare pieces, and an online sale that started at the beginning of the months and is running until June 28 and that features a wide range of more affordable (at least for what regards the starting price...) designs. This isn't the first time Westwood's designs from her wardrobe went under the hammer at Christie's (another auction was held in 2001), but this is different as the items, selected by Andreas Kronthaler, were finalized in the weeks before the designer's death.

This auctions featured over 200 lots, including rare pieces like a navy blue two-piece from the "Witches" collection (A/W 1983-84) with a revealing sheer panel around the knicker line.

The "Witches" collection was the first presented in the Cour Carrée du Louvre, the official ready-to-wear show space for Paris Fashion Week, and it was the last collaboration with Malcolm McLaren. It was inspired by the 1978 book "Voodoo and Magic Practices" by Jean Kerboull, a missionary priest in Haiti, and by meeting Keith Haring in New York in late 1982 and also drew on the Hip Hop and breakdance scene in New York (the item sold for £ 8,190).

The auction also included designs from the '90s and 2000s, such as pieces from the "Propaganda" (S/S 2005-06) collection, one of Westwood's most overtly political collections inspired by Aldous Huxley's work. The design featured in the auction, a cotton dress with a printed "Propaganda" panel and apron with a blue and white striped blouse, included the slogan "NINSDOL," which Westwood said stood for "nationalist idolatry, non-stop distraction, and organized lying" (another great seller, it went for £16,380).

Among the most dramatic ensembles there was a rich taupe silk taffeta ball gown from the "Dressed to Scale" (A/W 1998-99) collection that went for £32,760. The auction also featured Westwood's "I am Julian Assange" T-shirt (that fetched £2,394), jewelry and accessories, including a three row faux pearl choker with an oversized "orb" pendant ("Anglomania", A/W 1993-94 collection) and a necklace with a wooden pig - a punk alternative to pearls (Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood, A/W 2017-18).

Those collectors or museums who bought the clothes will not just be owning a design from Westwood’s own wardrobe, but they will discover her modus operandi. Westwood championed the idea of buying less, buying better, mending and repairing clothes and many of the items on these auctions were repaired several times.One example is an ice-blue satin scoop necked "Cinderella" dress from the "Gaia the One and Only" (S/S 2011) collection, inspired by ballet costumes and by our planet, which shows signs of many repairs (the dress was the second highest seller, fetching £25,200).

The best sellers of today's auction were "THE BIG PICTURE – Vivienne's Playing Cards" inspired by Westwood's 2017 "Vivienne's Playing Cards for Climate Revolution," a set of playing cards depicting a culture-led economic strategy to save the world.

Before she died, Westwood signed 100 sheets of Hahnemühle Museum Etching paper, with the wish that ten of the most important graphics designed to highlight her messages as an activist would be printed onto these precious large-scale autographed "cards" after her death. The limited-edition playing cards (one of them showing Assange in the "I am Julian Assange" T-shirt) in a linen-covered hand-embroidered box, fetched £37,800, a sum that will be donated to Greenpeace.

Proceeds from the rest of the auction will instead go to The Vivienne Foundation (established to partner with NGOs that aim at creating a better society and halting climate change), Amnesty International and Médecins Sans Frontières, reflecting Westwood's commitment to social and humanitarian causes.

Was Part 1 too expensive for you? Well, there's till Part 2 to check out (starting prices are lower, and there is a wide range of pieces, all very intriguing and original, from dresses and tops to hats) or you can opt for the auction catalogue (£55).

Too skint to buy anything? Don't worry. You are probably embracing Westwood's ethos, following her advice not to buy more clothing, even her own. In fact, not buying anything, but keeping yourself informed and engaging with humanitarian, equality, and rights issues is the most punk thing you can do. The real punk spirit lies indeed in defying indifference, taking action, and being a force of change in the world.

Sad But Happy: Dries Van Noten Takes His Final Bow

In March 2024 when it was announced that Dries Van Noten, 66, was retiring from fashion, the news was reported in apocalyptic terms. In reality, Van Noten had already considered the idea when he sold a majority stake of his company to the Spanish conglomerate Puig in 2018 (till then he had remained independent). Yet to fashion commentators and to his aficionados, it felt as if his death had just been announced.

Van Noten’s fans had a last chance to rejoice and enjoy his designs at his final runway show, presented last week in a former boiler-making factory in Paris with a co-ed runway.

