Sandra‘s Closet

Here comes H&M’s latest designer collaboration with rokh, an emerging cult label known for its deconstructed style.

Korean-born, Texas-raised, UK-educated ’s style is instantly intriguing. It is smart, deliberate, elegant, timeless and iconoclastic — all at once. There’s an experimental quality to his garments: He dissects, examines, reimagines and reconstructs. The resulting pieces are conceptual, even avant-garde — yet eminently refined, fit for purpose and a pleasure to wear.

Rokh, Rok Hwang & H&M, Ann-Sofie Johansson

After designing for some of the most beloved names in womenswear, Hwang founded his eponymous label, rokh, in 2016 and started showing at Paris Fashion Week just three years later. He’s a rising star in the fashion world, with a devoted following.

Together with H&M, Hwang has created a collection that reconsiders and deftly subverts key components of the classic professional wardrobe. There are pieces for men and women, with double-layer trench coats, detachable-hem dresses, corset tops, reworked trousers and denim, a subdued floral print top and pleated skirt set with matching gloves and tights, underwear and logo t-shirts, graphic two-tone metallic jewellery and playful office-inspired accessories, like a briefcase bag and an accordion file clutch.

rokh H&M explores the complexities — and possibilities — of tailoring, with Hwang building extra layers into his clothes, merging and doubling pieces, lifting elements from one style to add to another, as with the trench dress. He presents a quiet kind of radicalism, breaking down established tropes and offering new alternatives.

The collection is highly modifiable. Pieces can be layered, altered and even worn backwards, and many feature detachable, adjustable elements, like hook-and-eye hems and button-up seams. These are interactive details, not simply decorative; they are an invitation to the wearer to experiment, to make the styles their own, imbuing a uniqueness in every piece.

«I always focus on making my collections as timeless as possible, and one way of doing that is with customizable details», explains Hwang. «I’ve seen people wearing panels from our signature multi-button trench coat upside down and inside out, in brilliantly unique ways I never imagined when I first came up with the design. To see my clothes being interpreted by people in their own way is one of my greatest pleasures, and I can’t wait to see how customers engage with this fun and dynamic collection for H&M.»

rokh H&M launches in selected stores and on hm.com April 18 2024. Get your wishlists at the ready to know ahead of what you will be adding to your cart on the launch date.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © rokh H&M
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In celebration of London Fashion Week, I was invited by La Perla to a wonderful breakfast and panel discussion hosted by Top Stylist Sophie Goodwin and Chief Design Officer at La Perla Nicole Rendone at luxury member’s club Annabel’s in London. Exploring the brand’s rich heritage and craftsmanship, while highlighting key iconic brand moments, the two ladies indulged in a wonderful conversation how La Perla had followed the evolution of the female body through different fashions and trends becoming the lingerie and beachwear brand synonymous with «Made in Italy». On display we could admire many different and stunning archive pieces.

With Sophie Goodwin to the left and Nicole Redone to the right.

It all started in 1954 when Ada Masotti, an Italian woman full of talent and courage, began the journey towards her dream: creating an atelier of corsetry in the name of the best Italian tradition. Beginning in a small laboratory in Bologna, the Italian town renowned for its solid tradition of silk factories and textile manufacturers, Ada used her talent as a skilled corset maker to create works of art enhancing feminine beauty.

La Perla ’90s, Outwear Corset

We all agreed that lingerie has the ability to make women feeling empowered. For Sophie «putting on her underwear is like the foundation of the house.» It all starts there. For Nicole «lingerie is like autocorrect, it can accentuate, fix or leave it as you want it.»

With lovely Biliana Rangelova, Global Client Engagement Director La Perla Global Management

La Perla 2013: Jean Paul Gaultier Rubans Body Suit

In the ’60s women burnt their bras, in the ’80s they wore cone bras, today it is sexy on another level. Lingerie is like jewelry, you can show it. It is sensuality on another level. The trend of blurring boundaries between public and private has emphasized the gradual ascent of lingerie to the world of fashion. We wear pajamas to go to the nightclub and show our bra lace under a pant suit. Times have changed and so has the Italian lingerie brand.

