Talk about European politics, economy and immigration and, in one way or another, you'll end up mentioning Germany and Chancellor Angela Merkel, so it seemed only natural for Hussein Chalayan to come up with a collection inspired to this country.
Entitled "Teutonic", the collection touched upon a series of themes linked with Germany: it opened with a series of black and white men and womenswear pieces – shirts, skirts, pants and coats – that looked superficially simple and traditional but were actually quite intricate pattern-wise.
Quite often the tailoring tricks were indeed in the sleeve seams, or in the military pockets hidden in the folds of the jackets. Then followed gray flannel looks and duffle coats with fur shawls that incorporated knitted scarves.
The theme progressed, introducing long white silk dresses printed with what looked like technical drawings. The lines actually replicated prints of cutting patterns inspired by Burda magazine. Translated in the main European languages, this German publication was quite popular during the '70s and the '80s.
Things started going a bit downhill as ready-to-wear and mass production became more popular and, though still going (you can now buy online the patterns and download them immediately), it doesn't sell as much as it did in those times, while at the same time it is enjoying a Renaissance, especially with those fashion fans who are trying to learn sewing skills.
Printing on a dress the instructions to make it is not a new thing for Chalayan who previously employed motifs inspired to patternmakers' toiles for Vionnet S/S 14 collection, but these gowns will definitely resonate with those grown up women who were children when the magazine was popular and had their mothers and aunts make them clothes and costumes using the patterns.
Jumpsuits introduced workwear and a mechanical world: car and spaceship dashboard geometries were also embroidered using cascades of Swarovski crystals on long dresses, while digital numbers, German words and arrows on utility jackets and pants hinted at road maps and speedometers on cars (see also the clock recording the speed of a boat in Chalayan's shop), and more crystals on jersey jumpsuits recreated road lights.
The autobahn signs finally introduced the last theme with words taken from German fairy tales used as destinations.
The fairy tale theme is quite popular at the moment: Dolce & Gabbana dedicated a saccharine collection to it, this was instead a sort of ironic and conceptually modern twist on the Brothers Grimm.
Germany is currently a key destination for Middle Eastern migrants, but, rather than repeating himself with something similar to his iconic circular wood table that could be transformed into a skirt (A/W 2000-01 collection) inspired by the news from Kosovo about people fleeing their houses in a rush during the war (and by his own experiences as a Turkish Cypriot living abroad), the designer preferred offering a conceptual escape into a fairy tale existence.
Though cleverly assembled, the collection – divided into eight chapters or themes – proved obscure for too many critics: these are indeed clothes dedicated to people who want to wear something clever for what regards construction or information embedded in the clothes, rather than just garments.
Unfortunately, in a world in which the cult and the status are more important than the meaning, not many will grasp the depth and the technical skills behind Chalayan's sculptural pieces.
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