Bella Pietro's Diaghilev

Produced by Nikki Fina, the show was marked by its emphasis on collaboration as a variety of artists came together to collaborate on Pietro’s distinctive vision. Ryann Fitzgerald’s intricate chains and beading combined with the millinery work of Sideara St. Claire guaranteed that every look was exceptionally detailed. Seeping through the the work was a playful essence, fusing traditional balletic elements with the art deco costuming of the early 1920’s. The night before the show, office was able to get behind the scenes with the visionary herself and ask her some questions about her vision for the show and all that went into it.

I’ve spent probably a thousand dollars on beads a week for this collection.

I want people, if they know nothing about fashion, to look at this show and say 'This was sparkly as fuck.'

How are you feeling about the show tomorrow?

I’m feeling really good because I found out I’m ahead of schedule. I thought it was 12 hours later than it was because I took a nap. The work is beautiful, that’s kind of all that matters at the end of the day is clothes. Everything else is just theatrics.

What are you exploring in this collection that you haven’t before?

COLOR! I’m exploring color for the first time in a while. I hate being associated with any adjectives and being put in any type of box at all. I think as an artist, career longevity is the most important thing to focus on and none of us talk about this. Knowing that I’m synonymous now with hating color, and being this brooding goth makes me sick to my stomach. SO I have to do something about it and switch it up.

What was the last thing you fell in love with?

Some beads on ebay I couldn't afford to add to this collection. I’ll probably think about them for a while.

What about Serge Diaghilev inspires you?

His approach to directing. He never felt he had any raw, specific talent but he had the vision and was able to facilitate people working in a really good environment together. That’s what his talent was. And that’s just how I view myself in the grand scheme of things. I sew, obviously, but I’ve never been a technical person. My biggest strength is bringing together really creative people and having a strong enough vision that we all are on board. Finding the most talented person in their respective field to do each role creates a lot of trust and a family dynamic at the end of the day.

If this collection was an animal, what would it be?

It’d be a cat. If you ask me about an animal for anything it has to be a cat. My mom has 20 rescue cats at all times.

What part of this collection are you most proud of?

Everyone I’ve had the pleasure of working and creating it with. Specifically, Ryann Fitzgerald who does my embellishment and beading. She’s part of this collection in ways that are hard to even put on paper. And Sideara St. Claire who is a millinery designer. We met 2 years ago and the art we make together is so beautiful and intricate and we have such a telepathic communication style. And my producer, Nikki Fina, is more than a collaborator. I am just so proud of everyone who worked on this collection and so grateful to have so many artists in my life who are dedicated to putting their energy into my art as well.

What is your favorite shape at the moment?

I love teardrop shapes. I like things that are pointy but I’ve been really enjoying art deco shapes and spirals. Anything that you look at and reads as fun automatically. I think, for some reason, designers are too afraid recently to delve into things that just read as fun and nothing else.

What’s your “nails on a chalkboard?”

Nails on a chalkboard. Most noises I do hate. I work in 100% silence as much as possible. People tapping, talking, just breathing sometimes even.

What’s the first thing you’re doing when the show is over?

TOO POOR and carolesdaughter are performing at my afterparty and they’re both people I consider friends so it’d be fucked up to not come for a little bit. Otherwise, I’m going to smoke a joint, chill, and just relax with my cat and people I like for a minute.

Fashion

le PÈRE x Juventus with Pi’erre Bourne

February 13, 2025

New York-based apparel brand le PÈRE celebrated the launch of its collaboration capsule with legendary Italian football club Juventus at The Grounds NYC on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Guests gathered on an indoor soccer pitch to hear an electric performance by Pi’erre Bourne, folllowed by New York native Zillons. The evening's energy drew the entire neighborhood to catch a glimpse of the celebration. The collection builds on a series of previous projects between Juventus and le PÈRE, such as a "Fashion Meets Football" earlier last year where Juventus unveiled their 24/25 adidas home kit in the USA. This collection includes a jersey, cap, and knit scarf channeling both tradition and modernity, in a blending of sport, music, fashion and art.

