Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Aug 04, 2025

Beautiful Chaos Reigns on the Runways

Beautiful Chaos Reigns on the Runways

Fashion Month continues to reflect our fractured times.

If your life feels like a never-ending parade of concentric Zoom windows, FaceTime squares, and a thousand open tabs, the fall 2021 collections suggest you’re not alone. Perhaps inspired by our ragtag lockdown uniforms of corporate casual on top, sweatpants party on the bottom, designers in London and Milan went for unusual combinations that transcended the typical styling tricks to reflect our fractured, fragmented reality. Along the way, they ended up tapping into the strange, in-between mood of the present, where lockdowns alternate with abrupt re-openings and we wait for our vaccine shots but worry about the variants, constantly whipsawing between hesitation and hope.



At Marni, where “Franken-jackets” (to use Mary H.K. Choi’s genius coinage) popped up for spring, designer Francesco Risso extended the metaphor this season, gleefully trotting out pants with mismatched legs and a leather coat with different-colored quadrants. He paired some looks with comically oversized handbags, a joke of scale, and even turned some pieces into mixed-media collages of found objects, a collaboration with the jeweler Tom Binns. Tactile and soft, the show felt like a nod to the magic of in-person experiences. Right now, "romanticism feels more powerful than any form of protest," Risso reflected in his show notes, "a way to delve into reality with another gaze and another touch, finding another meaning to the everyday. It also felt like a response to the growing pressure for clothes to "pop" onscreen, in our digital-only landscape-these looks felt linked to the physical world, which only made them more desirable.



Meanwhile, in London, Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena of Chopova Lowena opted for mesh tops and leggings made from dead stock material, and looks that incorporated equestrian uniforms mashed up with school uniforms, for the horse girl who’s studying for the SATs in her spare time. A standout motif was the split-personality dresses, kilts, and blouses in contrasting prints.



And up-and-coming label HRH, known for its gigantic scrunchies, showed as a part of the Fashion East presentation, which spotlights the city's up-and-coming designers. The designer, who goes by Hannah HRH, drew from her past life as a gymnast, finding herself inspired by the interstitial lives of athletes (which aren't that different from an existence spent perpetually idling in a Zoom lobby.) “The moments when teams aren’t on ice, or on the court, but are all boarding the plane together or waiting along the sidelines for results," influenced her, as she said in her show notes. The symphonies of sweatpants and mega-scrunchies and puffy scarves, equal parts workaday and showy, were intended to channel the feeling of triumph "when you watch Simone Biles win gold, or when you see Surya Bonaly spiral across the ice in her glistening lamé.”



Danish designer Cecilie Bahnsen forwent the mood board this season, choosing instead to focus on fabrics. She gestured at the chaotic aeshetic of pandemic dressing, turning out all-in-one pieces that removed the need for layering and felt like they contained multitudes, like this sweater and off-the-shoulder dress combo, worn with leg warmers.



And Erin Beatty of Rentrayage has made slicing and dicing upcycled finds into a brand signature, but she went further this season and came up with "Zoom collars" meant to zhush up the sweatshirts we're trying to pass off as office wear. These days, she admitted in her show notes, “fashion continues to feel a touch irrelevant...Where getting dressed felt once a pleasure, a daily sense of opportunity in expression, right now it is hardly a note on the day. We are in an age of such seeming dysfunction, that the functionality of our clothing becomes top priority. One of the few things we can control in a day. One of the few places where we can find literal comfort." For her, pieces that were "a bit strange and perfectly off," including this sweatsuit bisected by cottagecore florals, felt the most suited to our time.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
U.S. Opens Official Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
Leaked audio of Canada's new PM Mark Carney admitting the truth about the Net Zero agenda: "We're gonna make a lot of money off of this."
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab: "In this new world, we must accept... total transparency. You have to get used to it. You have to behave accordingly. But if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid."
Meet Mufti Hamid Patel, head of Office for Standards in Education in Pakistan
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
×