Made to Order

What happens when, as a small, independent and London-based designer, you sell your fashion collections to some of the best multi-retail boutiques around the world but need to ensure great sell-through and beautifully displayed racks of clothes to sell and sustain your business? You think differently. And that's what BFC NewGen darling Paolo Carzana did in order to launch his AW26 collection as responsibly, but also as creatively, as he could. Because for AW26, Paolo takes us straight into the kitchen. Inspired by his auntie’s heirloom recipe, Il Risotto is both an ode to the dish he was lovingly taught to cook as a child, and the Italian philosophy of cucina povera- in other words, making something beautiful out of whatever you have.

True to form, Paolo continues his methodical musings on slow fashion, but this time he folded his brand's profitability (responsibly) into the equation. For Dover Street Market’s stores in Ginza, Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, Singapore and Beijing, each location was tasked with curating its own Risotto recipe by selecting from a menu of past Carzana designs and new creative ingredients (mainly used to naturally dye his fabrics, ensuring unique pieces) as though placing an order in a restaurant. The result was this: a Dragon Wing Jacket in Walnut might be paired with a Narcissus Hat in butter, while elsewhere a Delicate Open Heart Shirt in saffron completed a dish of a Cavolo Viola Toulouse Dress.

From there, Paolo became chef, distilling each stores' unique recipe highlights into a cookbook of a collection shot by his partner, Joseph Rigby. Photographing 24 womenswear and menswear looks (shot on film, of course), each naturally dyed in his own kitchen and topped with a corozo nut fastening, he quipped on what modern luxury could look like. Sometimes, as a small business entrepreneur at the end of the day, injecting new ingredients into what can become a recipe for success is the best tasting menu you can serve up.