And the long john is a piece of clothing that evokes all sorts of feelings: it can be perceived as an infantilized garment like a child's onesie or romper, it can be seen as an Old West cowboy macho reference ("Sexual cowboy," as Simons put it! while Prada said her reference was "rock n' roll"), it is something that completely reveals the body in its outline but cocoons it as the same time. Warmth and comfort at the heart. I think that is the COVID response. They showed long johns of mohair, fine gauge knit, and Shetland wool, in patterns reminiscent of Art Deco or 70s English wallpaper, worn alone or as a foundation garment worn under shirts, trousers, suits, and outer coats. The video here presents a show of the garments in a Rem Koolhaas-OMA-designed set of fur-lined rooms (more comfort and warmth) for ten minutes, and the next thirty minutes are a wonderful, informative Q&A session with Prada and Simons and a FaceTime gathering of fashion students from around the world.
Showing posts with label Raf Simons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Raf Simons. Show all posts
Monday, January 18, 2021
BEAUTY: Clothing--Prada and Raf Simons
For this FW '21-'22 collection during Milano Moda Uomo, two titans of fashion collaborated: Mrs. Prada worked with Raf Simons, the first time the pair have co-created a collection. And true to my prediction, the pair showed a COVID-quarantine inspired collection but instead of day pajamas, the pair decided to explore that old garment, the long john. In a post-show Zoom press conference, Prada and Simons said the collection was intended to work on an emotional level and not a narrative level. "We started talking very early on about what kind of piece could represent something very close to the body, literally being almost a representation of the body. We were looking for something that could be maybe a symbolic piece for all these kinds of feelings that we feel right now."
Monday, June 25, 2018
BEAUTY: Clothing--Misc. Paris Fashion Week
And here are some details from Paris Fashion Week I found interesting:
Sarah Mower at Vogue called Raf Simons' SS '19 collection "the moment the backlash against streetwear became an inevitability." Amen to that sister. Simons even said, "We need a new outline. I know I was part of it myself, but too many hoodies with prints! You know, something needs to shift." The centerpiece of his collection was hard-to-work-with duchesse satin in 70's-Saint-Laurent jewel tones rendered in large, boxy coats (or Lurex sweaters) worn with spectacular platform boots. Love!
Lucio Vanotti showed some great, simple, wrap skirts. I love how these look...and sometimes I am so tempted to just go to the women's section when I'm shopping...but I don't think anything will fit me.
John Galliano presented an ambitious collection meant to bring impeccable dressmaking to menswear in terms of bias cuts and methods of production. I liked the idea and there were many pieces that were of interest but what really stood out for me were the shoes, again. He showed the clove-toed shoe from FW '18-'19 but also some new creations, all in the spirit of hybridization that the house is known for. Japanese kimono fabrics were made into chunky sneakers and cowboy boots, while another pair of cowboy boots were made from baby blue patent leather. A pair of conventional lace-ups sported a thick ankle strap. This is creativity.
Lastly, Alexandre Mattiussi of Ami presented a show that was just enchanting. While the pieces themselves were quite ordinary--the sense of it was a casual, dressed down holiday--the lyrical, pastoral setting was comforting and lulling...models wandered through fog, and down a wheat field on a hillside. *sigh*
https://rafsimons.com/
https://www.luciovanotti.com
https://www.amiparis.com/us/
Sarah Mower at Vogue called Raf Simons' SS '19 collection "the moment the backlash against streetwear became an inevitability." Amen to that sister. Simons even said, "We need a new outline. I know I was part of it myself, but too many hoodies with prints! You know, something needs to shift." The centerpiece of his collection was hard-to-work-with duchesse satin in 70's-Saint-Laurent jewel tones rendered in large, boxy coats (or Lurex sweaters) worn with spectacular platform boots. Love!
Lucio Vanotti showed some great, simple, wrap skirts. I love how these look...and sometimes I am so tempted to just go to the women's section when I'm shopping...but I don't think anything will fit me.
John Galliano presented an ambitious collection meant to bring impeccable dressmaking to menswear in terms of bias cuts and methods of production. I liked the idea and there were many pieces that were of interest but what really stood out for me were the shoes, again. He showed the clove-toed shoe from FW '18-'19 but also some new creations, all in the spirit of hybridization that the house is known for. Japanese kimono fabrics were made into chunky sneakers and cowboy boots, while another pair of cowboy boots were made from baby blue patent leather. A pair of conventional lace-ups sported a thick ankle strap. This is creativity.