Left: La Perla 2007, Golden Cage Bustier – Right: La Perla 2014, Paisley Body Suit

La Perla’s ability to transmit the spirit of its creations across each decade is certainly the secret to the brand’s success, proving that what would be considered as a historic brand, can adapt, innovate and transform in the face of competition and the obstacles that affect the societies we live in.

LoL, Sandra

La Perla 2007, Black Label Bodysuit

La Perla 2008, Black Label Collection

La Perla 2012: Jean Paul Gaultier Frou Frou Lingerie Set

Photos: Courtesy of La Perla / Shaun James Cox and © Sandra Bauknecht
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

Expanding on their mission to merge conscious design with spectacular beauty, the avant-garde designer duo Viktor&Rolf join forces with the Swiss premium underwear label CALIDA to present an innovative and vibrant collection crafted out of carefully curated materials.

The two bring their creativity and expertise together to create a truly green story – the first of its kind. This 100% compostable collection embraces a unique Cradle to Cradle CertifiedTM approach to design, which follows nature’s model of circulating resources in a healthy, efficient way.

The 100% compostable collection for a better world will appear in stores in two drops, one in May and one in October 2020.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Calida

Not sure what a C-string is… google at your own risk! Here is a little explanation, it is a specific type of thong (see collage above to the right), an undergarment for people who think everything else covers up way too much skin. It’s also known as «invisible underwear» and probably something celebrities wear under these breathtaking high-slit dresses.

This S/S 2019 season, no shoe was more daring than Christopher Kane’s: a kitten heel with a C-string tongue. On the runway, the British designer took the idea one step further and used C-strings as straps for this amazing lace-bonded satin dress.

To shop, just click on the highlighted text.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of the Brands and via Getty

“Everything that Victoria’s Secret creates is about a woman feeling confident and empowered—and also having fun with what she is wearing, This collaboration is going to be bold, fun and playful.” – Mary Katrantzou

Consider it THE collaboration of the season: my beloved Mary Katrantzou has teamed up with Victoria’s Secret for a capsule collection that will make its debut on the runway at this year’s VS Fashion Show, which is returning to New York City on November 8, 2018 after previously holding shows in Shanghai and Paris. Immediately after the show airs, the Mary Katrantzou-designed pieces will be available to shop both online and in stores for holiday.

The collaboration marks the second time Victoria’s Secret has partnered with a luxury fashion brand for its annual show. The first was last year’s capsule collection with Olivier Rousteing of Balmain. I adore Mary’s colorful, feminine designs and out-of-this-world floral prints, perfect pieces to be worn under and over!

At this year’s VS Fashion Show, it is said that at least 18 new models will make their debut in the show, including Winnie Harlow, Duckie Thot, and Sadie Newman. It will also be the first Victoria’s Secret show in 17 years without Alessandra Ambrosio, who retired from the runway last year.

The most important question is still: who will wear the million-dollar Fantasy Bra this year? Mmh… I am thinking who needs a million-dollar bra if you can have one by Mary Katrantzou?!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Mary Katrantzou
AP Photo/Kristian Dowling

Remember your first sets of day-of-the week undies when you were a little child? I still have strong memories of being excited to pick out the correct one each morning. I am sure that many of you had the same experience. To relive your girlhood delight, Stella McCartney has these sassy knickers of the week for us adults. Every day is well taken care of with the seven silk-blend briefs with multicoloured floral embroidery that come in a stylish dressing-drawer style box. The set will look adorable in your bedroom boudoir or make a fabulous gift for a fellow fashionista. Available in black,white and light pink.

Get yourself organized! These knickers are a natural winner!

LoL, Sandra