Watching Sex & The City for the plot is a lie. We all know it’s for the shoes, the questionable fashion choices, and the occasional moral panic about dating in New York. Somewhere between a tutu and a Manolo, I learned a few things. What actually works, what it should feel like, and what will get you judged at brunch.

1. Fashion Languages Don’t Always Translate

Just because Charlotte looks like a romantic dream in pastels and pearls doesn’t mean you will. Fashion isn’t just fabric. It’s ego, memory, confidence, and impulse bundled together. To fall for someone else’s style is fine, but trying to live it on your body is basically asking your personality to cosplay. Clothes have feelings, and sometimes they just don’t like you back.

2. Mixed Prints Should Look a Little Wrong

Mixed prints are supposed to look a little ugly at first glance. If they don’t, welcome to the land of safe and sad. Polka dots, stripes, florals, let them fight a bit. Keep your palette close, and don’t expect to feel graceful the whole time. Carrie wasn’t dressing right, she was dressing Carrie. If it feels safe, you might as well be wearing beige.

3. Accessories Are Not Optional

Some days just ask for a pair of jeans and a white crop top. With some accessories, it stops being lazy and starts being a choice. Stacked bracelets, rings everywhere, little earrings, an interesting choker, a good bag, and perhaps an ugly pair of shoes, and you’ll make white ribbed cotton look closer to editorial. The closest I’ve come to public nudity? That one time my favorite bracelet betrayed me and my rings were crying in exile.

4. Vintage Needs Modern and Vice Versa

A Chanel bag and a $5 thrifted top that’s seen better decades, Μanolos with a tutu rescued from retail purgatory. Sometimes it looks incredible, sometimes like you lost a bet. But the fun is in the tension. Nothing complements the new like the battle-tested old. Mixing them is a power move if you can survive the weirdness, and the judgmental eyes of strangers.

5. Your Closet Tracks Your Life

Your wardrobe is basically a timeline of your life. One week you’re in hoodies and sneakers for seven days straight, the next you’re experimenting with something that actually requires a mirror. No shame here, “uniform weeks” are totally a thing we all survive. Clothes just follow you around, looks change when you change.

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Spring 2026 is loud. Like, really loud. Don’t get fooled by Pantone’s Cloud Dancer, this season is all vivids and brights. Your closet might resist at first, muscle memory is a thing, I know, but it’ll eventually get over it, neutrals have a special place in the dust this time. And these aren’t random choices, every color carries history, science, or just pure obsession.

Blue, But Nowhere Near Navy

This is Klein Blue. Exactly the same shade of blue that swallowed entire canvases in museums. Yves Klein made it his own in the 1950s, chasing a color that was almost impossible, true ultramarine, electric. The only natural source of a similar tone was lapis lazuli, basically gold in rock form, saved for Virgin Mary Renaissance paintings and French aristocracy’s stitches. Klein called in chemists, locked in the saturation, and suddenly the blue was his. Models smeared in it, balloons floating over Paris, fashion leaning in, everything became blue.

Grown-Up Red

For this season specifically, think Prada’s new red. Red has always been about status and attention. It has been part of human life forever, the deepest reds came from crushed insects and rare roots, difficult, slow, and expensive processes. That’s why it belonged to rulers, religious figures, and anyone who wanted to mark territory. It actually dominates the spectrum, the longest visible wavelength. It’s the first color we notice, which is why it’s been a signal for danger, authority, and everything that needed attention. In other words, it’s intentional, and that’s exactly why it’ll never stop coming back.

Teal With Teeth

Teal doesn’t come with a legend. No saints, no royalty, no crushed gemstones. It’s a modern color built, born from mixing, industry, and control, blue calmed down, green sharpened up. Teal has corporate DNA, it’s the color of boardrooms, tech branding, hospital uniforms, systems that need to look calm and trustworthy. That’s why it feels urban, clean, a little cold, and modern enough to read as unemotional, until you wear it.

The Green You Won’t Find in a Forest

Emerald comes from extraction, not landscapes. Mined, traded, guarded. It showed up where wealth needed to look untouchable and permanent. That’s the energy it carries forward, deep, dense, almost excessive. You don’t wear emerald to blend in, you wear it to hold ground. And it surely doesn’t shine the way other vivid colors do, it’s saturated to the point of depth, not brightness, and the effect is weight.

Serious Yellow

Yellow has always been difficult. It was one of the hardest colors to control, hard to make, hard to keep stable, often poisonous in its earliest forms. Think saffron, think orpiment, pigments that came with risk. That’s why yellow often worked as a signal rather than decoration, worn by emperors, flagged as a warning, avoided as much as it was desired. Deep yellow doesn’t brighten a room, it tightens it.