Throughout his career (he did his first Paris runway in 1991), the designer concentrated on the creations on the runway, focusing on textiles, prints, and embellishments (thanks to his collaborations with manufacturers and artisans, he always produced his own textiles).

Besides, in his collections Van Noten favored cohesiveness and coherence, avoiding distractions - from celebrities, ambassadors in the front row, or artworks used as fashion backdrop. This approach is unusual in our times, where clothes and accessories have become secondary to art references and landmark spaces and venues for shows.

His last show aligned with these principles: a silver foil invitation featuring one word - love - anticipated the runway that was covered in silver leaf.

This was a reference to the designer's A/W 2006 women’s show, where gold leaf was scattered on the runway. It also inspired some of the designs with metallic accents included in the show, such as the fluid tops and loose pants. There were also iridescent accents in light trench coats and jackets in pastel-colored cellophane and in the organza pants and tops, the latter layered on jackets to tone down the color of the design underneath.

Art was referenced in designs inspired by Belgian artist Edith Dekyndt, whose works are often based on elements or natural phenomena, like reactions to water or air in different forms.

The shiny, wet, and glistening texture of the brushed wool designs fused with neoprene and a glass-like polyamide, or an aqua green transparent shirt matched with a silvery suit, called to mind Dekyndt's wood, fabric, and resin pieces, such as those from her "Winter Drums" series (2017) or her work "The Blue" (2019).

A large part of the collection consisted of sensible long, narrow trench coats and coats, some decorated with golden embroideries, others with a camel lapel (maybe a reference to Van Noten’s A/W 2011 collection), plus loose suits and jackets with bullion embroideries and floral prints made with suminagashi.

Used in fashion in collections such as Iris Van Herpen's Haute Couture A/W 2019 and Issey Miyake's A/W 21-22, this time-honored Japanese dye-dropping technique is also known as "floating ink".

This art was born in Japan after the year 1000 as a technique to dye paper using ink (sumi) floating (nagashi) on water. The traces left by the ink are then transferred onto a sheet of rice paper that is laid upon the water.

As a whole, the collection was elegant, functional, and refined - arty, not trendy, but timeless - in a palette that went from navy and camel to deep plum, bright pink, and glistening pistachio, perhaps shades inspired by the flowers in Van Noten's luscious 55-acre park and gardens surrounding his house.

Though everything was well-balanced and the offer was ample with designs for all ages (the casting involved models of different ages - from young people to models who had walked in Van Noten shows in the 1990s), there was a moment of excess in the giant mirror ball that closed the show, hinting at celebrating the designer's achievements rather than his retirement. At the end of the show, some guests picked up the silver foil as a memento from the runway.

The passing of time was evoked in the collection by the voice of David Bowie from Brett Morgen's "Moonage Daydream," stating, "Time, one of the most complex expressions. Memory made manifest. It's something that straddles past and future without ever quite being present."

Yes, time has definitely passed: decades have gone since the Antwerp Six (Van Noten plus Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkembergs, and Marina Yee) first went to London to showcase their work at a local trade show.

These decades have marked the lives of many designers and fashion houses: some sold their labels and preserved their mental sanity and anonymity (Martin Margiela) - miraculous feats in the fashion world; others fell into spirals of addiction and embarrassment before finding new strength (John Galliano); and others tragically didn't make it (Alexander McQueen).

Van Noten's retirement (albeit not complete as he will be working as an adviser at the company and will still be involved in the brand’s beauty and makeup line alongside the design of its stores, though he will not be able to select his successor or successors) is not a tragedy nor a sign of weakness, but of great honesty and integrity.

It takes indeed courage to quit something, or to take a break, give priority to your mental and physical health, and then give up or come back (remember gymnast Simone Biles at the Tokyo Olympics?).

Most people retire in their sixties, but in fashion, you can keep on creating at your own house as long as you feel like doing it (the industry is full of octogenarians, from Giorgio Armani, 89, to Rei Kawakubo, 81, and Yohji Yamamoto, 80). Yet, nothing lasts forever, and we are all transient (as Bowie's voice stated during the show - "All is transient. Does it matter?").

Retiring at 66 still means Van Noten (and his long-term partner and creative director of his brand, Patrick Vangheluwe, who will be retiring as well) will have the energy to do other things (a chain of boutique flower shops maybe?). After all, as the designer stated on Instagram when he announced his retirement, "My dream was to have a voice in fashion. That dream came true. Now, I want to shift my focus to all the things I never had time for. I'm sad, but at the same time happy."

