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A current necessity for menswear is its ability to dress both genders and make them look on trend.
This classic and familiar trend of women adapting men’s fashion has been around since the birth of modern fashion. But for this Fall, fashion designers have decided to make male-inspired office wear the focal point of this season. This is obvious in a prevalent design subculture that is heavily influenced by fine tailoring. And nowhere is this more obviously manifested than in the tailored suit.
The intersection between masculinity and femininity is revealed by the cuts and fabrics of the suit. A good deal of design deconstruction of the silhouette takes place in order to create a more androgynous suit specimen for women.
One suit that has drawn our attention is Rei Kawakubo’s design from her Comme des Garçons fashion line. The designer focuses on the fabric and cut to sculpt female bodies into pieces of art, making knits and wool the highlights of her collection.
In her own words, Kawakubo defines her male-inspired suit collection (named MONSTER) in the following way, “The theme of the collection this time is MONSTER. It’s not about the typical monster you see in video games or sci-fi movies; it’s much deeper than that. The craziness of humanity, the fear we all have, the absence of the ordinary, expressed by something extremely big, something that could be ugly or beautiful. I wanted to question the established standards of beauty.”
Kawakubo’s abstract designs inspire the question, “Are people prepared to go out in public looking like a piece of art?” We won’t know until beginning of Fall, but one thing is for sure: Kawakubo’s take on the suit is the most creative so far this season.
The essence of Hollywood is always present in a Michael Kors‘ Show, only this time he introduced an unpretentious style to his audience while still remaining luxurious. The combination between furs and chiffon balanced the collection with contrasts of monochromatic prints, fine leather and denim, an experience that felt both fresh and delicate for the international woman.
Christopher Kane blends guipure lace and nylon to perfection? This collection felt more sophisticated and modern than usual. An extravagant fusion of ideas was exhibited in his show and a different emotion felt in his the clothes.
Perversion and sexuality were Kane’s inspirations. His last collaboration with Love magazine was inspired by the eroticism of Nobuyoshi Araki and evidenced by the PVC looks that contrasted against the ruffled colored dresses. Embellished suits provided a glow as they traveled down the catwalk with 3-D reflections. A collection of multi-layered organza dresses closed the show.
This flurry of creativity makes us desire the clothes and respect their vision.
Take a look for yourself, and without further ado, suit up!
-Paris Amaro.