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2025 is that friend you still see at parties even though you stopped liking them in March. Some outfits were untouchable, most were confusing, and a few were genuinely scary. A part is worth unpacking, and a part deserves to stay in the floorboard of last year’s taxi ride. But here’s what made the cut.

Jogging In Silk

Elevated athleisure is what happens when sportswear outgrows the gym. And the coffee shop. And the errands. Suddenly, sweatpants aren’t just for emotional avoidance, they’re paired with leather, pointy kitten heels, and the confidence of someone who didn’t break a sweat. It keeps some of the comfort, and leans into styling.

Folded Up

One collar just wasn’t enough. Shirts, jackets, even the occasional sweater felt the need to compete for attention at the neckline. Two collars, stacked neatly, sitting above the shoulders like tiny architectural statements, it made sense. Simple layering, but I was truly convinced.

Choke Chic

High necks were taken seriously, let me tell you that much. Everything climbs a little higher, sleeves push up a little tighter, collars stand a little prouder. Possibly the most uncomfortable trend of all, but oddly commanding. Fashion can be suffocating, literally, and still look good doing it.

Wild On Walk

Animal print went feral. Cow, leopard, deer, and snake prints were all over. I saw a girl slapping leopard tapestry around every single one of her apartment’s walls at some point. Too much for some, bold and patterned for others. But one slightly wrong move from anyone, and it bites back, brutally, and often ends up on the worst outfits of the year.

Cover All Coat

There’s nothing more satisfying than an ultra-long coat when your closet is actively working against you. It hides everything beneath it and turns avoidance into style. It’s fashion as self-protection, no effort, no explanation, just a good old long silhouette. Make it a trench if you want to pass for put-together, a leather one if you want bonus points, and that’s really it.

The Wrap-Up

Fashion sometimes just wants to drape. Capes and ponchos showed up in every possible context, except the warm old granny way. Sheer over wedding-guest dresses, weighted and serious on the Met steps, sliced open at the back for no real reason other than effect. Everything was intentional, fabric moving exactly when, where, and how it was meant to.

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Francesco Risso, the mind who spent nearly a decade making Marni… well, Marni, is now jumping ship to GU, the Japanese brand where clothes are cheap enough to be actually worn by us mortals. The very designer whose silhouettes and prints once belonged only in luxury stores, sometimes in our screenshot folders too, will now be dictating trends in a chain with racks of $30 sweaters. I guess high fashion really is going mass-market after all.

When I think of Risso I think of colors, patterns, motifs, textures, and of course, it all happens to have that little Marni tag on the back. But before the worls saw him at Marni in 2016, he’d already paid his dues at Prada, and before that, Alessandro Dell’Acqua, so let’s just say, no fast-fashion here, not even from day one. From Milanese boutiques where a sip of espresso costs more than a GU dress to actual GU stores, where shoppers mingle with bargain hunters, it’s a world apart. So, yes, Fast Retailing signing him wasn’t exactly on anyone’s radar this year. Fast Retailing is the parent company of Uniqlo, sister to GU, all Japanese, affordable, fast, often with a “checking the bank account twice before buying” audience. And don’t forget, the sister company had its playful streak long before Risso arrived, working with JW Anderson, Needles, and Kaws, perhaps even preparing the ground for what was to come.

Risso’s career plot twist is a flashing neon sign for the industry. It forces brands to rethink hierarchy, pricing, and creative control, even the high-end world can no longer ignore the everyday consumer. From the top of a luxury tower, I can picture watching the masses dictate trends, and it must feel… uncomfortable. For GU, it’s instant prestige and global buzz, for shoppers, the thrill of actually getting Risso without mortgaging their apartment. Rest assured, investors, marketers, and designers are taking it all in. If a creative director like Risso can bring his taste to the mainstream, the walls between luxury and accessible design are looking a little thinner.

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If you ever wondered what it would look like if luxury fashion hired an elegant and bored interior decorator, Jonathan Anderson’s first Dior campaign answers that question with astonishing clarity. Handbags swing from music stands and football players settle under Christian Dior portraits, but nothing really looks as exciting as this sounds.

The Dior SS26 dazzled, but as far as the environment goes, the campaign keeps its excitement… in check. Good thing the cast’s subtle body-language speaks louder than the décor. Mbappé chilling in an easy chair almost hugging his new Normandie Tote Bag, Paul Kircher pretending the bar jacket and big bow neckband are gateways to some romantic nirvana, Louis Garrel in a green knitted cape and striped shirt, mastering the existential lounging aesthetic. Greta Lee spinning, stomping, and socializing with the tiles, all in the name of the new Dior heels, Saar Mansvelt and Sunday Rose nestling into a couch having a laugh in a patterned cape and a black-and-white shirt armed with Lady Dior and Cigale bags, and Laura Kaiser standing above it all in denim. Leave it to David Sims to make handbags, couches, and a cast of barely-moving actors look like editorial material.

