160 HARPER’S BAZAAR SEPTEMBER 2018STYL E
The
E D N A’ S
EDICT FOR AUTUMN
With Incredibles 2 making headlines this year, BAZAAR sits down with the fi lm’s
inimitable stylist-auteur, Edna Mode, to get her read on the season ahead.By Amy Synnott.
Photographed by Victor Demarchelier.ower, mediocrity—I am
here!” barks Edna Mode,
as she swoops onto the set
of Harper’s BA Z A AR’s
Autumn/Winter fashion
shoot. Known for
her blunt and prickly
demeanour, the half-
Japanese, half-German
designer commands the
room with a steely-eyed
determination that belies
her diminutive stature.
“Attitude!” she shouts,
while model Sara Sampaio saunters by, looking like she could
serve co ee o the corners of her supersize red coat. “Let us
begin!” Edna says, snapping her tiny ngers and hopping
onto a director’s chair that’s almost twice her size to discuss
the season’s best new looks with BAZAAR.
Hello, Edna! You look fabulous. Can you tell us
what—and who—you are wearing?
I wear myself, dahling. As no one else can.
Let’s talk about your BAZAAR shoot. What were
some of your inspirations?
My shoot was no more bizarre than others. What was bizarre
about it? I reject that classi cation.
Tell us about the Marc Jacobs look you styled—
“ e Marc Jacobs look I styled”? Dahling, let us not devolve
into a dissection of who styled whose look. I am above
quibbling about credit. Marc is lovely and very talented, but
he knows who in uenced whom.
Let’s put it another way: How do you feel about
the revival of oversize ’80s proportions for fall?
When it comes to fall fashion, are shoulder pads
the new black?
First of all, let us agree to ban referring to anything as “the
new black” until the end of time. Black is timeless, so it’s
like saying so-and-so is “the new timeless”. Timelessness by
its very nature cannot be old or new—it is timeless! [Pauses]
What was the question?Shoulder pads.
Are neither here nor there. Depends on the designer, they can
do in or out of fashion. But they are not as timeless as black is.
We couldn’t help but notice that someone slipped
a cape into the Michael Kors look. Have you
changed your “no capes! ” policy?
Certainly not. If one is going to an opening or a certain sort of
social a air, a cape can work, I suppose. But if one is moving
quickly in violent situations, a cape is beyond idiotic. My
views on capes are well-known. Asking me about them is like
asking Isadora Duncan how she felt about scarves.
Style-wise, you’ve always been ahead of the curve.
Who are your fashion icons and why?
I am my favourite icon. e why is self-evident.
What is the most important trend for autumn?
For me, dahling, once a trend is identi ed it is always over.
Timid and hackneyed followers come rushing in, assured of
their safety from risk. Real artists are always looking for the
spot that is sweet—“ahead of the curve”, as you suggest—
where the timid fear to go, where failure may happen, but
success promises eternity.
What’s the best style advice you’ve ever received?
To never give advice about style.
Did you take it?
Obviously not, dahling.
Is there enough diversity on the runway? If not,
what would you like to see more of?
Diversity of thought.
What do you think of the “celebrity designer”?
I don’t know what that is. Sounds vaguely oxymoronic to me.
Celebrity itself is beneath thought.
At Gucci, Alessandro Michele sent models down
the runway carrying copies of their own heads.
Are severed cyborg heads the new status accessory
for autumn?
We must be patient with Alessandro. He wants to work in
the movies.
Drones carrying handbags kicked off Dolce &
Gabbana’s show. Has humanity become passé?
For drones, perhaps. “C