Spring Zeitgeist: CK nostalgia, Dries in Venice and cummerbund experiments
Plus Pony Kids tees, MA-1 accessories and a little womenswear envy
Spring has definitely sprung, and unlike autumn, I’m always happy to hear its arrival heralded in the fashion/arts/media bubble in which I spend much of my time online. Whereas I want to slap the nearest fashionite exclaiming their joy at finally wearing winter layers, spring is definitely something to be celebrated.
With that in mind, here are a few things lifting my spirits as much as the expanding days and the occasional sunny afternoon.
Love Story (aka a skewed Calvin Klein story)
First up. Like everyone else, I’m watching Love Story and totally get why JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy remain such fashion icons (though, given their respective heights, bone structure and other physical advantages, what wouldn’t they look good in?).
More than that however, I’m living for the views of ’90s Manhattan, glimpses of the era’s nightlife, but most of all the encapsulation of Calvin Klein as the minimalist brand. From the minimal office space much discussed elsewhere, to the model casting and the provocative depiction of CK himself (surely a perfect Ryan Murphy subject if ever there was one).
I’m completely lost in nostalgia for this version of New York and a time before social media made everything feel the same everywhere.
Dries Van Noten in Venice
Next up, something to look forward to.
The luxury fashion press was awash this week with news of what Dries Van Noten is planning for his Venetian palazzo, Palazzo Donà Giovannelli, which opens this April as a cultural space. The inaugural exhibition, Unexpected Conversations, will bring together works spanning the 18th century to today, mixing art, design, fashion and objects from Van Noten’s personal world.
My love of Venice and biannual trips to the Art Biennale have been celebrated here before, and Dries’s presence - together with the thought of exploring that incredible-looking palazzo - is definitely whetting the appetite for early summer.
A little womenswear envy (from the menswear side
With all the excitement over Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel, apparently causing a shopping (or at least viewing) frenzy, together with the sheer scale of the womenswear shows (admittedly on occasion a co-ed affair), it’s enough to make us fashion guys jealous.
While I won’t be trotting out in a pair of mint-green heeled pumps anytime soon, it does make me wish there were a menswear equivalent with quite as much colour and sense of fun to be had.
Cue Dries Van Noten’s latest promotional newsletter (yes, another Dries reference), specifically promoting:
“New menswear proposals: women’s silhouettes reshape menswear through boat-neck evening tops, wrapped vests layered over white shirts and jersey tops with defined waists.”
It made me wonder what is actually transferable from the womenswear world, given that gender fluidity has been such a discussed aspect of fashion for at least the last decade or so.
This incidentally was the subject of a Guardian post back in the day, but I digress.
Cummerbund, foulard, waist sash, sarong?
With this fluidity in mind, I was reminded of various collections from SS26, notably Julian Klausner’s use of cummerbunds and sarongs layered over richly patterned, slinky trousers at Dries.
More recently, Conner Ives’s latest collection featured silky foulards used as cummerbunds or waist sashes, adding a touch of ’30s bohemian / Weimar flair.
Usually cummerbunds are one of those items seen at weddings, prompting male wearers to feel like they are in costume, wearing garments they can barely remember the name of, let alone their purpose.
What we’re seeing here is something much more louche.
Is the male midriff about to become the new zone for experimentation?
Clearly there is some risk here of looking a little Ali Baba, and slimness is definitely a prerequisite, but there is something about this layering that feels fun and summery, even if it’s just a slim fringed scarf used as an impromptu belt on denim cut-offs.
MA-1 inspired accessories
Given the MA-1’s resurfacing, as noted in the last Zeitgeist post, it might come as little surprise that I’ve been drawn to other uses of the MA-1 for accessorising - bags, wallets, trainers, even skorts.
Sacai can take some credit for the latter, but the daddy here is Porter Yoshida, whose range of wallets, totes, shoppers and backpacks seem to be constructed from MA-1 fabrics, with signature padding, hefty YKK zips and that iconic bright orange lining.
There’s something about the spongy padding and utilitarian feel that’s just incredibly satisfying.
To squeeze one final Dries reference in here, his current satin low-profile running shoes have a similar shiny, upholstered appeal which is equally pleasing.
Simone Rocha’s Pony Kids
Lastly, no one currently makes graphic T-shirts with quite the appeal of Simone Rocha.
Her upcoming Pony Kids range (coming this summer) references photographer Perry Ogden’s cult book Pony Kids, documenting late-1990s Dublin youths and the horses they were obsessed with. It’s clearly a meaningful touchpoint for Rocha - she even had Ogden walk in one of her past shows - and she herself was growing up in Dublin at the time, surrounded by the same mix of scruffy sportswear and school-uniform tailoring captured in the photographs.
The references stretch from Tír na nÓg, the Irish land of eternal youth, and the mythical white horse Enbarr, to Joyce’s “Weird Sisters” - Elizabeth and Lily Yeats of the Irish Arts and Crafts movement.
All of which might sound rather literary, but what it produces are beautifully stark black-and-white summer tees, with just the right hint of Rocha’s signature gothic romanticism.
OK, that’s it for this edition.
I’m off to make a wild garlic pesto, in yet another rite of the upcoming spring.