Chain Reaction

fig a. Wang bases his collection on the Raf Sander 'Tomb Raider' silhouette of panty shorts and rubber boots. He then cross-references the Raf Dior slash fabric technique, almost creating the exact clone in black and hot pink.

fig b. Raf Sandior openly declared his admiration for Helmut Lang and Martin Margiela, yet his designs are built on the tradition of Ghesquière for Balenciaga. Pictured above is the dramaturgical step-up. From sci-fi glasses and stiff sleeveless coats (2007) to vulgar florals and rubber (2011) to stained-glass prints (2012).

fig c. In contrast, Nicolas Ghesquière does not even reference himself. He explores a 1970s feminist architecture for Louis Vuitton without being architectural. His reference is based on culture not fellow creators. And since our future will most likely look like the past, retro-collars and tinted sunglasses are the valid signifiers of our times. Francisco Costa's collection for Calvin Klein evokes a parallel mood that arose from genuine exploration instead of wretched duplication. Applause, please.

1. Alexander Wang for Balenciaga Pre Spring/Summer 2015 & Raf Simons for Jil Sander Fall/Winter 2010
2. Alexander Wang for Balenciaga Pre Spring/Summer 2015 & Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2013
3. Alexander Wang for Balenciaga Pre Spring/Summer 2015
4. Raf Simons for Christian Dior Spring/Summer 2013
5. Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2007
6. Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2011
7. Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2012
8. Raf Simons for Christian Dior Pre Spring/Summer 2015
9. Nicolas Ghesquière for Louis Vuitton Pre Spring/Summer 2015
10. Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein Pre Spring/Summer 2015

The world is Ouroboros and the future is returning. Wang turns to Simons turns to Ghesquière. As usual, the sequel is entertaining and perfectly fulfills all expectations. Yet, the satisfaction comes too early and disappears too soon. A plot summary:

Alexander Wang for Balenciaga = Raf Simons for Jil Sander & Christian Dior (trying)
Raf Simons for Christian Dior = Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga (borrowing)
Nicolas Ghesquière for Louis Vuitton = Nicolas Ghesquière for Louis Vuitton (being)

Their new heroine seeks to look strong and sexy. Phrases that please everyone. Blockbuster couture. But no one is handing out popcorn.
/HORST

Image credits Vogue, Catwalking

Fashion Charts IV

1. Calvin Klein Fall/Winter 2014

2. Marc Jacobs Fall/Winter 2014

3. The Row Fall/Winter 2014

Longing for mall pyjamas and couchwear. The very best of luxury potatoe knitwear. So cozy (Francisco), so pedestrian (Marc), so miserable (Ashley and Mary-Kate). New York is dressing down for the 21st century.
/HORST

News Alert: Missing Sunset Re-Appears

1. Beijing Televised Sunrise, 2014
2. Calvin Klein Spring/Summer 2014

Red sun, black frame. What has been cut away on the sweatshirt artworks of Italo Zucchelli's army of 'menkind' now emerges amidst the grey clouds of smog and pollution. Dramatic scenes, shockingly beautiful and ironic, are rising when the world is about to end.
/HORST

Post London III

A 'False Encyclopaedia' double feature with Igor Guinau, discussing:
Astrid Andersen Spring/Summer 2014

Holiday fact: Jamaican men are beyond any doubt the most beautiful in the world!

I just wanna oil up and roll myself in them!

(Astrid Andersen on Twitter, November 18th, 2012)

The winner bares it all. Hypermasculine, confident and oozing with sex appeal, Astrid Andersen’s team is going for gold. Constantly balancing between strength and fragility, Andersen brings sportswear to the next level. Her trademark pieces – the oversized basketball tanks and the puffed jackets – are still there, but this time the focus is on a more body-conscious silhouette. Showing off the wearers’ envious physiques, sometimes veiled by a second skin of lace – another Andersen trademark. Ego-crashing and eroticizing at the same time, Astrid Andersen’s men evoke a ‘fuck me or fight me’ attitude. Who dares, wins.

/IGOR

Andersen did the same/not the same. While further exploring the ideal idea of the most 'masculine and brutal', the most 'gender-less and androgynous' male, her man left the street behind and went straight up the escelators of a multi-storey office building. Becoming an executive athlete equipped with a body of steel and glass. A little bit like Bret Easton Ellis for Calvin Klein. Or Jared French for Pierre Cardin. It was a good sequel for the 'Male Body Image', but not a new book.
/HORST








1. Astrid Andersen Spring/Summer 2014
2. Matthias Vriens-McGrath Tampa, 2010
3. Mugler Spring/Summer 2012
4. Rowan Papier Brooklyn Boys, 2013
5. Jared French Glenway Wescott, George Platt Lynes and Monroe Wheeler, 1940
6. Calvin Klein Spring/Summer 2008 & 2009, Romain Kremer Fall/Winter 2010
7. Terence Koh The Camel Was God, The Camel Was Shot, 2007
8. Astrid Andersen Spring/Summer 2014

All about Igor Guinau

Eau De Sanctification

1. Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott Gucci Envy
2. Frank Miller Gucci Guilty Pour Homme, 2010
3. Daniel Jackson Calvin Klein Dark Obsession, 2013
4. Unknown Gucci Envy for Men, 1998
5. Bruce Weber Calvin Klein Eternity, 1991

Besides established themes like romance, it is interesting to observe a dominance of religious motifs within the realms of perfume ads. Ingredients such as patchouli and incense position the olfactory creation as 'holy water', a spritz of sin.
/HORST

A Short History Of The Grid In Popular Culture VI

or 'How Horst Influences Fashion'






1. Calvin Klein Spring/Summer 2013
2. Marni Spring/Summer 2013
3. Ming Pin Tien Spring/Summer 2013
4. Phoebe English Spring/Summer 2013
5. Sportmax Spring/Summer 2013

Each season, at least five design houses follow the call and demands of Horst. This phenomenon can be explained as 'collective consciousness'. Ideas and observations float. Minds are transparent and diaphanous. Just like an open grid.
/HORST

Image credits Catwalking

Encounter

ENCOUNTER Calvin Klein 2012

Steven Klein for Calvin Klein. Trapped in apocalyptic concrete, surrounded by the salty air of a forbidding coastline. A cold-hearted play of repulse and distance, only endangered by the smell of cardamom and pepper and the warmth of patchouli, cognac and cedarwood.
/HORST