At a time when the movement of peoples and the spread of cross-cultural dialogue marks our daily lives more than ever, our interest in telling personal stories at KENZO has never felt more appropriate. For the Fall-Winter 2019 collection, our focus turned to Humberto’s Chinese-Peruvian heritage – the Tusán people whose ancestors arrived from Guangdong province to settle in Peru in the 19th century. Today they number in the millions, and the diffusion of Asian traditions throughout South America is a palpable force.
This rich and colorful exchange of stories mixes with the contemporary realities of alpine life, as extreme conditions see both men and women layering bright, ethnic textiles with modern tactical garments. In our interpretation, the drama of the Andean colour palette (from Cusco to Machu Picchu) meets piles of fuzzy texture and a touch of Parisian sophistication. Couched in the Ayahuasca dreamscape show set by the artist Pablo Amaringo, this collection invokes discovery and exploration through mind, body, and spirit.
Within the women’s collection, hiking gear has an overt feminine twist, as swirling polar fleece comes tailored and swathes of waterproof nylon are given soft volume and drape. Inspired by the import of rice into Peru, knitwear and recycled raffia pieces feature custom KENZO calligraphy, and an archive ‘Earth’ print returns under the cover of clouds.
Pollera and pencil skirts receive the technical treatment, traced with drawstrings and paired with zipped mock-necks or patch-pocket blouses in tonal ensembles. Papery leather shines in roomy parka and anorak shapes, whilst shaggy jacquard faux-furs create wood print and blanket plaid effects. 5-pocket jean and cropped cargos are cut in winter wools or acid-washed denim.
Menswear takes the road less traveled, keeping in mind the military trappings of early explorers. Transformable all-weather outerwear pieces feature harness collars, reversible mesh linings, and detachable pocket gloves. A membrane coating gives pop tailoring extra bounce, as zip-up polar fleece returns in roomy quilted jogging pants (mimicked elsewhere by luxe striped shearling). Worn with plaid felt overcoats and checkered crew knits, straight canvas trousers zip-off in color-blocked panels. In the same way, a three-pocket bag zips out into backpack, tote, and fanny pack shapes.
Blinking from a resin bijoux ‘eye’ clasp, our new KENZO Tali double flap bag is unveiled for the season in a rainbow of colors and crafted in stamped lizard and faux croc leathers or oval ‘eye’ quilting. Held in the hand, on the shoulder, or worn cross-body, it comes printed with the season’s KENZO rice bag motifs and swings with sunglass cases or shaggy shoulder straps.
For men and women, footwear styles see town and country collide, with laced Inka trekking boots and mesh sneakers lifted on stacked soles. Women’s Lima kitten heels fuse faux fur under plastic, whilst squared boots lace up the calf with a scuba sock insert.
Carol Lim & Humberto Leon
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Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2019-20, FALL WINTER WOMEN 2019-20, KENZO, KENZO FW 2019-20
Sat, February 2 2019 » Fashion Blog
Fri, February 1 2019 » Fashion Blog
“I wanted to imagine our own counter-cultures which then morph together, with their own ways of living and surviving” says Jonny Johansson, creative director of Acne Studios.
The collection explores counter-culture as a way of being. Outsiders from different fields – academics, anarchists, bohemians, off-grid pioneers – are gathered then mixed, as if to build a new community.
Their clothing takes on its own individuality and character. These men have a magpie attitude to style, a look that is both practical and romantic. The wardrobe brings together seemingly disparate elements that, together, makes fresh sense.
Jersey tops have purposefully imperfect ribbing, patched with images from the classic anatomical textbook Gray’s Anatomy. Chunky knit snoods have fringes so long they almost touch the floor.
Tweed coats are woven in wool and cotton to give crispness. Cowhide coats are left their natural shade in places, elsewhere dyed vivid brights.
Jacquard tops are woven in patterns like football kits from another era. An alternate football shirt pattern is printed on a bohemian hoodie and coat, made from wool woven with polyester.
Cashmere boucle cardigans have been washed, and are worn loose as an outer layer. Pants have fastenings like dungarees that can be worn folded open.
Tailoring in jersey cuts close to the body, with small flowers trapped in the see-through buttons. Other long silhouette suiting has Lycra for added stretch.
Ponchos are knitted as if from loose threads trapped in fabric, with fringing only on the front.
A sweater has loose yarns trapped under a layer of sheer pink nylon, as if all could be unravelled.
Hiking boots supercharged soles, while rubber industrial boots are perfect for surviving the elements. Multi-pocket body bags are extremes of functionality.
Brooches trap flowers in resin, as if pressed in a book. Spherical cutaway jewelry are as if the symbols of a new society.
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Tags: ACNE STUDIOS, ACNE STUDIOS FW 2019-20, FALL WINTER MEN 2019-20
Fri, February 1 2019 » Fashion Blog
Fri, February 1 2019 » Fashion Blog
Men’s 2019 Autumn & Winter / Women’s 2019 Pre Autumn collection
Applying the notion of a cultural melting pot to sacai’s signature hybrid splicing, mixing references freely and with ease. Celebrating togetherness and “freedom of being” that’s symbolised by experiences in London’s legendary Bar Italia – the setting for exchanges and social cross-pollinations, with no boundaries self-imposed by a need for tribal belonging – and applying that mindset to familiar clothing archetypes.
