Tilda Swinton in Chanel – Photo by Jean-Baptiste Mondino
I’ve been thinking about how aesthetics are constantly changing and how the word “pretty” has fallen out of favor. It seems so vapid, passé, and almost irrelevant these days—more like an insult than a compliment.
Tilda Swinton
I recently came across an Instagram post featuring a Tilda Swinton quote. It’s from several years ago, and Tilda specifically meant it about her father, one of the star’s biggest influences, along with David Bowie. Yet, it resonated with me.
Mme Gres, 1984,= Photo by Lord Snowdon
I’m attracted to compelling, engaging, and striking things. I started thinking about some of the world’s most revolutionary women designers, Coco Chanel and Mme. Gres, Schiaparelli, Miuccia Prada, Bonnie Cashin, etc. They are strong, bold, irreverent, brilliantly creative, and enigmatic. Traditionally pretty? No! Neither were their designs.
The announcement that Matthieu Blazy is Chanel’s artistic director supports my theory that this is the direction fashion is heading right now.
“He (Matthieu Blazy) pulled the rug out from under assumptions in the most gracious way and made the every day into precious objects that only the wearer understood. He played sleight of hand with the hierarchy of taste.” – Vanessa Friedman.
Matthieu Blazy’s designs for Bottega Veneta, Photo group by thecut.com
Looking at images of Blazy’s Bottega Veneta, the last thing that comes to mind is the word “pretty.” Dedicated to the craftsmanship that is the beating heart of Bottega, Blazy is designed for a new luxury archetype for those who desire both form and function, not one or the other.
Tilda Swinton wearing Chanel Haute Couture Spring 2024 Vogue Spain September 2024 – Photo by Quentin De Briey
Under Blazy’s tutelage, Chanel will undoubtedly be playfully provocative and weirdly wonderful. And even though Chanel epitomizes the idea of “Jolie Madame” (even when it’s worn by someone cool and hip like Tilda Swinton), don’t expect the house, under Matthew’s transformation, to conjure up the word ‘pretty’ in that predictable, bourgeois, pearls and pumps kind of way.
Matthieu Blazy and Louise Trotter – Photo by Getty Images
Chanel’s president of fashion, Bruno Pavlovsky, told WWD that the brand had three finalists for the coveted artistic director role. Blazy stood out because “he has a track record, a vision of Chanel, and a modernity that seduced us.” Modernity is the operative word.
Louise Trotter, Creative Director of Carven, Photo by Isadore Montag, right Phoebe Philo takes a final bow – Photo by Harper Bazaar.uk
Just one hour before it was publicized that Matthieu was exiting Bottega Veneta, Louise Trotter, creative director of Carven, was named Matthieu’s replacement beginning this January. The British designer, appointed creative director of Carven in 2023, reminds me of Phoebe Philo in how she eschews ‘pretty’ in her effortless, nonchalant, offhanded personal style and within her designs.
Carven Fall 2024 Ready-to-Wear, – Photo by Paolo Lanzi for Gorunway.com
Like Philo, Trotter is primarily known for her minimalist, refined aesthetic, muted colorways, and voluminous, modern silhouettes. Both emphasize tailoring and construction and focus on creating wearable, high-quality wardrobe staples for women that prioritize comfort and functionality over excessive embellishment.
It’s been quite a year and quite a month for fashion, and on Thursday, it was quite a day. In addition to announcing two high-profile hirings, we learned that legendary fashion editor and stylist Polly Mellen died at 100.
What do all three have in common? Their work and visages symbolize a strong aesthetic beyond just a pretty face.
“Fashion is what we’re seen in, and it is the way we present ourselves. I care about fashion for the person who is wearing it. I care that that person knows what she can wear and how she should look. I never think, Is she beautiful looking?” – Polly Mellen.
Mellen produced unforgettable, if not shocking, fashion stories like Nastassja Kinski and the mesmerizing Serpent 1981, photographed by Richard Avedon, and The Bathhouse, one of Vogue’s most controversial shoots. The shoot conjured up images of Dachau and drug addicts and scandalized Vogue readers enough to make them cancel their subscriptions.
Polly Mellen, 1997, Mitchell Gerber Corbis VCG via Getty Images
Like her former boss, Diana Vreeland, Mellen was not a conventional beauty, but boy, did she ever have a strong personal style and great presence. “Style can be a person who is not beautiful-looking. Style is a person who dares and has the confidence of knowing what is right for her,” opined Mellen, who said that looking like everyone else bored her and assuredly knew what suited her.
At 78, Polly appears in an advertising campaign for the Gap wearing a men’s vintage T-shirt layered over a long-sleeved tee and Long & Lean jean
A style icon in her own right, Polly appeared in ads for The Gap and Michael Kors in 1991 and 2002. At every stage of her life, the quintessential fashion editor often pared things down to the most fundamental, flattering basics. “I like glamorous classics, not fancy clothes,” Polly told WWD in 2002.
At almost 100 years old, the legendary fashion editor remained sharply focused on the future – Photo by Pamela Hanson
Most importantly, Polly disliked nostalgia. Mellen didn’t like living in the past and preferred to look toward the future. “Let’s not be nostalgic,” she told W. “Let’s not talk about what it used to be. Always forward.”
Latest Comments
Fascinating article–fascinating man! Thanks, Marilyn!
Love my portrait Thank you Michel Haddi!!!!
Such a fun and bold take on fashion! Love how this collection brings a fresh, playful energy to the scene.
Beautifully written with fashion, identity, and branding intelligence!
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Bob Mackie…truly a creative GENIUS with limitless talent that I adore!
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