Lastly, Alexandre Mattiussi of Ami presented a show that was just enchanting. While the pieces themselves were quite ordinary--the sense of it was a casual, dressed down holiday--the lyrical, pastoral setting was comforting and lulling...models wandered through fog, and down a wheat field on a hillside. *sigh*
https://rafsimons.com/
https://www.luciovanotti.com
https://www.amiparis.com/us/
Saturday, June 18, 2016
BEAUTY: Clothing--Raf Simons
Raf Simons has certainly been around...he has been head of Jil Sander, Dior, and of course his own eponymous line all of which generally show at Paris Fashion Week, so it is noteworthy that Simons just presented his SS '17 collection at Pitti Uomo in Florence, Italy. Ostensibly a trade show, Pitti Immagine Uomo also introduces guest designers and holds special events for lesser known designers where careers have been launched. Simons has shown at Pitti before, in 2005, and here he is eleven years later, eschewing Paris for a remarkable collection, not only for fashion but for the art world as well.
Simons is no stranger to the world of art. He is an avid modern art collector, has featured the work of Franky Claeys, Peter Saville, Picasso, and Brian Calvin. He has worked many times with the American artist Sterling Ruby, on storefront designs in 2008, on a capsule collection of bleached denim wear jeans and jackets in 2009, and for a highly oblique, conceptual FW '14-'15 collection, previously here. As if he needs more art world cred, he has been a consultant for the Cigrang Freres art collection in Belgium since 2000. So it makes a certain kind of sense that the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation--established by the photographer himself to protect his work before he died of complications due to AIDS in 1989--reached out to Simons in an effort to disseminate Mapplethorpe's work beyond the art world.
In case you don't know, Robert Mapplethorpe was a highly influential, highly sought-after photographer in the 1970s and 80s whose work exploring the gay BDSM-leather culture somehow existed beautifully alongside his minimalistic still lives of flowers and portraits of celebrities. For this collection Simons was granted full access to Mapplethorpe's archives and chose photos from all of those genres.
The work of Mapplethorpe has a direct, graphic boldness to it and so do the clothing designs of Simons. The mix seems to be perfect. He used many of Mapplethorpe's self-portraits (excluding the most famous one of himself in only leather chaps with a bull whip handle inserted in his rectum, an image that provoked a national controversy and debate about obscenity and censorship in 1989 when it was part of an exhibit featuring work from his "X portfolio" of erotic imagery), along with striking black and white photos of flowers, and images of celebrities Patti Smith (he shot her iconic "Horses" album cover), Debbie Harry, David Byrne, and Laurie Anderson. The presentation of the photos themselves--mounted on leather aprons or as chest pieces--seem to elevate them to gallery status with the clean, spartan clothing around them acting as a frame.
"Robert took areas of dark human consent and made them into art. He worked without apology, investing the homosexual with grandeur, masculinity, and enviable nobility. Without affectation, he created a presence that was wholly male without sacrificing feminine grace. He was not looking to make a political statement or an announcement of his evolving sexual persuasion. He was presenting something new, something not seen or explored as he saw and explored it. Robert sought to elevate aspects of male experience, to imbue homosexuality with mysticism. As Cocteau said of a Genet poem, 'His obscenity is never obscene.'"
--Patti Smith, from JUST KIDS, her memoir about her time with Mapplethorpe
The collection features a lot of discreet touches which reference this kind of underground gay subculture--black leather biker caps, black leather overalls which invoke the ubiquitous leather harness, and thin black belts worn around the necks of models as a leash (or possible reference to erotic auto-asphyxiation). Interestingly, in the intervening years, these things are no longer so "underground" and are recognizable to most. Mapplethorpe died at the height of the AIDS crisis in a world that was hostile to gay people and their basic human rights. Of course we have come a long way since then, but the internalized homophobia that drove a man to slaughter 49 people in Orlando, FLA just this week is proof that there is still a lot of work to be done.
http://rafsimons.com/
Simons is no stranger to the world of art. He is an avid modern art collector, has featured the work of Franky Claeys, Peter Saville, Picasso, and Brian Calvin. He has worked many times with the American artist Sterling Ruby, on storefront designs in 2008, on a capsule collection of bleached denim wear jeans and jackets in 2009, and for a highly oblique, conceptual FW '14-'15 collection, previously here. As if he needs more art world cred, he has been a consultant for the Cigrang Freres art collection in Belgium since 2000. So it makes a certain kind of sense that the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation--established by the photographer himself to protect his work before he died of complications due to AIDS in 1989--reached out to Simons in an effort to disseminate Mapplethorpe's work beyond the art world.
