We all need a little fashion reset every now and then—whether you are preparing for your winter arc or gearing up your post-New Year’s glowup. Luckily for you, CULTURED has rounded up our best gems of fashion wisdom. Here is a selection of sharp advice and opinion from fashion connoisseurs culled from our favorite style-focused interviews of 2024.
Sinéad O'Dwyer, designer
“I repeat the same clothes all the time. Last week, a friend commented, 'Oh, I really love your work looks,' and I was like, 'What work looks?' Then I realized, Yeah, I suppose I have a very particular eight items I wear to work… I cycle everywhere. I have one shirt I wear all the time. It's green deadstock from the seventies, and I really like that.”
Gaëlle Drevet, founder of The Frankie Shop
“Always remember the power of a shoe. It really can make or break the look. If you’re wearing a cropped pair of pants, try to wear something fitted around your ankle—fitted boots or a little kitten heel. If you’re wearing an oversized bottom and top, then gather it together with pointy shoes. You can wear sneakers with an oversized look, but you have to be a bit tall for that. Unfortunately, otherwise it just looks like a giant bag of potatoes!”
Raya Martigny, model and fashion muse
“I can't stand small bags. It's such a waste of time and energy for a woman to have a bag like that. You can tell it's men who design bags that small; they don't know what a woman has to do. They just think we are Cinderella and happen to be beautiful like that. I go with a big bag or no bag.”
Niccolò Pasqualetti, Italian designer and LVMH Prize finalist
“When I get the feeling that someone is pretending to be someone else or when I feel that someone is not spontaneous, that makes me uncomfortable.”
Michaela Stark, artist and designer
“For creatives, try to focus on beauty over trends in your work. Trends are limited, but beauty is always timeless. True beauty is a very powerful tool as it can be understood in any kind of language or culture.”
Laura Bailey, photographer and model
“Always pack for joy, not practical minimalism. I used to save up my favorite things for imaginary occasions, but the time is now. I love a cool capsule edit (Eres swimwear, a little black dress, cutoffs, and a vintage tee) but a trip, for work and pleasure, is a chance to wear something precious or flamboyant: a vintage kimono, silk pajamas, a jeweled headband, or striped Good Squish scrunchie. Or diamonds! Anything that feels like a treasure to unpack! Climbing Kilimanjaro, even lacy thermal layers and a vintage scarf on my hair felt precious.”
Issy Wood, artist
“As a child, I’d decide on something and then refuse to take it off, whether I was sleeping or bathing or whatever. [That was] the ongoing argument with my mom: She wanted me to be comfortable and run around, and I wanted to wear something more irresponsible like a higher heel, or something that was really cheap and would fall apart after, like, one wash. I wanted to wear fast fashion, and my mom understood the value of things that are slightly less trendy but built to last.”
Batsheva Hay, designer
“I go to the flea market religiously. I always love finding things, and I also look on Etsy and eBay constantly. Most of my inspiration comes from seeing old things. My husband, who's a photographer, has a ton of photo books in his library, and I'll just open those up and discover things that way. I have a Geoffrey Beene book that I love.”
LaQuan Smith, designer
“Despite popular belief, I think it's totally appropriate to place your evening handbag on the dinner table so everyone can see how beautiful and expensive it is. It’s a work of art! Why shouldn’t it be displayed?”
Michèle Lamy, art and fashion pioneer
“Never dress like everyone else… you don't think like everyone else. Never wait for the right moment to start your project. Always follow your heart and intuition. Never finish being in love. Always upgrade, create, thrive, and win.”