Nothing here demands attention, and that feels very much on purpose. When everyone looks slightly bored, half-relaxed and unbothered by their surroundings, the clothes start sinking in. The body language slows everything down, giving the viewers space to digest the clothing at their own pace. This is how high fashion flirts with being cool and vaguely relatable, by borrowing faces from other universes and naturally placing them in Dior. Athletes, actors, models, all blended in. Rather than pushing Dior into a new identity, Jonathan Anderson lets the house’s classic codes exist in a looser state filled with elegance that pays homage and the freshness he brings to the table. Little is going on, and that’s apparently the idea. The absence of spectacle feels like a statement in itself.

The post I Saw Mbappé In Jonathan Anderson’s First Dior Campaign, Through David Sims’ Very Expensive Lens appeared first on Our Culture.

Reinventing is hard. And perhaps not always necessary. Who even needs new designs when you can successfully just repeat the same logo for over a century? Those Ls, Vs, and little flowers outlived both World Wars, the Great Depression, and Covid-19, I thought my great-grandma had seen it all, but Louis Vuitton has seen more. By January 11th, the monogram turns 130, and I’m sure we’ll keep counting, so what better way to celebrate than a new, a very flexible definition of new by the way, mini bag collection?

Back in the day, 1896 to be exact, Vuitton had one tiny problem. Everyone and their dog kept copying their trunks. So naturally, Georges Vuitton did what any logical heir to a trunk empire would. Endlessly slap letters and flowers on everything. And just to be thorough, he made sure the monogram could go on any material imaginable, from leather to paper. The guy basically patented what every brand now calls “logo placement strategy”. Years down the line, creatives poked that tradition awake and gave it a few of their own spins. Like Takashi Murakami’s brightness, Pharrell Williams’ colorways, Nicolas Ghesquière’s shapes, Richard Prince’s beat-up jokes, Stephen Sprouse’s graffiti, Marc Jacobs’ silvers, and the list goes on.

The anniversary collection brings us three special-edition bags, the “Origine”, the “VVN”, and the “Time Trunk”. Speedy, Noé, and friends are back, now dressed in a linen-cotton jacquard blend with a trompe-l’oeil print. In other words, a 21st-century salute to the original trunk textures. And that’s the thing about Louis Vuitton, a 130-year-old past including a never-ending parade of “fresh” designs and slightly tweaked classics, and sometimes this is still exciting. Not because it’s revolutionary, it’s not, but because we’re kind of hardwired to admire old charm when modernized, especially if it stings the wallet.

The post Happy Birthday To LV’s Monogram – For The 130th Time appeared first on Our Culture.

Words Marta Knas

Guide to a Better Day is a brand new publication from one of the most famous luxury retailers, MR PORTER, created in collaboration with Thames & Hudson and B.A.M.

What we call “effortless” is a recipe more often than we’d like to admit. One fresh basic, one good shoe, one unnecessary accessory, one idea too many. Somewhere between trying too hard and denying it entirely, there’s a number. And that’s seven. Maybe even eight. Overthinkers, sit down.

Back to the TikTok’s styling guide obsession, every outfit has a target, 7-8 points. Less than that? Maybe reconsider stepping outside. More than that? Guess what! Still reconsider stepping outside. Basics score 1, statement pieces, think colorful, textured, design-forward, score 2. Yes, we are now counting our sweaters like calculus problems, nothing wrong with that. Nothing says style like basic addition (I can almost hear my high-school teacher crying).

Suppose we’re risking public exposure for caffeine, baggy sweatpants (1), plain long-sleeve (1), boxy bomber (1), and my dependable “not trying too hard” sneakers (also 1), 3-4 points shy. Overstimulating stacked jewelry (2), a pair of sunglasses (1) and my everyday bag (1). I’ve never been good at math but counting isn’t that cruel. 8 points later a boring outfit can even become worthy of photos. Work it in reverse too, fix that outfit that seems too much, edit it down. No brain cells harmed, no talent required, just ruthless scoring and balance.

Okay, this whole “score your outfit” nonsense can be helpful, especially for people who overthink everything from what cereal to eat to whether their socks match their mood. It also feeds that delicious need for external confirmation, not from people, mind you, but from some arbitrary set of rules someone posted on TikTok, the algorithmic kind, the sort that tells you you did it “right”.

It’s not genius, it’s not revolutionary, and it surely isn’t life-changing. And let’s be honest, to make it work you need a vague sense of taste, otherwise your “statement” piece will look like something dug out of a prop closet at a horror shoot. Would I stick to this blindly? Absolutely not. Fashion doesn’t need those rules. But for anyone who wants to stay safely inside the tidy little box of socially digestible style, it’s… a tool. Like training wheels for your ego, sold as guidance. I could name ten influencers off the top of my head who worship it like it’s the second coming.

