DIESEL BLACK GOLD: THE CATWALK

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“You might not have the money, but your look is important.” So says Sophia Kokosalaki. And she has a point. Her Diesel Black Gold collection was inspired by the kids who hang about in east London’s Victoria Park, round the corner from her studio, and the 1980s throwback fashions found in nearby Broadway Market. Look closer, though, and you will find other end-of-the-century pop-culture influences. This isn’t a straightforward 1980s homage. This is a patchwork of the best the past three decades have to offer. A trip down lowbrow-reference-turned-highbrow-reference way.

THE HAIR

Rose McGowan in The Doom Generation. The models have the same hair. Black bob with blunt fringe. While some may think of Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction, they are wrong. Thurman stole the hair. McGowan wore it first. While Thurman was busy looking up the meaning of bad in a dictionary, McGowan was living it. Much like the Diesel ladies are living it. To be bad, you have to be born bad.

THE TROUSER

MC Hammer. Can’t Touch This. Drop crotch. Or a take on a drop crotch. The trouser itself is a slim, skintight jean. So far so Diesel. Until you notice the chiffon layer. It could be a top. It could be a skirt. We haven’t really looked and, anyway, who cares about details? Whatever this chiffon creation is, it billows around the legs. It clings and gathers and bunches. It looks like a pair of Aladdin trousers worn over jeans. It speaks of genies in bottles, or of you not being able to touch this. Hammer time.

THE PRINT

Half zebra. Half leopard. Patchwork prints. In black and white. Or red and blue. With orange. It brings to mind candy that you want. Annabella Lwin sitting by a river having a picnic by a river. She is wearing the print. The print is printed on an asymmetric jersey dress. The print is a primal cry for more candy made real.

THE BATWING

A long sleeve with a deep armhole, tapering towards the wrist. Except that this one is short. A demi batwing. It does not taper. It is a bat in flight at all times, not only when you raise your arms. It is found on the baseball jacket. The fabric is stiff. Baseball jackets with pushed-up sleeves are bad. Baseball jackets with short batwing sleeves are a whole new level of badness. They’re the Rikers Island to your Wormwood Scrubs. It is worn over a Lurex jumper.

www.dieselblackgold.com

by Natalie Dembinska

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