Chain Reaction II

fig a. A panel dress by Martin Margiela. And a panel dress by Maison Martin Margiela. Restaged in the latest pre-collection lookbook that looked back to the label's beginnings.

fig b. A trench coat by Veronique Branquino. And a trech coat by Veronique Branquino, accompanied by variations of Anderson and Anonymous (Maison Martin Margiela).

fig c. A black suit and the iconic image of Stella Tennant by Mark Borthwick. Two classics that set the tone for the retro-designer-triptych.

fig d. A pinstripe dress. A striped dress. A checked suit. And a shirt bra. The chronological emancipation of menswear, seen here pushed furthest by Anderson who always bows to and borrows from Kawakubo.

1. Maison Martin Margiela Spring/Summer 2006
2. Maison Martin Margiela Pre Spring/Summer 2015
3. Veronique Branquinho Fall/Winter 2004
4. Veronique Branquinho Pre Spring/Summer 2015
5. J.W. Anderson Pre Spring/Summer 2015
6. Maison Martin Margiela Pre Spring/Summer 2015
7. Maison Martin Margiela Spring/Summer 1999 & Mark Borthwick Stella Tennant, 2000
8. Maison Martin Margiela Pre Spring/Summer 2015
9. Veronique Branquinho Pre Spring/Summer 2015
10. J.W. Anderson Pre Spring/Summer 2015
11. Maison Martin Margiela Pre Spring/Summer 2015
12. Comme des Garçons Fall/Winter 1995
13. J.W. Anderson Pre Spring/Summer 2015
14. Veronique Branquinho Pre Spring/Summer 2015

The world is a faded cloth. Designers are looking back to their origins, their founding years. The 1970s via the 1990s. Even if they weren't there. Together, they are recreating classics.

Veronique Branquinho 2015 = Veronique Branquinho, circa 1995 (regaining)
J.W. Anderson 2015 = Comme des Garçons, circa 1995 (redoing)
Maison Martin Margiela 2015 = Martin Margiela, circa 1995 (remembering)

Their colours are beige, black and blue. Their garments are tailored and masculine with softened volume and deconstructed details. Everything is nostalgic like blurry sepia images in a family album. But unfortunately, those photos aren't real, they are the result of filters.
/HORST

Image credits Vogue

Now & Then X

1. Salvatore Ferragamo Spring/Summer 2014
2. Issey Miyake Spring/Summer 2007

When DIY becomes DBN: design by numbers. We are living and dressing in a decade of things and ideas that have been. It is the last great 'Hurray' before the in-situ restart. Counting down, 3, 2, 1...
/HORST

Now & Then VII

1. Acne Spring/Summer 2013
2. Raf Simons Spring/Summer 2012

There is a close connection/appreciation between Acne Studios and Raf 'Sandior' Simons. In this case, the almost unnoticed 'look 24' from 2012 delivers the main theme for 2013: block striped pyjamas. We might sleep, but our vision does never escape.
/HORST

Post Paris XXIV

A false encyclopaedic guide to the Paris collections, presenting:
Veronique Branquinho Fall/Winter 2013

1. Veronique Branquinho Archive
2. Adriano Brusaferri Spindle tools used to calibrate organ pipes, 19th century
3. Satoshi Saikusa Valentino Haute Couture Fall/Winter 1993

Paris re-opens the chapter of False Encyclopaedia. And since Veronique Branquinho's last show was my first show, this is an appreciation post. Celebrating craft, sincerity and stringency. The colour beige, the bustier top and turtleneck, the Belgian rigor.
/HORST

Pow(d)er Inc.

1. Xander Zhou Fall/Winter 2013
2. Tokujin Yoshioka Crystallized Project, 2012
3. Craig Green Fall/Winter 2013
4. Wendy&Jim Fall/Winter 2006 & Helmut Lang Fall/Winter 1998

Silver and beige, lilac and light blue. After a spring collection entitled 'Fleurdelism', we return to feminine hues with Xander Zhou for fall. Because trans-seasonal is the new transsexual.
/HORST

Exhibitionist, 2012

or 'For Your Eyes Only'













Coat Whyred
Backless T-shirt Laitinen

His uniform is oversized, his coat unbuttoned. Hands casually hidden in deep pockets, carefully controlling the moment of reveal and indecent exposure. He is a son of Raf Sander.
/HORST

A Short History Of Stripes In Popular Culture V

1. Acne Spring/Summer 2013
2. Lanvin Fall/Winter 2012

Boys in stripes: alternating between the horizontal and vertical, light and dark, matt and shine. A lined-up mosaic of beige, orange, blue and grey. The pyjama as new sartorial decision.
/HORST