The Library

Welcome to The Library, our ongoing section for musings, suggestions, pictures, stories… just stuff we generally like and want to share.

Three dancers in sheer pale layered dresses standing close together with their arms extended to one side, in a high white room with exposed dark timber trusses and a speaker on a stand.

Closer to a Happening

On Sunday evening in Paris, Cortana gathered a crowd on the Quai de Valmy for something closer to a happening than a presentation. Dancers, live piano, projections, and Mallorcan cooking by Maria Solivellas of Ca Na Toneta.

A model with long loose hair in a high-necked cream corset top with feathered sleeves, over a long pale distressed skirt, walking between seated rows.

Lonesome Heaven

There are runway shows that present clothes, and there are runway shows that construct a world around them. Notes from the Ann Demeulemeester Spring/Summer 2027 show at the Réfectoire des Cordeliers in Paris.

A model in profile under a white padded crown of raw-edged quilted fabric, with stiff gold strands radiating from beneath it like spun hair, over a bulbous paneled blue denim shoulder.

Heavy Is the Head

Rei Kawakubo gave denim the royal treatment from the first look. Notes from the Comme des Garçons Spring/Summer 2027 show in Paris, and the gold finale.

Rick Owens SS27 Stone runway crossing the reflecting pool at the Palais de Tokyo through fountain mist

Stone, With an Open Heart

At the Palais de Tokyo, Rick Owens’s SS27 women’s collection holds elegant stoicism, release, and resistance to intolerance together in a world of rigid forms, weightless tulle, and fountain mist.

An illuminated black blade sign reading ANN DEMEULEMEESTER, mounted beside the black-framed glass of the new Paris store at the Palais-Royal.

From Ghost Ranch to the Palais-Royal

Notes from the opening of the new Ann Demeulemeester store on the Palais-Royal in Paris, and why an Antwerp house made sense at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico.

Several pairs of black shoes gathered on a white leather chair: padded leather thong sandals, a lace-up boot, and low suede sneakers.

the Wardrobe as a collection

How to build a wardrobe the way a collection is built: slowly, with intention, each piece earning its place. On 3sixteen, Studio Nicholson, and patience.

A model in a black wide-brim hat, black snap-front shirt, and waxed wide-leg trousers, photographed against a pale grey studio backdrop.

How We Look at Clothes

How we look at clothes, and why some take years to reveal themselves: Lemaire, Label Under Construction, Massimo Alba, Harris Wharf London, and Rick Owens.

Christopher Webster on stone steps at night, in a dark jacket, white shirt, and navy sneakers.

Getting Dressed as a Creative Act

Getting dressed is a creative act, not a problem to solve. Issey Miyake, Ann Demeulemeester, Comme des Garçons, Rick Owens, and Tibi as five lenses on it.