Since his debut under Lulu Kennedy’s Fashion East, Per Götesson has used his collections to explore complex notions of masculinity, all with deft pattern cutting and poetic design sensibilities. “Departing from last season, we wanted to a very confident masculinity that is also playful and layered,” said the designer, who has stopped staging fashion shows over the past couple of seasons, focusing instead on working with a Tokyo-based agency to expand his stockists in Japan (which is currently his biggest market).
“Now, I feel like I understand the customer,” says Götesson, “We’ve come to a stage where the guy that wears our stuff is so multifaceted.” And this season, he has plenty to shop from. There’s a biker jacket patchworked together from a cocktail of textures that replicate the natural contours of a chiselled torso; another, cut from denim, with sustainable shearling, sourced from the UK, draped across the collar and back. There’s also a hoodie chopped and sliced into a sensual, fleshy vest, as well as an arm lifted from a leather jacket that has become an over-the-shoulder bag. “That one’s a surrealist experiment,” says Götesson.
He’s got the loyal clientele who’ve adopted his innovative pieces as part of their everyday uniform, but for Götesson, all roads lead back to the catwalk. “I do miss it,” he says, “we are looking to do a big, big show next year.” What a brilliant return it will be.
Photography by Hendrik Schneider.