The feeling lingered in his last message on Instagram before his last runway, "This is my 129th show; like the previous ones, it looks ahead. Tonight is many things, but it is not a grand finale. I think about how Marcello Mastroianni once spoke of a paradoxical 'nostalgia del futuro,' beyond the lost paradises imagined by Proust, and how we continue to pursue our dreams knowing that, at some point, we can look back on them with love." 

So no need to be sad, or maybe you can feel sad, but happy too, after all Van Noten preserved his integrity in life and departed with grace and dignity. But just in case you're looking for ways to ease the sadness, rewatch "Dries" (2016) by German filmmaker Reiner Holzemer, the documentary offers a profound insight into Van Noten's vision of beauty and his sources of inspiration, providing a deeper appreciation of his artistic legacy.

Things Are Not What They Seem: Loewe Men's S/S 25

Gigantic artworks took center stage on Dior's menswear runway during Paris Fashion Week.

On Loewe’s runway, instead, the art pieces were smaller and sparsely scattered. Besides, they didn't belong to just one artist, giving the impression that the indoor arena of the Garde Républicaine's Célestins barracks had been turned into a minimalist and slightly pretentious gallery space.

Among the artworks were Paul Thek's 1975 bronze micro mice from his "Personal Effects of the Pied Piper Series," a 1966 copy of Susan Sontag's "Against Interpretation," and pieces by two famous architects and designers: the iconic high-backed Argyle chair by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Easel by Carlo Scarpa.

Also on display was the 1981 black-and-white photo of a high-heeled shoe by Peter Huja.

This piece served as the image for the show invitation and as inspiration for the collection by Loewe's Creative Director Jonathan Anderson.

The show opened with several slim black suits and evolved into ample and sculptural pants with a jacron label on the front that secured the draped fabric. A biker jacket was turned into a cropped cape or reinvented with a scooped neckline, and jackets had extra loose sleeves that sagged when hands were in the pockets.

Models often wore headbands with long pheasant feathers that obscured their faces, symbolizing perhaps an invitation to look beyond appearances and seek the truth ourselves.

There were also plenty of optical illusions (also present, as you may remember, in Prada's S/S 25 menswear collection - is this a trend for the next season?). For example, a blue and a white top that looked like cable knits from a distance were actually made with a synthetic shiny finish.

Double-faced coats and jackets featured hidden wires, making their hems appear frozen in mid-air as if caught in a potent wind.

What looked like ballooning knitted skirts were actually wide-leg woven silk mohair trousers, and cropped shirts and pants were interconnected by a belt that looped around the hips, fusing the two designs into one (are belts a thing for next season too considering Prada's trompe l'oeil ones?) and the elongated neckline in a blue shirt extended below the waistline of the pants.

There were moments of surrealism, typical of Jonathan Anderson's work, in the golden and silver vests made from flexible metal links, in the mother-of-pearl tops with rich nacre and pseudo-nacre iridescences, and in the house labels magnified and turned into shirts.

The themes of questioning appearances and the faux vs real dichotomy were also prominent on Prada's S/S 25 menswear runway, hinting at a recurring motif for the next season.

However, here there was also a deeper, more subtle message in the coats with hems swept by the wind that brought to mind Paul Valéry's poem "The Graveyard by the Sea," and in particular the line, "The wind is rising... We must try to live!"

The billowing hems seemed indeed to echo the poem’s reflection on the transience of life and the urgency of embracing it fully, adding a poetic layer to the collection's exploration of reality and illusion.

Fashion & Art Synergy in a Modern Patronage: Dior Men's S/S 25

The relationship between art and fashion has become an inseparable bond over the last 15 years. In the past, a designer might have been passionate about specific artists and tried to channel their palettes and moods into a collection. Then the relationship evolved into collaborations where a fashion house commissioned a contemporary artist to create a print or a motif for a collection or a special accessory (or would obtain permission to use an existing motif).

New parameters have been established in more recent years: smaller brands might now look for younger or lesser-known artists and use a drawing or a painting for a print or an intarsia motif on knitwear. Meanwhile, larger brands can afford not only the permission to use specific artworks as motifs for their clothes and accessories, but may also include real artworks as a backdrop for a runway show and even have the artist sitting in the front row.