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Ah, Christmas windows. The yearly miracle where red glitter, fuzzy sweaters, shiny mannequins, and overpriced ornaments team up to convince you that your life is incomplete without a $300 candle shaped like a pine tree. Every year we stroll by, eyes wide and wallets subtly trembling, pretending the fairy-tale streets are magic. I’ve got news for you. All the magic is really just a $5,000 marketing plan wrapped in tinsel, there’s a reason why December is the busiest shopping month of the year.

Since the 1800s, a beautifully lit scene of fake snow and cute little props could make you feel something. Μostly regret, later at checkout. Department stores realized early on that a mannequin in the right light could manipulate your wants harder than a year’s worth of marketing campaigns. These displays create worlds. Cozy nostalgia, childhood magic, fairy-tale fantasies. I’ve seen many sidewalks turn into holiday spectacles, but I’ve seen more shoppers turn into willing victims of twinkle-light hypnosis. Now it’s all interactive, immersive, and borderline controlling, but at least it’s aesthetically pleasing. The mission hasn’t changed a bit though. Make you feel, but above all, make you hand over your money with a smile.

Here’s the genius of Christmas windows, they don’t just display stuff, they turn stores into trapdoors, they don’t show you products, they preload you emotionally before you ever touch one. People flock to see them, and lo and behold, they leave with things they didn’t even know existed. Desire is manufactured outside the door, long before price tags or sales assistants get involved and just like that, shopping transforms from boring adult responsibility into an “experience” you’re already invested in. The holidays officially start when a city block sparkles just right, everyone knows that. Memories and loyalty? Naturally created, like magic, but really just a side effect of clever retail. Physical stores get a leg up on online, because no algorithm can replace standing still in front of a window you didn’t plan to look at, social media turns every passerby into a free promoter, and consumers… well, you’ve been trained to want exactly what they want you to.

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2025 style confused me. Everyone dressed like background characters in everyone else’s film but their own, few had taste, and even fewer made it look natural. This is about men who dressed with intention and made it look disturbingly easy. In the end, ease will always be the most convincing accessory a man can wear.

Pedro Pascal

That man is unfair. Textures, colors, proportions, he’s got it all intact. One day he’s a walking power suit in sharp tailoring that makes you question laid-back life, the next he’s a baggy chaos in oversized coats that make you forget ties exist. Then a mashup of both and suddenly your eyeballs are glued. Pedro Pascal, you’re exhausting.

Colman Domingo

Let’s face it. Good can be boring. Whenever I see yet another (beautiful) painfully plain suit on a red carpet, I think of what Domingo would do to it. Rhinestones in the size of my dining table? A draped piece cinching the waist? Or maybe a mix of the loudest patterns the human brain can think of, topped with a floor-grazing cape. Whatever the twist may be, bet your most-worn white shirt it’ll be interesting.

André 3000

Now that’s what real influence looks like. Whatever he throws on carries Southern roots, dry humour, and a side of occasional social commentary, all in one. We’ve basically seen it all, checks, stripes, neons, fringes, wigs, hats, please don’t ever forget that the man wore a literal grand piano as his backpack to the Met Gala.

A$AP Rocky

Talk about mix-ups, I think Rocky’s closet is the one that has it all. It’s preppy, it’s hip-hop, it’s luxury, it’s streetwear, it’s even pink. Every time I see him, I remember how effortlessly he murdered toxic masculinity with… well, fabric. Men started looking fun again, skirts over pants, bags in hand, silk around and all. No debate, “fashion killa” fits.

Wisdom Kaye

I always thought Kaye and Rocky would be instant friends, imagine the photos. He too owns that gender-fluid, effortless mix of fashion. I can’t imagine him being intimidated by fabrics, colors or silhouettes. He’s made me love pieces I swore I hated, and let me tell you, when I hate fashion, I hate hard. He somehow did it harder.

Justin Bieber

I can’t really say that his style has changed over the past few years, but if I’ve learned one thing, it’s that whenever a new paparazzi photo gets taken, a new Pinterest moodboard comes to life. Bieber has mastered his sense of fashion, that kind of fun, kind of polite streetwear. That man’s consistent. He still sticks to his idea of fashion, and maybe that’s exactly the point.

Jeremy Allen White

White is the guy who makes simple look ridiculously good. Basically, he’s that stereotypical “boring dresser” who somehow gets it completely right. Loafers look as good as sneakers, pleated bottoms look as good as sweats, and cardigans look as good as tank tops. Beauty of simplicity.

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