Photography Matthew Yoscary

Fashion

Burberry’s Summer 2025 Campaign: A Love Letter to London

February 12, 2025

Burberry’s new Summer 2025 campaign, It’s Always Burberry Weather: London in Love, stars Kate Winslet alongside Aimee Lou Wood, Chen Kun, Jodie Turner-Smith, Micheal Ward, Nicholas Hoult, Richard E. Grant, Son Sukku, and models David Gandy, Liu Wen, and Naomi Campbell. The campaign also features a special appearance by a Burberry Knight in shining armour.

“A Burberry love story comes to life through the cinematic lens of this campaign. It’s about humour, optimism and, of course, the unpredictability of our great British weather,” says Daniel Lee, Burberry’s Chief Creative Officer.

Inspired by classic British rom-coms, the campaign includes seven short films capturing love and life in rain-soaked London. Alongside the films, Burberry is launching in-store displays inspired by London’s blooming streets. The collection introduces lightweight designs, including silk dresses, cropped jackets, and reworked trench elements perfect for summer showers.'

Watch the films and find more details on Burberry's website.

By Enzo Holdt
Photos courtesy of Burberry

Fashion

Elena Velez Fall/Winter 2025

February 10, 2025

As guests descended the set of stairs at Artechouse this past weekend, they were engulfed by the sound of crashing waves, drawing them into a mystic nautical purgatory. Large jagged rocks jutted from the floor as projections of a dark, fog-laden seashore lined the walls, revealing a distant ship—a hauntingly perfect world for Elena Velez’s new collection "Leech."

The bewitching sounds of sirens filled the space as one of New York’s most notorious con-artists, Anna Delvey, opened the show in an olive green leather suit and exposed ankle monitor. Models followed walking, sliding, and contorting themselves across the runway in eerie, distorted movements. They embodied chast captain's daughters, valiant sailors, enchanting sirens, and shadowy sea creatures, all tied together by something undeniably feminine and seductive. From mucilaginous seaweed, tattered sails, tangled fishnets, and sculpted corsetry, the collection was as haunting as it was alluring. The delicate balance of seductiveness, innocence, beauty, terror and repugnance explored numerous realms of sensuality and the feminine divine. "Both Eve and the serpent, both the sailor and the siren" she wrote in her show notes, “a supernatural muse of seduction and subversion—a creature fully integrated with her shadow self, steadily shedding the scales of her prescribed identity … both good and evil, and the call of the void that tempts toward the depths of the unknown.” Questioning our very perceptions of sensuality as a whole.

With each new season, Elena Velez’s defiant storytelling through material and form continues to redefine expectations, and her Fall/Winter 2025 collection is no exception. Unafraid to push limits and question the norm, she left her audience uncertain—had they just woken from a fairytale dream or a feverish nightmare?

Interview By Rea Brayshaw
Photography Kristina Shakht

office had the chance to step behind the scenes and sit down with Elena Velez to unravel the magic and mystery woven into the creation of her otherworldly collection.

How were the days leading up to the show? How are you feeling?

This season we’ve had the fashion week show prep of my dreams. Our fall production threw me a lot of soulcrushing curve balls, but this week we’ve had ample time to create, experiment, sleep, indulge... This season feels distinctly inspired. Everyone is so excited about their contributions to the project so I think it will be really rewarding to see how it all comes together.

How do you want the wearer of this collection to feel while wearing it?

This season is about demanding space for multiplicity, nonconforming female sensuality, and a reclamation of power to design and live our own lore.

How do you navigate staying true to your vision while growing in the industry?

It’s increasingly difficult. I’ve felt every sort of pressure: commercial, financial, public, personal. I quickly found a comfortable place for myself within the industry when I was first emerging but felt stifled by the strict adherence to dominant narratives that being a mainstream operative requires.

How do you see your work challenging or contributing to the constant evolution of the fashion industry?

I leave this sort of meta commentary to editors and commentators. I think it’s radical enough to continue to design, story-tell, and live life publicly on my own difficulty setting. The Fashion Industry™ has never factored into that calculation for me.

Describe your personal style in three words?

Unassuming, indifferent, grungy.

If you weren't a fashion designer right now, what would you be doing?

I fantasize often about a life stripped of the blessing and the curse that is my call to fashion. I have creative hobbies like interior design and music but I think a more esoteric pursuit would be using my fourth dimensional chess skills to build and support another person's lofty endeavours. A ruthless agent, a pageant mom, a politician's wife.

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