In case you don't know, Robert Mapplethorpe was a highly influential, highly sought-after photographer in the 1970s and 80s whose work exploring the gay BDSM-leather culture somehow existed beautifully alongside his minimalistic still lives of flowers and portraits of celebrities. For this collection Simons was granted full access to Mapplethorpe's archives and chose photos from all of those genres.
The work of Mapplethorpe has a direct, graphic boldness to it and so do the clothing designs of Simons. The mix seems to be perfect. He used many of Mapplethorpe's self-portraits (excluding the most famous one of himself in only leather chaps with a bull whip handle inserted in his rectum, an image that provoked a national controversy and debate about obscenity and censorship in 1989 when it was part of an exhibit featuring work from his "X portfolio" of erotic imagery), along with striking black and white photos of flowers, and images of celebrities Patti Smith (he shot her iconic "Horses" album cover), Debbie Harry, David Byrne, and Laurie Anderson. The presentation of the photos themselves--mounted on leather aprons or as chest pieces--seem to elevate them to gallery status with the clean, spartan clothing around them acting as a frame.
"Robert took areas of dark human consent and made them into art. He worked without apology, investing the homosexual with grandeur, masculinity, and enviable nobility. Without affectation, he created a presence that was wholly male without sacrificing feminine grace. He was not looking to make a political statement or an announcement of his evolving sexual persuasion. He was presenting something new, something not seen or explored as he saw and explored it. Robert sought to elevate aspects of male experience, to imbue homosexuality with mysticism. As Cocteau said of a Genet poem, 'His obscenity is never obscene.'"
--Patti Smith, from JUST KIDS, her memoir about her time with Mapplethorpe
The collection features a lot of discreet touches which reference this kind of underground gay subculture--black leather biker caps, black leather overalls which invoke the ubiquitous leather harness, and thin black belts worn around the necks of models as a leash (or possible reference to erotic auto-asphyxiation). Interestingly, in the intervening years, these things are no longer so "underground" and are recognizable to most. Mapplethorpe died at the height of the AIDS crisis in a world that was hostile to gay people and their basic human rights. Of course we have come a long way since then, but the internalized homophobia that drove a man to slaughter 49 people in Orlando, FLA just this week is proof that there is still a lot of work to be done.
http://rafsimons.com/
Monday, January 25, 2016
BEAUTY: Clothing--Misc. Paris Fashion Week, FW '16-'17
Misc. Men's Paris Fashion Week.
Raf Simons. Long sleeves. Large scale. More cocooning, more pulling into one's shell like Damir Doma and more childhood like Fendi. Simons' collection directly referenced youth in varsity sweaters with anonymous school letters and insignias.
Y Project. Odd detail at the hem of jeans...an extra bell or cuff, buttoned...
And it seems that the break out star of the season was plush toy fur, seen not only at Fendi, but also at Ann Demeulemeester (who, it must be noted, also included long hair along with plush toy fur!)...
...and plush toy fur also at Loewe. Like kids dressing up as Fred Flintstone...
http://www.rafsimons.com/
www.yproject.fr
https://www.anndemeulemeester.be/
http://www.loewe.com/
Raf Simons. Long sleeves. Large scale. More cocooning, more pulling into one's shell like Damir Doma and more childhood like Fendi. Simons' collection directly referenced youth in varsity sweaters with anonymous school letters and insignias.
Y Project. Odd detail at the hem of jeans...an extra bell or cuff, buttoned...
And it seems that the break out star of the season was plush toy fur, seen not only at Fendi, but also at Ann Demeulemeester (who, it must be noted, also included long hair along with plush toy fur!)...