In a way, it is a new form of patronage that only more powerful luxury brands can usually afford. Dior is one of those, as demonstrated by the recent men's S/S 25 show that revolved around a collaboration between Kim Jones, Dior menswear designer, and Hylton Nel, the 83-year-old South African ceramicist based on the outskirts of Calitzdorp, in the Klein Karoo region (guests at the show received a booklet of photographs of his creative space taken by Pieter Hugo).

A teaser with K-pop band Tomorrow X Together (Dior's house ambassadors) featured the band members with cute cats and created anticipation for the show that took place yesterday afternoon in Paris.

Nel is known for a variety of ceramic pieces, from vases and pots to figures, and the runway featured six giant, striking sculptures of cats and dogs based on his work.

While Kate Bush's "Cloudbusting" played in the background, the first model walked down the runway carrying one of the original whimsical sculptures that inspired the installation, a hybrid character with the head of a cat and the body of a woman.

The collection wasn’t very conceptual (aside from the trousers incorporating a short apron, maybe…), but it was very Kim Jones with modern tailored silhouettes and plenty of functional jackets and coats in a rather classic palette of browns and greys with some splashes of pale yellow and faded wisteria.

The designer also explored Dior’s archive and deconstructed some of the womenswear designs he found there to create some of the designs for this collection such as the pants with draped wrap closures.

Further archival researches allowed Jones to adapt a 1952 womenswear asymmetrical coat designed by Dior and discover a coat based on an unproduced design sketched by Yves Saint Laurent for Dior (who knows how many sketches of unproduced items may be hiding in the archives of other fashion houses…). The knee-length coats with tiny beads mimicking raindrops aligned with the feminine mood, even though Jones created a juxtaposition by matching the piece with sturdy shoes.

Adventures rather than feminine couture designs inspired the extra-wide shorts matched with boots ideal for hiking. Yet, as Nel is a friend of Kim Jones (who is an art collector and owns many pieces by the master potter), his influence in the collection went beyond the runway set and the dog motif that appeared on the show’s invitation.

Silver studs were indeed used on black suits and derby shoes to recreate Nel’s animal motifs and etchings, which were also turned into badges or pendants for the handbags, or rendered as intarsia on the knitwear and used as motifs for the colored socks. A blue-and-white jacket with floral embroidery also hinted at earthenware and at couture (it took 600 hours of hand beading and embroidery to reproduce the effect).

Some models wore large and prominent detachable collars that spread wide apart. The collars were actually a bold visual statement, they created a distinctive appearance, but the most interesting thing was that they weren’t made of fabric but of glazed ceramics. They were indeed sculptures shaped like scarves, an illusion that fit well with the real/faux dichotomy seen in Prada's men's S/S 25 show as well. Others sported cloche hats designed by Stephen Jones and hand-crocheted by artisans from the Cape Town-based design studio Earth Age, featuring a fringe of ceramic beads.

Last but not least, a sweater, tote bags, and sweatshirts featured the sentence "Dior for my real friends" in Nel's handwriting.

It was a reference to Francis Bacon (Jones is a collector), who once stated, "Champagne for my real friends and real pain for my sham friends," a sentence also included in John Maybury's film about the painter, "Love Is The Devil".

Nel sat in the front row wearing a shirt with one of his dog motifs, his appearance confirming that these art and fashion connections are modern forms of patronage.

In ancient Rome, patrons supported artists and poets, and in return, the creative minds at their service were expected to promote their patrons, enhance their social prestige, and embody theirs ideals. Poets and artists also showed personal loyalty by attending their patrons social events, supporting them in public, and sometimes even acting as companions.

In contemporary times, the dynamic between influential fashion houses and artists mirrors the patronage system: just as the latter was crucial in Roman times for the flourishing of arts and literature, today's collaborations serve as a platform for unveiling artists and their work, while injecting at the same time a sense of novel and desirability in a collection. In some cases in which there is a mutual understanding, respect and admiration, like in the friendship between Jones and Nel, there is also a synergy that enriches both their creative endeavors, rather than a cold exercise in patronage.

In the Ranks of the White Satin Army of Love: Rick Owens Men's S/S 25

Rick Owens' previous menswear show took place at his Parisian home on the Place du Palais Bourbon (the former office of Francois Mitterand's Socialist Party). The space was conceived as a sanctuary and a haven for anti-intolerance, but it was limited, preventing the designer from inviting as many people as he wanted.

