BEAUTY: Clothing--KTZ

Marjan Pejoski's KTZ label is a perfect example of why I "follow" fashion... and why it proves to be an inexhaustible source of creativity and inspiration. For many seasons now, Pejoski has been interested in the patterns and imagery of the Middle east and North Africa. Just take a look at his Moroccan-saturated Spring Summer '14 collection I blogged about here. So it comes as no surprise that his '14-'15 Fall Winter collection would continue in the same vein, complete with Berber jewelry. What is a surprise however is the total lack of color in the collection. A strictly black and white affair (like the McQueen show--do we have our Hundredth Monkey event? or maybe it is too soon to tell), even the models sported make-up that made them all appear as if they were trapped in a black and white film. Glancing down at the photos I have posted here, it honestly looks like the show was photographed in black and white--only the occasional telltale sign of color from the audience betrays the grey-toned secret.

And another surprising element is how Pejoski ties together the utter foreign-ness and alien-ness of North African and Bedouin culture (which, due to its sheer remote nature makes it foreign and alien to most of us in the rest of the world) with the idea of an equally foreign extraterrestrial culture. A consequence of his black and white models is that they all resemble aliens... literal aliens, from another planet. And the Bedouin designs take on an even more alien appearance in this context. Or rather de-context. Into this mix he has thrown in what appear to be Japanese Mon, or ancient circular family crests. The result is the sense of an alien language. As the collection eases off the black on black palette into white, we shift cultures one more time with the appearance of coats and hats reminiscent of Nepalese sherpa clothing. The pieces and limited color palette all seem appropriately chilly for a collection to be worn in the cold.

http://www.k-t-z.co.uk/