Mon 23rd January
Correct me if I’m wrong, but to (possibly incorrectly) utilise a term learnt in GCSE English, is this not what one would call the breaking down of the fourth wall? The drawing back of the curtain? Because this evening, for Kenzo’s AW17 show (their first combined mens and womenswear outing) the backstage became front of stage. Line-up, hair and make-up, backstage photogs. All on show. A meta-moment. Which was a choice, apparently, made for sustainability purposes in association with charity Ideas For Us. Makes sense – who needs a fuck off fashion show when you have some really great clothes? And really great clothes Humberto and Carol gave us, inspired by, as the notes told us, a subculture of Arctic surfers. Which, from what we can gather, are like the normal type of surfers, but a bit colder. Point Break on ice. And a necessity, one would presume, for such cold weather based pursuits is warmth. Protection against the elements. So that became the kind of raison d’être of the collection – technical outerwear, from puffas to cinched ski jackets, anoraks (one, two, three’s a trend) and heavy snowboard-style boots. Knitwear that extended over the head, balaclava style. But all enlivened with that sort of haze of hippie day-glo surfer – long degrade jumpers, floral Hawaiian prints, harlequin diamonds. A zingy colour palette of orange, lemon yellow and glacier blue. It was rad. And, with that, our adventures in the land of menswear end come to an end for another season. It’s been a blast. Over and out…
Photograph by Jason Lloyd-Evans