"I felt bad about making attendance so restricted," Owens announced in his show notes. "So this time around I wanted to welcome everyone. I asked all the fashion schools in Paris to send us students and faculty, men or women, who would like to walk in this white satin army of love."

Yesterday, the "white satin army of love" descended upon Paris, instantly turning the event into the show of the season.

Owens presented 10 looks, worn by groups of 20 people walking in blocks of four models per five rows, totaling 200 models. The lineup mainly included ordinary people, with a few Owens regulars like Tyrone Dylan Susman in a billowing see-through cape, and guest stars à la Allanah Starr. 

Clad in white and ivory with some silvery accents, some models donned long or short capes, others wore metallic ones with hoods or sported more functional funnel-neck biker jackets and delicate silk gazar jumpsuits.

The designs were primarily paired with Owens' signature plexiglass-heeled footwear and with last season's Straytukay inflated boots (deflated in this case), along with Owens' pseudo-orthopedic boots; all-white Geobasket sneakers also made an appearance.

Despite the elongated silhouettes and the jackets' peaked or wide shoulders (reminiscent of sci-fi looks in William Cameron Menzies's "Things to Come"), the phalanx configurations marching over the parvis of the Palais de Tokyo were less threatening than one might expect.

This wasn't an alien invasion or a war declaration with troops ready to fight indeed, but it was more similar to a procession of humanity or maybe of celestial beings, in all shapes and sizes.

The music – Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A major Op. 92: II, Allegretto, a very famous track, often chosen to punctuate key film scenes – strengthened this impression.

In 1941, writing to a friend, Pasolini stated that, for him, Beethoven's symphonies resonated with meaning: "...the pain, the problem, the longing (call it what you will) of Beethoven's soul is expressed in music, and the music makes that pain, that problem, that longing resonate within you."

This particularly powerful track is memorable for its layers of instrumentation that build a sound tapestry, narrating a story of struggle, adversity, progress and triumph, hinting at the possibility of a blissful peace.

The processional, inexorable and anguished rhythm of the Allegretto, is a relatively simple harmony with a repetitive nature (connecting it to the repetitive beats favored by modern DJs), but it is also heartbreaking and enchanting.

Many consider the Allegretto the greatest piece of music in the Western canon; composer Richard Wagner even elevated it to divine status.

Owens must have read what Pasolini and other music critics and experts stated about the Allegretto before choosing it, as the music played a pivotal role in giving the runway a hieratic mood.

This was emphasized by the metal structure carried by a group of athletic models, on which gymnasts stood, one carrying a flag with a print of two people holding hands. The structure called to mind statues in religious processions (did Owens ever see any Good Friday procession in Italy where moving live music accompanies the scenes recounting the passion of Christ?), but also the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games (starting in Paris in July), with athletes carrying flags.

The show also had a cinematic quality reminiscent of Cecil B. DeMille, as the number of people on the runway evoked crowd scenes in DeMille's films.

This was Hollywood rather than Porterville, as the designer highlighted, a reference to the people he met and hung around with in Los Angeles, but also to his admiration for Busby Berkeley’s perfectly choreographed scenes and religious epics or swords-and-sandals movies, from DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" (View this photo) to "Cleopatra", with some vague moods evoking "Lot in Sodom", James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber's expressionistic version of the Biblical story about Sodom and Gomorrah shot in 1933 (that was also echoed in Rick Owens' previous creations, in particular in his S/S 09 collection).

Owens surprised also because, rather than opting for Madame Satan's black, a color that would have reflected his gothic mood (but that would have turned the solemn runway into a mourning procession), he opted for white with some metallic accents that maybe hinted at Claudette Colbert as Cleopatra (View this photo), a reference evoked in the golden headdress worn by one of the groups of models (by Parisian stylist and hat-maker Corinne Lucquiaud).

Despite the connection with Berkeley's crowd scenes, Owens didn't opt for a "quantity vs. quality" approach, though, as there were just 10 designs to see.

The idea was indeed to get just a few designs to focus on the actual clothes and on humanity as well.

Pharrell Williams at Louis Vuitton tackled the same theme, humanity, but from a more commercial point of view; in this case, instead, humanity was also a way to highlight the collaborative effort behind the collection that also included wrapped knit shirts designed by Tanja Vidic for the litter-bearers and silk charmeuse robes from Fina, designed by Owens' collaborator Dafne Balatsos, while choreographer and artist Ylva Falk worked on the gymnasts' poses.