...and plush toy fur also at Loewe. Like kids dressing up as Fred Flintstone...
http://www.rafsimons.com/
www.yproject.fr
https://www.anndemeulemeester.be/
http://www.loewe.com/
Thursday, January 16, 2014
BEAUTY: Clothing--Raf Simons and Sterling Ruby
Raf Simons has known the American artist Sterling Ruby for nearly ten years and this collaboration for Simons' Fall-Winter '14-'15 collection at Paris Fashion Week was astonishing for its thoroughness and complete isolationism--the pair managed to imbue their collaborative collection with its own internal logic, separate and apart from any references or links to the "fashion world."
Ruby is a multidisciplinary artist working in bronze, ceramic, soft sculpture, painting, and collage... particularly something he calls "bleach collage" which played a large part in this collection. Atop the minimal lines of a typical Simons collection, Ruby placed his "bleach collages", strips and scraps of tattered and worn fabric, stained with bleach and paint. The strips served as bold slashes of chaos within the simplified Simons garments. Pants and jackets are splashed with bleach. Seemingly random words are pasted onto pieces of clothing like bumper stickers. One says "abus lang" which stands for "abusive language." Another simply, mysteriously, and ominously says "fathers," a rather charged word and concept. Ruby's monumental soft sculptures are referenced as well in red, white, and blue knits, echoed in his stuffed serpentine of the American flag that adorned the show space.
Of note are the fascinating, swollen, bulbous shoes, stuffed like one of Ruby's sculptures.
The entire collection has the energy, madness, and rush of creation in the studio. And this collection is creativity in clothing (fashion) at its best.
http://www.rafsimons.com/
http://sterlingrubystudio.com/
Ruby is a multidisciplinary artist working in bronze, ceramic, soft sculpture, painting, and collage... particularly something he calls "bleach collage" which played a large part in this collection. Atop the minimal lines of a typical Simons collection, Ruby placed his "bleach collages", strips and scraps of tattered and worn fabric, stained with bleach and paint. The strips served as bold slashes of chaos within the simplified Simons garments. Pants and jackets are splashed with bleach. Seemingly random words are pasted onto pieces of clothing like bumper stickers. One says "abus lang" which stands for "abusive language." Another simply, mysteriously, and ominously says "fathers," a rather charged word and concept. Ruby's monumental soft sculptures are referenced as well in red, white, and blue knits, echoed in his stuffed serpentine of the American flag that adorned the show space.
Of note are the fascinating, swollen, bulbous shoes, stuffed like one of Ruby's sculptures.
The entire collection has the energy, madness, and rush of creation in the studio. And this collection is creativity in clothing (fashion) at its best.
http://www.rafsimons.com/
http://sterlingrubystudio.com/
Sunday, June 30, 2013
BEAUTY: Clothing--Misc. Paris Fashion Week, June 2013
As usual, a wrap-up of miscellaneous details and elements from the Spring-Summer '14 collections seen at Paris Fashion Week, June 2013.
Raf Simon's cute, colorful moon boots:
Goths... and technicolor Goths at Comme des Garçons:
Great chukka boots with color bands at Sacai:
I love these SUPER wide cut trousers at Acne...
...and these super high cut trousers from Damir Doma:
And finally, instead of pictures, I want to share the Style.com feature about Umit Benen's collection which was an homage to his homeland and an effort to keep a certain culture from disappearing.
http://www.rafsimons.com/
http://www.comme-des-garcons.com/
http://www.acnestudios.com/
http://www.damirdoma.com/en
http://www.umitbenan.com/
Raf Simon's cute, colorful moon boots:
Goths... and technicolor Goths at Comme des Garçons:
Great chukka boots with color bands at Sacai:
I love these SUPER wide cut trousers at Acne...
...and these super high cut trousers from Damir Doma:
And finally, instead of pictures, I want to share the Style.com feature about Umit Benen's collection which was an homage to his homeland and an effort to keep a certain culture from disappearing.
http://www.rafsimons.com/
http://www.comme-des-garcons.com/
http://www.acnestudios.com/
http://www.damirdoma.com/en
http://www.umitbenan.com/
Monday, January 21, 2013
BEAUTY: Clothing--Paris Fashion Week Miscellaneous, January 2013
Well, Paris Fashion Week for Fall-Winter '13-'14 closed yesterday and here are the last little dregs of some details I found interesting but not enough to post the entire collection...
Mugler showed a collection that was a tiny bit scary since it reminded me so much of the mean-spirited, Fascistic film "Starship Troopers." The insignia on the tops are a logo for "Mugl-air," a fictitious flying company, and they look sharp and serious. But no fashion editor or writer I have come across so far has had a thing to say about the big pink triangle, a symbol for the gay and lesbian community. And ya gotta love the pink bullet proof vest/parachute pack...