A sharper take on menswear. Inverting the importance of “dressing to belong” sacai-style, juxtaposing references in celebration of the idea that we should have the freedom to be different, to be an individual. The familiar formality of a trench coat, subverted with leopard print; classic flannel pants hybridised with performance leggings; a single breasted suit tailored from sports performance fabric.
Playing with silhouette through construction and disrupting the layers associated with traditional outfit building. Inverting coats so that the liner becomes a pumped up outer layer; a sweater traditionally worn under a jacket instead becomes its outer shell; a college scarf integrated into a primitive jacket becomes the detail that entirely changes the silhouette. A feminine blouse is left undone, save for its scarf which serves to make a new shape and proportion. Mixing the utility of sports fabrics with the femininity of tulle and lace. Houndstooth spliced with herringbone; ladylike tweed with biker.
Sacai eyewear by NATIVE SONS adds a new dimension to a familiar form.
Custom beaded-designed Beats X wireless earphones by audio brand Beats by Dr. Dre.
Nike x Sacai LDV/Daybreak, Blazer/Dunk – two hybrid styles in a new monochrome palette.
Bar Italia x Sacai tees and hoodies.
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Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2019-20, SACAI, SACAI FW 2019-20
Fri, February 1 2019 » Fashion Blog
Fri, February 1 2019 » Fashion Blog
A luminous cotton sculpture by the German artist Franz Erhard Walther occupies the LOEWE show space inside Maison de l’UNESCO, as the focal point of the first-ever men’s LOEWE runway show by Creative Director Jonathan Anderson. Entitled Gelbe Modellierung (1985), the sliced and segmented canvas ‘wall formation’ work stems from the artist’s performative practice, encouraging the viewer to interact with its wardrobing elements: in this case, two jackets and two trouser legs joined to its compartmentalised yellow surface.
In conversation with the Fall Winter 2019-20 Men’s collection, the work suggests hybrid abstraction at a human scale, where both a garment’s utility and its connotation are called into question. By re-thinking fabrication and scale, LOEWE craftmanship materialises in unexpected ways – uniting incongruous ideals of masculinity where the worlds of sartorial tradition and team sports collide. Inshearling and camel cashmere, outerwear pieces elevate the everyday.
Trompel’oeil arrives in tufted shearling and stamped croc, culminating in plush pastel leather quilting or a greatcoat fashioned from fringed cashmere scarves. Above unzipped calfskin waders, distended jerseys and tunics recall trail blankets and rugby stripes. Long knits collect relics: beads like pebbles, and naïve life drawings, whilst bound thread work cardigans evoke raw process. Like Walther’s peeling forms, hyper-extended shirt sleeves peek from beneath the new LOEWE tuxedo – a nipped 2-button suit with asymmetric lapels.
The signature Puzzle bag appears in burnished hand-braided leather, and thegiant Gate saddlebag is unveiled formen. #LOEWE #LOEWEFW19
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Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2019-20, LOEWE, LOEWE FW 2019-20
Wed, January 30 2019 » Fashion Blog
Wed, January 30 2019 » Fashion Blog
Wed, January 30 2019 » Fashion Blog
An independent view of luxury incites the Berluti collection for Autumn-Winter 2019. Confronted with the absence of historic ready-to-wear archives, artistic director Kris Van Assche approaches his first collection for the maison motivated by a sense of freedom. The lack of preordained rules and codes informs a contemporary wardrobe rooted in the privilege of choice. Presented in the gilded halls of the Opéra Garnier, where classical and experimental arts are staged under one roof, it proposes an adventurous attitude to luxury in which the rough and the noble co-exist.
The collection serves as a meta take on Berluti itself: patina, the signature colouration of the maison’s classic leather shoes is illuminated in new light. Captivated by the old marble tables at which craftsmen hand-dye the patina of shoes in Berluti’s manifattura in Ferrara, Kris Van Assche paints his collection in the multi-hued stains of their surfaces. A wealth of reds, yellows, blues and greens saturates garments in rich colour, no two the same. The dye-splattered marble is further interpreted in print on silk shirts and nylon bags structured in exotic leather.
Interpreted in tailoring, the impression of patina is evoked in calfskin and jacquard suiting, expanding the artisanal core of Berluti into a broader identity. The silhouette is defined, the shoulder stated but never too controlled. It paves the way for an exuberant approach to dress where formal tailoring feature side-by-side with trousers native to motocross. The idea of recalling one material through another further materialises in a purple leather coat stained in the image of patina, a grey shearling coat reminiscent of astrakhan, or a sweater knitted from a thousand metres of multi-coloured leather strings, which reads like yarn.
The maison’s emblematic patina shoes hand-crafted from one piece of leather – the Alessandro, after its founder, and the Andy, after Warhol – are reimagined with sculptural caps recalling the faces of diamonds. The construction amplifies the shine synonymous with the maison, a facet accentuated in another new take on the Alessandro adorned with angular metal plates. The silhouette is transferred to a white trainer executed with the same artisanal principles. A nod to Berluti’s heritage, shoehorn pendants and miniature shoetree key rings adorn the collection.
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Tags: BERLUTI, BERLUTI FW 2019-20, FALL WINTER MEN 2019-20, FALL WINTER WOMEN 2019-20
Wed, January 30 2019 » Fashion Blog