Kudos to Owens for the fashion school-issued open casting, allowing students to experience a fashion show as protagonists rather than interns.

This approach also offered Owens the opportunity to dress different body types, creating 10 looks that suited people of all shapes, sizes, genders, and ages in the show, and to play with the individual vs. collective dichotomy.

Indeed, in his notes, Owens wrote, "Expressing our individuality is great but sometimes expressing our unity and reliance on each other is a good thing to remember too… especially in the face of the peak intolerance we are experiencing in the world right now." (difficult not to detect a reference in his words to the rise of the far-right in France at the recent European elections and at the elections in France that will take place at the end of the month).

While the show was moving, it wasn't tear-inducing, however it definitely made you ponder about humanity and the role of fashion in our lives. Maybe it also proved that fashion shows are no longer just about selling a collection, but they are more about organizing a grand spectacle to instill catharsis in the viewer, much like Greek tragedy, or comment about the times we are living in.

In a way, there's no point in showing too many clothes and accessories on the runways, as you will see them in the showrooms and then in the shops. For now, Rick Owens seemed to tell us, you simply immerse yourself in the experience, hoping to walk away not just entertained, but deeply touched and transformed, carrying a renewed sense of purpose and connection to the world.

What a Fine Thing a Human Is When Truly Human: Louis Vuitton Men's S/S 25

Venues for fashion shows have become crucial to the collection itself. Sometimes, they connect directly with the designs on the runway, highlighting the collection's main theme; other times, the location subtly showcases the brand's wealth, power, and influence. This is evident with Louis Vuitton, which, after taking over a bridge and a public park in previous season, held its men's show in the garden of the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

The UNESCO headquarters, a collaborative work of several iconic 20th-century architects, such as Bernard Zehrfuss, Marcel Breuer, and Pier Luigi Nervi (expect one day a Vuitton runway in or around a building designed by Nervi…), consists of several structures and landmarks.

One of them is the Symbolic Globe, representing UNESCO's aspirations for global understanding, cooperation, and solidarity, a remarkable engineering feat. Designed by engineer and scientist Erik Reitzel, the globe is an interlaced structure made of special joints and rods held together by fine steel cables.

Though it is a minimal structure, the globe is rich in symbolism: inspired by natural forms and the elementary principle of the soap bubble, it is stabilized by small elements, perfectly symbolizing the forces that hold the world together - regardless of where we live, we are indeed all interconnected.

Another symbolic aspect of the Globe is that it was designed to be assembled from small elements by people from all over the world.

Originally conceived for the United Nations Summit on Social Development in March 1995, it was built in the center of Copenhagen by international delegates.

The structure was divided into forty-eight sections, allowing each participant to manage one element, even if they lacked physical strength. This gave people from all over the world the chance to erect a structure and witness its completion.

Delegates from around the world succeeded where the builders of the Tower of Babel had failed. According to the biblical story, the tower's construction was halted because the participants, confused by their many languages, scattered across the Earth.

The Symbolic Globe was instead completed and eventually relocated outside the UNESCO HQ in Paris and set against a backdrop of country flags. The structure was inaugurated on November 7, 1995, by Federico Mayor, who at the time was UNESCO General Director.

Now, while the globe is interesting from a structural point of view (fashion design students, please download the essay about the globe at this link as it contains structural details that may be useful for creating innovative accessories or jewelry, or to add further meaning to the set of a runway show moving from the assembly process), its true significance lies in its symbolism and the assembly process. One could argue that a fashion collection is created in a similar way, piece by piece, often by an international team.

The globe and the international flags provided a symbolic backdrop for the fourth menswear runway show at Louis Vuitton of designer, singer and music producer Pharrell Williams.

The title of the show was "Le monde est à vous" (The World Is Yours), and it was conceived as a homage to humankind (a theme dear to Williams, whose skincare brand is called Humanrace).

This theme was evident in the diverse casting of the collection, with models' outfits designed to complement their different skin tones.

Black models in deep ebony velvet suits and elegant cardigans with beaded embroideries opened the runway (which took place on Tuesday, a day before Juneteenth); models with lighter skin tones donned caramel designs and white models came out in snowy white and pale grey ensembles.

