 | | The Prada runway at Milan Fashion Week. Valerio Mezzanotti for The New York Times |
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Hello, Open Thread. Greetings from Milan Fashion Week. |
The Aperol is flowing, the sun is out and the models are looking awfully young and skinny again. Runway casting has made real strides when it comes to race, but the discussion around size, age and other variables that reflect the broad range of humanity seems to have faded away. |
In New York, there was some size diversity, though it seemed closer to tokenism than real change. In the same way that for years the same handful of Black models were booked for almost every show, the same not-quite-handful of curvy models kept appearing. Thus far in Milan, however, MaxMara and a newish brand called Act 1 aside, models are largely back to the old coat hanger frame. And as for age … well, aside from 50-something Carla Bruni opening the Tod's show, and 50-something Naomi Campbell closing it, forget it. |
It's too bad, because seeing a true range of individuals on the runway is both startling and effective. |
At Aspesi, for example, Lawrence Steele shot his collection on the photographer Vanina Sorrenti, her husband, their teenage daughter and one of her male friends. Half the time, the quartet was pictured in the same clothes (polka dot pajama silks, puffer shirts) to demonstrate that the clothes worked on pretty much everyone. It was convincing. |
It's also why it's so effective seeing female designers, like Lucinda Chambers of Colville and J.J. Martin of La DoubleJ, at their presentations in the clothes they make. Chic as those women are, they are also middle-aged, and it's proof (if any were needed) that you don't need to be 20-something, unlined or perfectly worked out to wear their stuff. |
They look positively gleeful in their own products, and as a result, it's not that hard to imagine yourself in the same position. |
You'd think more designers would figure it out. We'll see how things develop as the season progresses, but in this respect, as in a lot of the clothes that are emerging, fashion seems to be getting stuck in the past. |
Have a good, safe weekend. And for those celebrating the Jewish new year, Shanah Tovah. |
| MILAN FASHION WEEK: NEWS AND REVIEWS | | | |
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Your Style Questions, Answered |
Every week on Open Thread, Vanessa will answer a reader's fashion-related question, which you can send to her anytime via email or Twitter. Questions are edited and condensed. |
Post-pandemic hybrid work entails carrying my laptop to and from work, but I am struggling to find a stylish and ergonomic solution. Handbags make my shoulders and neck hurt, and backpacks don't feel sophisticated enough. I find the traditional laptop bags impractical because one hand is always occupied. Is there a magic solution? — Simona, Stockholm |
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Sadly, magic solutions are more the stuff of fairy tales than fashion. Yet pretty good solutions exist. Even when it comes to the thorny question of how to carry around your laptop, a problem that has taken on new urgency as our work habits have changed, erasing that old desktop-at-work, laptop-for-home-and-travel divide. |
After all, choosing a laptop bag isn't just about finding one that fits your computer and maybe some other stuff, or even picking one that doesn't give you backache. Like so much else, it's really about work-life balance and how we want to present ourselves to the world. |
A quick scan of many "best laptop bag" sites, for example, offers up a panoply of completely acceptable, largely nylon (read, waterproof) backpacks or zip-up shoulder bags with pretty much no style or personality at all. Remember how Kate Spade transformed what we expected from diaper bags back around the turn of the millennium? That has not happened yet with laptop bags, at least not in any affordable way, which makes me think some designer is missing a trick. |
In the meantime, that means that if your goal is a bag that represents a personal point of view, you need to improvise. |
Given that for most of us backpacks symbolize either school or camping in the landscape of the mind, they can be an odd accessory in office life. Thus tote bags are the obvious place to start. |
Carrying around even the lightest laptop in a tote is, at a certain point, going to start to weigh on one shoulder — there's just no way around it — but broader straps, a bag that isn't too heavy when empty and a certain amount of structure so the laptop doesn't slide around awkwardly inside, will help delay the pain. Then, to protect your device, look for a top that isn't open to the elements. |
Our colleagues at Wirecutter have some recommendations, including a Matt & Abbi vegan tote that would look at home in any conference room. Also good is the rectangular leather tote from Everlane, which has a nice sculptural line and fits nicely under the arm. Longchamp's Le Pliage, in nylon with a leather close, is a classic multitasker. |
If you want to splurge, Cuyana's System Tote is awfully chic. And at the other extreme, there's Baggu's Duck bag, which comes in a multitude of prints. |
Just factor in your priorities, and press enter. |
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