Week in Review: Androgyny’s Trajectory
Lina Österman Fall 2009
This past week saw a spate of Fall 2009 collections which, cumulatively, did little to disrupt the recent trends in men’s fashion: if they’re not going for black, then they’re going for androgyny. Given I have a bias in favour of both movements (Sonny Groo is my style icon after all), I found a lot to admire in the last 7 days.
For starters, there’s Lina Österman’s second collection, which offers a sensibility vastly different from (the difference being adventure) that of Pudel, where she plays Creative Director.
Her collection has been criticized a little on Coûte Que Coûte for essentially pandering to the whims of fashion bloggers, failing to re-interpret the supposedly hackneyed concepts of lace, shredding and, well, black. Moving past the notion that black will never go out of style (even if we’d like it to), I think there is some merit in what Österman has on show. For one, she plays with expectations. She avoids the timeworn addition of epaulets and instead uses leather to define the shoulders; she provides us with shredding and sheerness in places that, wait for it, might actually be appropriate; and she embellishes denim, rather than tearing it. Where Österman succeeds most, though, is in her restraint. The collection embraces a Gothic flair without ever descending into the wild, less accessible (but perhaps more interesting?) theatre that gothicism often thrives on. (That doesn’t mean we didn’t love this over at Contributing Editor.)
“Brilliant Tar” — Noize Fall 2009
“Brilliant Tar” is the fourth collection from unisex-friendly Japan-based label, Noize. With a penchant for the deconstructed and on a mission to “break through the barriers of society and culture”, there is a vested interest in the details of the collection. Taking to a black color palette, the collection centers around complex pre-wrinkled materials, varying proportions and creative dying processes to create separates that are suitable for mixing and matching. Delivering a specific Gothic-influenced aesthetic, Noize is the perfect companion label for Rick Owens’ devotees.
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