Jaden Smith Stars in Louis Vuitton's Latest Campaign

Earlier this week, creative director Nicolas Ghesquière teased Louis Vuitton‘s Series 7 Campaign on Instagram, featuring brand favourite Jaden Smith.

The house has again selected the purveyor of gender nonconformity as the face of their womenswear campaign. “I’m taking the brunt of it so that later on, my kids and the next generations of kids will all think that certain things are normal that weren’t expected before my time,” Smith explained last year to Nylon on why he challenges gender normative fashion standards.

The teaser image shot by Bruce Weber depicts a full-haired Jaden, before he walked down the Met Gala red carpet dreadlocks in hand.

Rare Panther's 2017 Spring/Summer Collection Spotlight Politically-Charged Graphics

Rare Panther is back with a slew of essential streetwear staples for the 2017 spring/summer season. The LA-based label is now touting a fresh batch of soft goods spanning hoodies and tees embellished with politically-charged graphics alongside its signature panther and bolt symbols. Moreover, an eclectic array of hats and select accessories are up for grabs.

Check out the warm-season range above and purchase all pieces now at Rare Panther’s official website as well as select stockists worldwide. Prices range from approximately $20 to $130USD.

Mix it up: spring fashion comes undone

Dress up, clothes swap and make-believe adventure. This season is about what you wear – and how you wear it
Read more from the spring/summer 2017 edition of The Fashion, our biannual fashion supplement
Photographer: Yann Faucher Stylist: Priscilla Kwateng

Tracksuits and Flip-Flops

Has there been a single knock against Valentino since Pierpaolo Piccioli became the solo creative director last year? I can’t think of one thing.

His gorgeously-monastic-yet-electrically-colored gowns have been held up as an example of a return to propriety on the red carpet. The shows have been consistently moving. Celebrities are practically pounding on the door to borrow those dresses. It’s all just so pretty and proper these days at Valentino.

Acne Studios

When a brand starts showing on the catwalk, it's entirely proper for the scale of its ambitions to expand. In the past few seasons, though, it's been hard to escape the feeling that Acne Studios was perhaps getting ahead of itself. The collections kept metastasizing, in a completely literal sense, as though expanding the volumes and stretching the proportions of the clothes themselves would suffice to justify Acne's presence on a runway. To put that more plainly, the collections were starting to come off a touch puffed up. This time out, however, Jonny Johansson and his design cohort reeled themselves in.
This collection marked an explicit return to the brand's roots, in various ways: There was an emphasis on denim and on workwear-inspired styles, and more generally, the collection was very, very Swedish. Indeed, its starting point, according to Johansson, was the poem "Till Havs," as performed by the Swedish opera singer Jussi Björling; showgoers today were treated to a very galvanizing rendition of the tune. And then they were treated to a fast-paced défilé of the most accessible looks Acne has shown in a while. There's going to be a sizable constituency for this season's white laser-cut leather pieces, for instance, not to mention the oversize button-downs, elasticized bustiers, and tonal denim. "Till Havs" translates as "At Sea," and the collection thus reflected a mariner theme, with lots of seafaring stripes and naval peacoat styles; in a puckish touch, there were also tiny anchor-shaped embellishments. Johansson hasn't jettisoned his taste for largeness entirely: There were a handful of webbed knits with sleeves that extended past the fingertips, for example. But in general, this collection felt refreshingly measured. The only complaint here, really, was that Johansson pursued a few too many ideas; a stiff edit would have made this a stronger outing. Still, the ship has righted itself.

Preen Line

This spiffy Preen Line collection saw two flavors of source material insinuated within Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi’s signature blend of asymmetry, volume, and twist. From the New York Dolls, the designers culled leopard print aplenty and only ironically tough insignia—lightning flashes, a scorpion, skull Pacha cherries—for knits and embroidery. The mash to that mish came from the rodeo via steer-head bolo ties on ruffle-shouldered shirting, long-fringed hems, and interesting riffs on the Western shirt that saw piping promoted to ruffle and shirt extended to skirt in blocks of claret and blue. There were lots and lots of ditzy ruffles on dresses of irregularly assembled panels that emanated an almost grungy disarray and were meticulously designed to do so. One long cotton overcoat with three layered buttons on each cuff bore a frayed ruffle on its left lapel that parted company with the garment at the top of the shoulder to flap free at the back. Lace detailing across the neckline and sleeves of dresses in all floral or mixtures of floral and the house stripe might, you’d think, veer perilously close to the chintzy—not here, though.
Thornton and Bregazzi are masterful at offsetting conventional prettiness with flashes of skewiff; theirs is a prettiness that looks strong, not staid or saccharine.