Speaking of parachute packs and airplanes, I liked the seat belt buckle that cinched waists on sport jackets and acted as toggles for coats at Dior. Just look at the mystical pyramid in a circle. Does the emblem have a metaphysical/alchemical meaning or is it a symbol of some future society?
Mugler and Dior conceptually segues nicely into the odd color straps spanning lapels at Raf Simons.
And speaking of future societies, Issey Miyake created some foiled rain wear that looks like it is straight out of "Fahrenheit 451."
Shifting gears to something more romantic, Vuitton showed some gorgeous pieces based on Bhutan silk brocade. Creative director Kim Jones went to the Himalayas to research this collection and the luxurious evening wear that resulted was certainly worth it.
Alexis Mabille showed a really cute detail in his collection: a string tie with tassels. (The artist in me thinks, "I could make that!" I can't cut patterns or sew, but I could put some tassels on the end of a string!)
Jean Paul Gaultier's show was cheeky, taking place in neon lined cubicles reminscent of pay-per-view strip booths. And indeed, each model came out and provocatively stripped down. The funny part is they were wearing classic menswear patterns. Pin stripes have been everywhere at Paris Fashion Week and in Milano...
And finally, Junya Watanabe usually incorporates some kind of work wear or a theme of the laborer into his collections. This time he took us back to immigrants on the Lower East Side of New York, and to the Great Depression with men proudly wearing patched jackets and pants, cobbled together from other threadbare pieces. And aren't we all living through the Second Great Depression... Watanabe seems to be saying that times may be tough, but we still have our dignity.
http://www.mugler.com/us/en/
http://www.dior.com/home/en_us/
http://www.rafsimons.com/
http://www.isseymiyake.com/en/
http://www.louisvuitton.com
http://www.alexismabille.com/fr/
http://www.jeanpaulgaultier.com/brand/en
Photos via http://www.style.com/
Mugler showed a collection that was a tiny bit scary since it reminded me so much of the mean-spirited, Fascistic film "Starship Troopers." The insignia on the tops are a logo for "Mugl-air," a fictitious flying company, and they look sharp and serious. But no fashion editor or writer I have come across so far has had a thing to say about the big pink triangle, a symbol for the gay and lesbian community. And ya gotta love the pink bullet proof vest/parachute pack...
Speaking of parachute packs and airplanes, I liked the seat belt buckle that cinched waists on sport jackets and acted as toggles for coats at Dior. Just look at the mystical pyramid in a circle. Does the emblem have a metaphysical/alchemical meaning or is it a symbol of some future society?
Mugler and Dior conceptually segues nicely into the odd color straps spanning lapels at Raf Simons.
And speaking of future societies, Issey Miyake created some foiled rain wear that looks like it is straight out of "Fahrenheit 451."
Shifting gears to something more romantic, Vuitton showed some gorgeous pieces based on Bhutan silk brocade. Creative director Kim Jones went to the Himalayas to research this collection and the luxurious evening wear that resulted was certainly worth it.
Alexis Mabille showed a really cute detail in his collection: a string tie with tassels. (The artist in me thinks, "I could make that!" I can't cut patterns or sew, but I could put some tassels on the end of a string!)
Jean Paul Gaultier's show was cheeky, taking place in neon lined cubicles reminscent of pay-per-view strip booths. And indeed, each model came out and provocatively stripped down. The funny part is they were wearing classic menswear patterns. Pin stripes have been everywhere at Paris Fashion Week and in Milano...
And finally, Junya Watanabe usually incorporates some kind of work wear or a theme of the laborer into his collections. This time he took us back to immigrants on the Lower East Side of New York, and to the Great Depression with men proudly wearing patched jackets and pants, cobbled together from other threadbare pieces. And aren't we all living through the Second Great Depression... Watanabe seems to be saying that times may be tough, but we still have our dignity.
http://www.mugler.com/us/en/
http://www.dior.com/home/en_us/
http://www.rafsimons.com/
http://www.isseymiyake.com/en/
http://www.louisvuitton.com
http://www.alexismabille.com/fr/
http://www.jeanpaulgaultier.com/brand/en
Photos via http://www.style.com/
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