There was a progression of looks, starting with formalwear paired with formal accessories (including a red case similar to the red briefcase usually brandished by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK when the Budget is announced) possibly referencing diplomats, then moving to pilot overalls, suggesting more adventurous characters.

The collection then featured looks for refined dandies such as short fur jackets covered in rhinestone embellishments and a white knee-length fox coat (Louis Vuitton is sadly still using animal fur in its collections). The concept of UNESCO and humanity appeared again in satellite prints of the world, including a pixelated rendition, offering a new take on the aerial view appreciated in fashion.

References to humanity were highlighted in a collaboration with Air Afrique. This collaboration with the Paris-based cultural collective inspired by the Pan-African airline that operated from 1961 to 2002, includes a capsule collection of clothing and luggage featuring Air Afrique's blue-and-green tartan. Additionally, Air Afrique produced a film for the collection, starring a group of kids as United Nations delegates (watch it on their Instagram page).

New additions included a pixelated python pattern and a multi-colored version of the brand’s signature checkerboard pattern (also the lawn was sprayed in the iconic pattern, which may have been avoided as it felt like an attempt at branding a UNESCO space).

The collection then gradually shifted to sports, with soccer-inspired designs hinting at the current European Championships in Germany and with models built like athletes.

The looks featured jerseys that seemed made disassembling soccer balls, soccer ball bags, and soccer shoes, with some models wearing shirts emblazoned with "LVFC" and "LV Lovers" (a slogan that was already used in the first collection by Pharrell Williams). The sports references extended further with luxury monogrammed tracksuits and motocross jackets, reflecting LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton's partnership with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which kicks off in July (LVMH is also sponsoring several French athletes who have been signed as Vuitton brand ambassadors).

Sports victories and the energy that unites us all were also hinted at in the title of Williams' new original composition for the show soundtrack, "Triumphus Cosmos" (for his debut Vuitton show, he launched his track "Joy (Unspeakable)," also employed in an Evian commercial – Williams definitely knows how to use a fashion show as a platform for his other projects).

A collection inspired by humankind with a diverse cast of models carries good intentions, yet the concept of luxury is often distant from equality and human rights. Therefore, rather than the clothes, we should draw other lessons from this show at the UNESCO HQ.

The first lesson is embedded in the globe, which has a golden nucleus marking its heart. This spherical golden heart beating inside the light structure reflects the fundamental values of humanity and the necessity of defending them. No development is indeed possible without respect for the principles of justice, education, and sharing.

The second lesson comes from a quote on a monument in the Square of Tolerance, the Sculpture Garden at UNESCO HQ: "Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed."

There is no need for luxury in a world still plagued by wars, and while the beauty of fashion can soothe our hearts and minds, it is our humanity that truly makes us beautiful, regardless of what we wear.

After all, as Greek dramatist Menander stated, "ὡς χαρίεν ἄνθρωπος, ὅταν ἄνθρωπος ᾖ," that literally means "how graceful is man when he is really a man" or "what a fine thing a human is when truly human".

The More, The Merrier (or Maybe Not): Valentino Resort 25

It's always disheartening when you invest time and effort into something you believe in, only to have your efforts undermined by unexpected events. Many fashion lecturers emphasizing the importance of quality over quantity to their students must have felt like this after Alessandro Michele unveiled his Resort 25 collection for Valentino.

Michele stepped down as Creative Director of Gucci in November 2022. Amidst speculation about his next move - whether starting his own brand or joining the recently resurrected but not yet relaunched Walter Albini - he took a sabbatical year from the fashion scene. During this time, he co-authored a book with philosopher Emanuele Coccia, titled "La vita delle forme" ("The Life of Forms - Theory of the Re-enchantment," HarperCollins), which will be available in English next year.

In the volume, fashion is explored through a dialogue and interpreted as philosophy, a concept confirmed by the erudite press notes Michele wrote for his Gucci collections from 2015 to 2022, which were regarded as mini-essays (note: Michele's fans will love the book; other readers will instead feel like Menippus in Lucian's satirical "Icaromenippus" - in the satire Menippus expects to gain wisdom and truth from philosophers, but ends up being left in an even more confused state than he was. "They perplexed me more and more, with their daily drenches of beginnings and ends, atoms and voids, matters and forms," Menippus says).

In April of this year, it was announced that Michele was heading to Valentino, following Pierpaolo Piccioli’s departure in March (the constant game of revolving chairs in the fashion industry is indeed complex and endless).

