Paolo Carzana Fall 2025: A Scene Out of a Fyodor Dostoevsky or Charles Dickens Novel
On Sunday evening, Welsh designer Paolo Carzana invited a small clutch of editors to the Holy Tavern in Clerkenwell: Some sat inside with a pint of beer, while others were seated on stools outside or leaning against a brick wall leading into an alleyway, which is where the models walked out.
The quietness of the street was rather eerie with the cold gust of the wind and spits of rain that slowed down as the show started. The scene could’ve been plucked out of a Fyodor Dostoevsky or Charles Dickens novel.
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The clothes were a fit to the 19th century too — in the way they looked and were made.
Carzana hand-painted or sprayed each item in hues that can be found in a spice rack — turmeric yellow, cinnamon brown, the faded greens of bay leaves and grays of hammered black pepper.
“I wanted to really achieve a 3D dimension to the color,” said the designer, emphasizing that he began cutting and draping the 14 looks he presented on Jan. 24.
The looks were crumpled, torn and crushed as if the characters wearing them had lived in them for centuries, and were permanent ghost residents of the pub. Dresses had decayed and lost their volume; coats seemed handed down generations, and blouses barely survived the cruel British weather.
It was a fragile collection for a brittle world. He titled it “Dragons Unwinged at the Butchers Block.”
“A dragon is very much a beautiful and powerful creature that shouldn’t be able to be destroyed by man. It’s really a metaphor for humanity’s destruction of Earth and how it can butcher you,” Carzana said.
“[It’s also a] metaphor for LGBTQ+ rights worldwide and if we have our wings taken away from us, then we can’t fly, we can’t be ourselves,” he added.
Carzana’s delicate clothes have a story and depth, but can they survive the grueling capitalist machinery?
Launch Gallery: Paolo Carzana Fall 2025 Ready-to-Wear Collection
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