There are motifs and graphic patterns that will never go out of fashion. One example? Stripes. Artists are naturally drawn to stripes that can create visually striking effects, think for example about Daniel Buren's works or Bridget Riley's Op Art motifs incorporating striped effects.
Being stripes timeless, they seem to be always on the minds of fashion designers like a costant obsession, often reappearing on the fashion runways. In more recent years striped patterns have also turned into a bone of contention for some fashion designers, becoming the unlikely protagonists of copyright infringement cases.
Stripes were also the inspiration behind Michel Pastoureau's book The Devil's Cloth: A History of Stripes, a key reference for all fashion writers as the volume analyses the negative connotations of vertically or horizontally placed colours in fashion in Western societies.
Striped clothes were often used throughout history to identify society's outcasts, from jugglers to prostitutes, slaves, servants and criminals, while in Medieval paintings the devil himself is at times depicted wearing stripes.
If you're a fan of visually striking patterns with no negative connotations, you may be happy to hear that they will be fashionable again come next Spring, thanks to Nina Neretina and Donis Pouppis.
The Russian design duo has always been about bridging the gap between Russia and the West, and in their collections you can usually spot personal references to their culture and backgrounds, combined with hints at Western art, but also at music and in particular to bands like synth-pop Pet Shop Boys or New Order.
Leaving behind the Argyle pattern that characterised the previous collection, but continuing their studies about geometries, Nina Donis recombined in their S/S 20 designs the multi-coloured stripes from Pet Shop Boys' "Introspective" cover with Lyubov Sergeyevna Popova's graphic prints, Varvara Stepanova's unisex 1920s sport uniforms (both Popova and Stepanova are constant inspirations in Nina Donis' work) and Alexander Rodchenko's photographs.
Stepanova's bold and striking geometric designs had to highlight the movement of the athlete and create dynamism. Nina Donis use black and white or red and white stripes with the same purpose in mind in their dresses and tops. Garments characterised by colourful horizontal or vertical stripes add some playfulness in the collection, black and white stripes hint at dazzle camouflage, while monochromatic or bicoloured looks act as palate cleansers for people who favour more minimal styles.
The vertically or horizontally striped garments remain the main protagonists of the collection and the more you look at them the more you wonder if these graphic patterns actually have a further connection with playfulness and with raves as they may also be interpreted as subtle hints at the industrial design of Manchester's Haçienda (View this photo).
Silhouettes for the S/S 20 collection are simple, practical and functional, something that connects the duo with what artist and textile designer Varvara Stepanova once told to the members of her studio, "Do not put any ornamentation on the dress: the seams which are essential for the cut give the dress form."
Stepanova reached great results using fabric as a canvas and creating precise geometries based on avant-garde designs that are widely considered as visual experimentations that follow Constructivist principles. The same can be said about Nina Donis' looks.
Another trademark of Nina Donis is the versatility of their designs: you can always get one of their pieces and effortlessly integrate it in your wardrobe.
But beware of the hidden messages behind the collection: stripes are about freedom and playfulness, but they were also used throughout history to bring in revolutionary meanings. So, never ever understimate the power of stripes as behind these minimalist bold and simple stripes there may be some kind of message that only their fans may be able to decode.
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