It is difficult to reshift the attention on fashion shows when our eyes are still focused on the Inauguration ceremony, on the first day of Biden's presidency and while the world is still fighting against Coronavirus. It is also difficult to look at a new menswear fashion collection featuring functional pieces and warm comforting knitwear and accessories like gloves, without thinking about the various memes intergrating a super versatile image of Bernie Sanders in his Burton jacket and mittens socially distancing at the Inauguration ceremony.
There was actually something of that Sanders mood in Undercover's menswear A/W 21 collection. Jun Takahashi included in his collection everyday wear, technical jackets covered in an Aran knit print with inbuilt glovelets, knitted jumpers with jacquard motifs that looked more sci-fi than folk and rustic and a selection of comforting knitwear with separates in coordinated patterns (Prada went instead for long johns as you may remember) that seemed to conform with the trend Bernie inadvertently launched.
Some garments evoked a relaxed domestic coziness rather than the neglected look of lockdown times, but the designer added an arty layer and his signature dark and disquieting twist via Markus Åkesson's works.
Photorealistic hyperreal paintings by the Swedish artist portraying a boy poetically covered in butterflies among the other subjects, were indeed reproduced on voluminous puffer jackets.
Åkesson is a neofigurative painter known for recreating painstakingly detailed textiles and subjects covered in elaborately patterned silks and satins. In some cases his models are not just enveloped in textiles, but they seem to drown in them.
Takahashi took inspiration from Åkesson's obsession of wrapping his subjects in fabrics to create illusions: the hood of a satin quilted parka became a quintessential three-dimensional addition to the painting printed on the back of the jacket portraying a girl wrapped up in fabrics; fabric snoods and scarves framed instead delicate images of young boys.
There was also another collaboration in this collection - less arty and more functional - with bag and luggage company Eastpak: coats and jackets integrated rucksacks (an idea reminiscent of the sofa with pockets from Quinze & Milan x Eastpak's "Built to Resi(s)t" collection), playing with the concept of the wearer carrying something or being carried by the bag, becoming part of the bag and emphasising the idea of protection.
There was a final dichotomy between technology and romance: the former was explored via technical fabrics, topcoats and duffle coats with shiny metallic, vinyl or glossy pockets; the latter was represented by an accessory - scarves made of knitted white, red and pink roses. It was almost a hidden message telling us that we want a high-tech future, but we want roses too.
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