Although the first proper Valentino runway show under Michele will take place in Paris in September, the Rome-based fashion house shared a lookbook on Monday featuring Michele's women’s and men’s 2025 Resort collections.

The lookbook was quintessentially Michele, showcasing designs and styling reminiscent of his tenure at Gucci, accompanied by accessories adorned with the iconic "V" logo. Michele drew significant inspiration from Valentino's '70s style, harkening back to the days when the Italian designer strolled around Capri with Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

One red coat paid homage to Valentino's signature color, the iconic "Rosso Valentino" that has made fashion history. However, the main reference was the designer's all-white couture collection from 1968, as proved by the white and cream designs that dominated this collection.

Valentino Garavani’s hippie chic years were thus combined with Michele's own maximalist vision.

The latter materialized in skirts and dresses adorned with ruffles, dramatic capes, evening gowns covered in beaded and sequined embroideries, dresses with oversized collars, tweed suits, and kimono-like jackets. The aesthetic mood was Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tenenbaum" meets Bernardo Bertolucci’s "The Conformist".

Accessories included turbans and pillbox hats, bow-shaped barrettes, long strands of pearls, fringed satchels very similar to the ones that were popular in the '70s, pumps with bows, and cork platform sneakers reminiscent of the calcagnini-inspired platforms seen in Gucci’s S/S 17 collection.

The offer also included plenty of designs that celebrities will love for the red carpet: some intricately embellished, embroidered, and sequined gowns would not look out of place in a couture lineup, proving that Michele will have no trouble designing a couture collection.

Indeed, the issue was not the content of the images or the collection itself, which tended to hybridize Michele's taste and style as seen at Gucci, with Valentino’s essence - a process humorously dubbed "Vucci" by Instagram commentators. After all, it’s evident that Michele will bring to Valentino his passion for maximalism, from silk scarves worn as turbans to geeky glasses and genderless pussy-bow blouses.

The real problem with this collection was the sheer volume of looks presented. The lookbook included a staggering 171 images of complete outfits and 93 of accessories. The first thought that comes to mind when considering the number of pictures is that Valentino made a significant investment, with Michele working non-stop since April to produce all these looks. Moreover, the brand must have granted him considerable creative freedom, allowing him to create without heavily editing the collection.

Yet, there are pros and cons in this strategy. While there’s certainly a lot to see, this may prove to be an exhausting exercise for consumers. Such a lengthy lookbook can induce fatigue, leading to the impression that the layered looks and abundance of details aren’t driven by a desire to create something unique but rather by a perverse hope to outdo competitors (Gucci included - Valentino's Resort lookbook was indeed unveiled on the same day Gucci's menswear show took place in Milan) by annihilating them with an immense collection.

Moreover, an excessive number of looks doesn't necessarily demonstrate a designer’s talent for fashion design, as it prevents clear analysis. However, in this case, it does showcase Michele's undeniable talent as a stylist.

Does this mean a fashion house should limit a designer’s creativity? Certainly not. But even the best novel undergoes editing to ensure it remains engaging. In the case of this collection, that’s precisely what was missing - editing. Even Adrian Appiolaza's debut collection at Moschino, which balanced his personal inspirations with the brand’s essence, could have benefited from some judicious cuts.

Wait, though! Maybe there is a purpose behind this vast collection: it could be interpreted as a memory game where you browse through it and try to spot designs that look the same.

Some pictures from the lookbook included indeed the same garments or accessories styled differently, as if the looks had been endlessly remixed, or the same print or textile adapted in different designs (which is perfectly understandable, but can be redundant as well). The "memory game" approach fits Michele's "Twin" vision, as exemplified on Gucci’s S/S 23 runway and in one of the sections of his book. Alternatively, you could view this collection as a different memory game where you browse Gucci’s past collections to spot the connections with Valentino's Resort 2025.

In data science, you focus on the most interesting elements of the dataset and use them as anchors to build your results, but here it was impossible to do so as the eye wandered, ultimately resulting in nothing more than a great fashion fatigue. It's challenging to convince consumers to buy fewer clothes and focus on quality over quantity. In this case, quality wasn’t the problem; it was the overwhelming quantity that proved too distracting. 

So, what to hope for the future? Let Michele have his creative freedom, certainly, but for the sake of consumers, let's hope for some editing. If this collection was an unscheduled "surprise," one can only dread what may happen with a scheduled collection - perhaps 300 looks?