In a time dominated by trends, the two powerhouses stand apart, united by a shared commitment to authenticity and individuality. As Burna Boy eloquently puts it, "Every stitch, every fade tells a story." With G-Star, he finds a partner who understands that fashion is more than just clothing; it's a narrative — a dialogue between the wearer and the world. He goes on to say, "Our connection goes beyond fashion; it's about pushing boundaries and embracing authenticity."
As part of the collaboration, G-Star unveils two limited edition, premium Japanese denim looks designed exclusively for Burna Boy. From an ultra-long denim military coat to a hooded sleeveless jacket matched with loose jeans, each piece exudes effortless style and uncompromising quality.
To celebrate the release of the collection, we witnessed the first stop on his tour as Burna Boy took his place amongst a very elaborate stage design, featuring a live jazz band, pyrotechnics, a quartet of string instruments, and even a barbershop. On a warm Wednesday evening in Chicago, Burna performed an monumental 31 tracks for an exhilarated crowd as his dance crew took center stage donning a uniform of white overalls.
Blumarine
Walter Chiapponi’s Fall outing for Blumarine envisioned a woman that expresses herself through emotions and the glee of getting dressed: This direction translated in a slew of leopard coats worn alongside skin-tight knickers, or through sheepskin fur teamed with lace opera gloves. Albeit all the efforts in making layering a cozy game and adding a pared-down spin on the feminine side (that meant hemlines zoomed in well above the knee and see-through), this was a collection that lacked both in execution and cohesion. Models had anguished guises, textiles were poorly cut and the fabric manipulations had a lackluster feel throughout. It would be interesting to see where Chiapponi’s creative vision will lead him, particularly across the fixtures of a brand that had always bet on chic sensuality with a playful edge to match.
Gucci
Kudos to Gucci, though, who sits at the opposite side of the spectrum. The house continues to ride the wave of quiet luxury: Fall incorporated slightly subversive tailoring that respected the brand’s artisanal codes, taking away all the fuss and maintaining a breezy edge that recalled that of previous seasons. To wit—the key item of the season is the coat, made in fabrics that propose both a masculine and feminine silhouette: bombers, peacoats and leather jackets were amid this season’s standouts, done in lace—cut and reconstructed—embellished with embroideries and velvet details. Best of all, the pool of accessories looked super light: a new handle bag with a flat and perforated logo reveals what lies beneath, crafted in nappa with a silky feel and rendered with a layer that makes it airy and soft to the touch. What’s more, a clutch embellished with a gold-toned metal bar looked pretty exquisite and playful, too.
SUNNEI
Speaking of tongue-in-cheek moments, SUNNEI brought a funny gimmick on stage, by presenting a collection that felt somewhat refreshing: big scarves were layered over octopus hooded pieced, and in the womenswear proposals cinched waists ruled supreme—all in all, there was a nice interplay of the traditional and the avant-garde, given by the strong palette contrasted by rigorous silhouettes that had some sort of freshness to them. Even though all the big (big!) stuff were cool at first sight, nothing groundbreaking made the cut—perhaps the set design that had carpets mimicking the clothes’ textures was a lovely feast for the senses.
MSGM
Rounding up was MSGM’s take of the Côte Basque, which reverberates in a story glittering on the outside and dark in the soul. This season, the wardrobe was reinterpreted and distorted, with the bourgeois heritage ripped apart by zips, studded with crystals. This season showcased a more sophisticated, cleaner and tougher evolution: the muted palette consisting of concrete gray and anthracite, cream and dust pink, with touches of lipstick red and cerulean blue in a deep black world felt grounded in a mature outing.
PRADA
For Fall 2024, Prada's luxe basics continued to flourish, coming to life with a lineup that added a slick of silliness to the house’s refined polish. This translated into pieces carved out around the body, peeled away to expose inner layers: Skirts created a façade of fabric, juxtaposing delicacy and strength, with tasteful fragile silks laid against tailoring wool — for added contrast.
MM6 Maison Margiela
Then again, contrasts like that have also been at the heart of MM6 Maison Margiela’s collections: for Fall, the collection struck a balance between sweetly prim shapes and sculptural ones, which felt as traditional as seasons past. Abstraction, ultimately, translated in a relentless play with length and width: there was plenty of color to be had, though it was the pieces with a minimalist palette that hit home the most.
Moschino
Add to that a cool dose of retro-driven sensuality and you gain a lineup that strikes a nice juxtaposition between the novel and the more timeless: a new, new challenge taken on by Adrian Appiolaza, newly-appointed Creative Director of Moschino who for Fall 2024 looked to craft, but also gestures and ideology, paying homage to the late Franco Moschino. The sensitivity of the collection was touching: logos of peace and love feel as relevant and timely in a time of social unrest. Timeless classics were pleasingly twisted, with a slightly provocative undertone that rose through: trenches and toppers were worn over body-morphing lingerie, embellished with clutched pearls — they brought forth the distinct lexicon that the Italian house has long been known for.
GCDS
Elsewhere, the tension between the hard and the soft is something Giuliano Calza plumbed in his outing for GCDS, casting soft-looking separates with oversized volumes to match. The starting point? “When I began devising this collection, I really wanted to do something fun and colorful, but then I didn't resonate with it,” Calza told office backstage post-show. “So I chose another path, a tension that pushed me to be dramatic while maintaining a youthful vein: Going back to my childhood memories and the moments of laughter and pain, I wanted to depict the dualism of these emotional states,” he expands. Amid the dramatic offerings, there were tons of fuss-free proposals that were pleasing: ultra-cozy styles featured all-white coats with enough arm-room for layering, but clothes promptly got, well, sexier, further down the lineup.
This collection was hardly an exercise in simplification, but there was a clear preference to strip things back and focus on clothes that matter and that people can wear, too.
