One of the main inspirations for Dior's Haute Couture collection by Raf Simons was David Bowie. The iconic artist actually appeared on quite a few menswear runways in the last few years: at times designers displayed a fascination with his Ziggy Stardust incarnation as photographed by Duffy for the album cover of "Aladdin Sane"; at others their explored themes like ambiguity and duplicity as portrayed in Nicholas Roeg's The Man Who Fell To Earth.
Yet it looks like Bowie's chameleonic disguises are keeping on intriguing designers. The model in the lookbook of Undercover's Autumn/Winter 2015/16 menswear collection assumes indeed a series of poses reminiscent of Bowie's on the cover of "Heroes".
David Bowie's song titles were also embroidered on the back of a varsity jacket, while designer Jun Takahashi tended to mix in the rest of the collection classic tailored moods with functional workwear and practical sportswear.
A formal electric blue jacket with silky details around the collar was juxtaposed to windowpane plaid raincoats, green duffel coats, and parkas, while stretch-cotton track pants were given a formal look.
There were two further themes included in the collection: technology and horror. The former was represented by the iPhone 6 see-through pockets integrated in the outerwear that will allow to turn one's jacket into a personal screen while transforming at the same time a portable device into a piece of wearable technology.
The horror theme was approached from two points of view: kitsch and modern – see the collages of old-time horror films, the assassins' gloves, jacquard hands appearing on light cardigans and the blood "Slash" signatures on black backgrounds – and classic/Gothic via a Biblical scene, "Samuel appearing to Saul in the Presence of the Witch of Endor" (1777) by Henry Fuseli.
In this scene from "The Book of Samuel", as the armies of the Philistines are gathering to attack Israel, Saul, feeling abandoned by God, seeks advice from a witch who summons for him the ghost of the prophet Samuel.
The image was replicated on quilted jackets, parkas and sweaters in which Takahashi mixed imagination and a taste for the fantastic with supernatural visions and Gothic nightmares.
While these sub-themes may be seen as contrasting with the main subject of the collection – "classic meets sportswear" – they are actually very symbolic: Gothic paintings drew indeed on folklore, popular culture, imagination, but also classical art.
As a whole this was a wearable and versatile collection that, combining modern idols, highly charged horror images and streetwear, will prove successful among young fashion fans.
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