Kiko Kostadinov. Women's Fall 2025 - Paris Fashion Week

There was a look which had a very brief stint on the runways from 2017 to 2019, and this look was the Thrift mix and match styles, which was a sought of eclectic recorking of the, upcycle/recycle trend that last probably over a handful of seasons before the 2020 pandemic hit.  And the said trend ended when Thrift clothing stores across America began to close up shop due to rising overheards and an inability to profit from second hand clothing.  Yet, the illusive and somewhat mysterious Fanning sisters, Australian born fashion designers, have been able to continue showcasing the mentioned looks, and very much claim them as their own.  And you would be forgiven, even if you are from Australia, that you may have never heard of them, yet Laura and Deanna Fanning do indeed have a cult like following in their home country, and a very niche one at that.

I reviewed the Fanning's first collection for Kiko Kostindov's Spring 2029 collection in 2018, and there is no doubt that the Fanning's brought to the U.K. avant-garde brand, a renewed and original perspective for its women's collections.  And nearly seven years later, Laura and Deanna Fanning continue to impress with a more defined and structured mix of their heterogeneous styles, in its stylized extravagance.  Ensuring that their unconventional take, aligns with Kiko Kostadinov's  vision of his futuristic inspired looks.

The Fanning's latest collection was held within the Brasserie Mollard restaurant, a grand example of French Art Nouveau architecture, which opened in 1859 and now a must see for the many tourists that visit Paris.  And as discussed in previous reviews of the Fanning's Kiko Kostindov's collections, to which they may or maynot directly be influenced by, is the very French fusion of the old and the future ala the groundbreaking adult comic book 'Métal hurlant', more so the artwork from the late French fantasy artist Moebius from the 1975 story, which also appeared in the Métal hurlant, "The Long Tomorrow"; and yes, if you have seen and read the comic, the future indeed will be 'old'.

And will this retrofitted French 'new wave' science fiction concept of the old is new future that gave Ridgley Scott's 1982 "Blade Runner" all of its visual concepts, will also be a society which has embraced its inner carnal, its hedonism?  Very much like in tune with what the 1970s reflected, in all of its glory of hedonistic counterculture.  And we are so in need of a rebuttal to growing conservatism in Fashion and its conglomerate takeover, as Trump the Fascist (yes, let's all be honest here) spreads his brand of corporatism, before it all falls into a massive heap, but wreaks havoc across the creative landscape.  Then maybe we should be referring to those 1960 and 1970 books and comics, not just for ideas,  but warnings on how dystopia starts with a Fascist collapse, and history as we should know, has a jagged rhythm, when society doesn't learn from it.  And we aint learning.

A sexy, dystopic, avant-garde array from the Fanning sisters.  And what was more or less a aesthetical concept on the runways over the last 40 years, is already here.  And the warnings have not been heeded, so now we live that dystopian collapse, or at least in reflection, as an eclectic style of protest.   

A stunning collection from Laura and Deanna Fanning.     

___

(A.Glass 2025)