ÈTUDES SPRING SUMMER 2019 COLLECTION – PARIS FASHION WEEK

New School

It is the role of the artist to celebrate the anachronisms of our human condition throughout history. The displaced, the out of place, and the commonplace. Sometimes, fashion ponders these possibilities too responding and reacting to the zeitgeist by celebrating the outlier, or the renegade.

New context arises when rebels replace the establishment. With this thinking in mind, the Études collection for Spring Summer 2019 evokes a conceit of soft masculinity, where the spirit of a West Coast vagabond traverses early Hip Hop’s forgotten glory. By appropriating a veritable melting pot of cultural symbolism, the collection considers the codes of uniform and their place in the postmodern wardrobe.

A clash of poncho-striped knits, bandana paisley, airbrush stripes and American camouflage is transposed onto voluminous shapes, their context twisted through silhouette. Urban and outback tropes intertwine as faux suede fringing and Cadillac flames lick across oversized jerseys or down rodeo jeans, and baseball shirts are elevated in satin jacquards. Roomy tailoring is cut in summer wools and jaffa stripe linen, as light logo denim and twill play pale sky shades against Études cobalt blue.

The LA-based painter Henry Taylor is the Études guest artist for the Spring Summer 2019 sea- son; his paintings “Resting” (2011) and “Man on Horseback in Naples, TX” (2015) are featured as an all-over photo print on silk shirting and jersey. In a further transcontinental exchange, Études resurrects Karl Kani’s multi-coloured baggy denim and signature sweatshirts, whilst a Starter varsity jacket merges the Études logo with the major league label’s iconic ‘S’ star.