Fragments Nº18: The Straight And The Narrow

Luxury Hauntology brands, Athleisuire brands done right, the allure of Nadia Lee Cohen's work, the best song in Challengers and a love letter to LA.

What else can you say about LA?

Let’s be honest: NYC and LA share a unique affinity, and that bond seems to have only grown in the time I’ve lived here. There’s the constant back and forth. The continuous compare and contrast. The sense that, if it ever got too much in NYC, LA maybe was the other option.

Personally, it’s always held a special place in my heart. Musically and culturally. Beach Boys, Love, Ned, Sunshine Pop, Yacht Rock, endless cultural ephemera I love comes from there. I still have dreams (like many others, I’m sure) of living in the hills. A Laurel Canyon fantasia. The sunsets, the quiet, but still connected. My (now) wife and I did the whole PCH in a 1965 Mustang on our first trip together as a couple. We still go to Dukes every time we’re together in Malibu.

You can have little traditions and moments, even in places you don’t technically live. And I love that especially about LA.

It is breathtakingly sad to see amazing people’s lives torn asunder. Friends are luckily safe, but I think for most of us, know someone directly or indrectly affected and its overwhelming to fathom. The social feeds are flooded with help, recommendations, and GoFundMe offers. You know them; I’m sure you’ve donated to them and shared them. (A link for Denim-based brands in LA is doing well, too.) 

One especially connected with me is Wellema Hat Co. You can donate here. They built that business from nothing. They are central to the Altadena community and embody everything that I love about LA fashion brands - they care about the craft, they give a shit about the community, and they represent a specific rugged, fearless sensibility.

Thinking of everyone there.

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Luxury Hauntology

I spoke about the rise of hauntological brands in fashion and luxury back in September when Barney ‘relaunched’ with the help of Hourglass Cosmetics. It’s hard to say if the campaign or activation was a success. (The creative campaign was excellent, though.) However, it was a prime example of this idea. 

Jacques Derrida has you covered for those unfamiliar with what Hauntology is:

"a range of ideas referring to the return or persistence of elements from the social or cultural past, as in the manner of a ghost.

Hauntology found favor and longevity in describing a particular subgenre of British music. It combines 1970s Library Music, Wicker Man-esque British folk horror, and BBC-style PSAs, smashing these sound sources together to evoke a "deep cultural memory." 

I referenced Hauntology brands within the context of brands that have disappeared or are facsimiles of what they once were. But that doesn’t preclude thriving brands from executing the same principle.

Enter YSL.

Ever since the (now seminal?) show in September, there’s been a noticeable shift in creative exploration from the brand, especially in the exaggerated forms and silhouettes that echoed YSL himself in the campaigns and this very clear hauntological through-line.

The Nadia Lee Cohen film series demonstrated a high bar for taste and narrative. (More on her later.) So it feels natural that Glen Luchford returned to the 1992 YSL ‘Jazz’ ad for their New Year's celebration, creating his hauntological version.

It’s a refracted, ghostly echo of something you remember, making it another example of hauntology ideas manifesting within fashion. This trend is worth watching throughout the year, as it has cultural value, especially as luxury brands struggle through their existential fog. Some will look to innovate aggressively, while others, I suspect, will gravitate back to what has worked in the past.

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The Adanola Method

In a world of generic athleisure and style brands, doing something right yet ultimately distinctive is increasingly challenging.

Adanola has wonderfully bridged that gap.

While the headline would scream KENDALL JENNER in Adanola, something else is happening here, and its key is in the tone. Kendall adds the aspirational element but doesn’t slip out of reach. The brand grounds it. No mean feat with someone of her fame and (relative) clout.

That’s all down to the brand. Adanola themselves talk about openness and inclusivity (“versatile as your lifestyle”) but don’t fall into performative traps to demonstrate that. They treat this idea as a matter of fact (which, to my eyes, feels very English / Northern). And in this context, it takes some of the pretentiousness out of the air.

The highlight is this image—the anti-ALO without being ‘anti’ ALO (if you get what I mean). It demonstrates how subtle shifts can dramatically change a brand and product's perception.

The wide open spaces also help here. This relative blank slate is refreshing because it emphasizes the individual vs ‘the lifestyle’.

The ‘Mini Icons’ campaign demonstrates that consistency.

Adanola has been on a tear. Founded in 2015, it’s quickly become a major player in partnering with top retailers like Selfridges, Harrods, END., and BANDIER, driving robust DTC and retail. Revenue increased 311% from 2022 to 2023, and £57.1m in revenue for the year ending March 2024. 

Naturally, America is THE market to crack for a brand like this, so the Kendall play makes sense on a strategic and brand level. As it looks to diversify its range with new categories like outerwear and swimwear, the brand's POV and story will become increasingly critical.

Think of it this way: In a product-led brand strategy, the ability to expand the story and move away from simply the price/fit equation will determine how Adanola broadens its reach both within the UK market and, critically, the US, where the athleisure lifestyle started. It’s not quite SKIMS, but the right story and product mix could threaten Alo in the US. 

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20 Years of DSM

Nadia Lee Cohen has been on a tear recently. Her ongoing(?) collaboration with Kim Kardashian on Dolce & Gabbana and the Unhinged Holidays card showed that a) Kim K has notably excellent taste in collaborators as she gets older and b) the value of having a defined visual language and POV in the creative world. 

For those not paying attention, Nadia Lee Cohen has created a language around Sex that, in our deeply puritanical Gen-Z soft-coded times, seems to have shrunk from view. Pure, unadulterated desire, Sex, and objectivity. It’s got this sleazy Raymond Revue Bar vibe that is so fresh, even though it’s playing with visual language ideas we already have assimilated. This is seen in her work with DSquared last year, her reframing iconic works from OGs like Alan Jones & Stanley Kubrick (in Perfect Magazine), and the aforementioned work with Kim and D&G.

It is fun to see that subversive wit become part of the ongoing celebrations of Dover Street Market's 20th anniversary. She is turning some of her stories of accidents and disasters growing up on a farm in Essex into limited-edition merchandise. It is all very SEX and Seditionaires. I approve… 

Also, the DSM celebrations seem to be one of the most under-the-radar yet fun collaborations happening right now. Intrigued to see what else comes from this.

Purchase here…

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The Best Music In ‘Challengers’ Was…

Not the overblown Atticus Ross / Trent Reznor score. (Even though it’s the thing that people would talk about APART from the film). No, it’s the Caetano Veloso song ‘Pecado’.

On the plane home, while watching Challengers on the (excellent) new Virgin Atlantic service to JFK.¹

I was behind the ball on Challengers, but this song stuck with me.

I love a great soundtrack. Not only do I collect most of the Italian Giallo OSTs and the 1960s Spy-style ones (Think ‘In Like Flint’), but there’s a real art to building a perfect soundtrack, which comes down to a depth of knowledge and a high touch for taste and tone. When to drop the right song is essential. Tarantino has always done an A+ job of building a language through his soundtracks, especially in his latter work, where Ennio Morricone got a significant revival and run-through. The same goes for David Holmes and his ‘Oceans’ soundtracks.

So this song, from one of Brazil’s finest and most versatile songwriters and artists, is an absolute treat. All that rich, deep melancholy that Brazillian Bossa Nova can imbue is baked into here. It works perfectly in the film and outside of it, too.

Coda: Say no more.

1. The service has massive screens and are all Bluetooth-enabled. It is much better than Delta. Although their access to the lounge still sucks.