Men’s – Gender Culture. Casely-Hayford SS17

June 12, 2016June 12, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

The father-and-son duo, Joe and Charlie Casely-Hayford, have many reasons to call spring-summer 2016 collection one of the biggest highlights of their career up to date. What pleasantly surprised everyone during the show was the fact that the fash-fam introduced a womenswear capsule, accompanying their festival-cool menswear looks. “We’ve been asked about doing it for years,” said Charlie. “Now felt right. We want to dress a woman who is a partner to the Casely-Hayford man—but she is very much independent and different to him too.” Their debut in the world of women was like the feeling of a breeze by the sea, so refreshing. Jacquard, which was used in coats production, was made with a more than 200-years old weaving mill, while the dresses with knitted details in sharp, summer-y colours, will be the right choice for warm days. Casely-Hayford is known for top-notch tailoring, but in contrast to their Savile Row friends who do strictly elegant suits, this label breaks the well-known conventions. No wonder why the women’s part was as focused on perfectly-cut blazers as men’s, and was equally edgy. The moodboard behind the collection was filled a variety of British music movements, from 70s rock and Jimi Hendrix to 00s grime and Mick Jagger. With all that diversity in mind, there was a sharp game of oriental patterns, paisley, bleach splashes and tie-dye textiles. Also, spot the richness of jewellery – tribal necklaces and pendants (which looked like great, flea-market finds) were worn nonchalantly by both genders with embroidered robe-coats and denim jackets. Looking forward to see how Joe and Charlie will continue their new, even more daring chapter in fashion!

Men’s – Dark Nostalgia. Thom Browne AW16

January 26, 2016January 26, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

There was an elusive, Rene Magritte mood during the Thom Browne autumn-winter 2016 presentation for men. Just like in the surreal paintings of this Belgian artist, the New York-based designer staged a nostalgic, mournful collection of meticulously detailed coats and suits. Note the chaotic stitches which jut out of the coat above – and the pants, which look tattered and old. Even the socks have little holes. But there is beauty in this type of rawness, and Browne is absolutely aware of that. The hats which dramatically obscured models’ faces were made in collaboration with a long time friend of the designer, Stephen Jones Millinery.

As for the end of a very, very good fashion month of menswear, the New Yorker’s collection felt like a delightful dessert (even though it wasn’t as colourful as you might suspect a dessert to be). Time for haute couture, and the remaining labels with their pre-fall look-books…

Men’s – Tokyo Diaries. Umit Benan AW16

January 26, 2016January 26, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

It seems that Paris-based designers feel a strong sentiment to Japan. We know Julien David’s love to Japan, as all of his clothes are made there; for SS16, Olympia Le-Tan created a feminine collection which took its references from Nobuyoshi Araki’s bondage photography and Hotel Okura’s famous architecture legacy. The Japanese story is continued by Umit Benan with his “Tokyo Diaries” collection for men. When the guests arrived to the show, a group of eight men were about to start the “nyotaimori“, a practice known in Japan which is about eating sushi off a naked woman’s body. Benan’s inspirations came from Japan – but don’t expect kimonos or anything as predictable as that. The designer had yakuza gangs on his mind – and you don’t want to mess up with these guys. The street-cast models and Umit’s friends walked the show in athletic tank-tops, judo jackets and corduroy coats with obi belts, while some had the typical, Japan-fashioned braids. The footwear changed dramatically, from sneakers to white tube socks with the toes cut out. The designer, known for his diverse collections, successfully withdrew the clichés of the Land of the Rising Sun and staged a wearable, badass collection.

Men’s – Flower Power. Comme des Garcons AW16

January 25, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

We all got used to the breath-taking and avant-garde garments for woman, which are envisioned by Rei Kawakubo‘s always surprising imagination. In case of menswear, however, the woman behind Comme des Garcons bases her ideas around classical, quintessential clothes, like for example a well-tailored suit or a leather biker jacket. In the effect, these usual pieces appear to be one-of-a-kind. For autumn-winter 2016, Rei explored the blurry borders of masculinity, and humanity, by representing an ethereal, yet dark performance of warrior-like models, who wore beautiful, floral head-pieces created by Julien D’Ys. The whole outing, which sensed like a “war and peace” manifesto, felt very emotional – there was pure sadness in models’ eyes, but supreme happiness in the bold, flower colours. Surely, the show’s meaning was deeper than a “flower-power” cliché. But flowers do cheer up our lifes. Even, when the world is becoming a very dynamic and dangerous place.

Men’s – Botswana. Givenchy AW16

January 25, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

I’ve been so excited about Riccardo Tisci‘s stree-style-wise pre-fall 2016 look-book which was photographed in Berlin – but I don’t feel that excitement anymore, if talking of Givenchy‘s menswear outing. It just feels like a look-back at the collections that Tisci delivered for men in the last few years. This season, the mood-board was all about a very narrow and specific theme – it was photographer Frank Marshall’s images of Botswana and its music devotees dressed up in their favourite band t-shirts, fringed biker jackets and cowboy hats. Indeed, it’s quite difficult to imagine the leather-filled Wild West in the heart in this African country. “I looked in the book and saw these gangs, their freedom – it was something very new for me”. There was a free-spirited attitude in the collection, which has also brought a spotlight on Africa’s stereotype-breaking subcultures. However, if you won’t pay attention to what books Tisci holds on his bookshelf, then the menswear part seems to look good, but surely not ground-breaking.

I have the same feelings towards the women’s part, which in reality is the spring-summer 2016 haute couture collection (smartly overlapped with menswear for the next season). Back in the days, when Givenchy’s creative director did separate haute couture presentations, everybody knew his girl well. You surely didn’t want to mess up with her. Her black, lace gown, fur stole and vampish make-up tells it all – she is a romantic, slightly gothic dame. And as you see, she hasn’t changed even a bit, she is still the Tisci girl from the Instagram favoured #GivenchyGang. The haute couture part is a collection of masterpieces (take the hand-embroidered cape with circular patterns), but just like in the case of menswear – doesn’t feel fresh.