What an adventurous life the Craig Green man lives. He travels the world alone and dresses to protect himself from all the possible dangers that might come along on this trip as he picks up cultural artefacts on the way. His wardrobe is modular and voluminous, hyper-practical in its exuberance of creative self-expression. Thanks to what he’s wearing, the complexity of ideas in his mind explains itself as it unravels in front of the eyes of everyone he meets on his escapades. But enough about this man, what about the man in charge of his wardrobe? Yesterday marked Craig Green’s Paris Fashion Week Men’s debut, a start of a new adventure for the designer himself. Standing up there with the most powerful megabrands on the schedule, Green presented his most elaborate collection yet which further explored all those utilitarian techniques of quilting and stitching by taking their visual impact to new heights.
The first section of the show was a self-reflection on Green’s role as one of Moncler’s Geniuses, with padding and puffer materials facing yet another reimagination. Then there was a quick dip into the deep blue sea, with fishing nets turning into sexy shoulderless tops which revealed skin in all the right places. Continuing on from his previous expeditions, Green furthered the notion of garments mapping the bodies underneath, with stitches and ropes creating labyrinths of visual stimulation. White artist’s smocks appeared out of nowhere, with flowers in vivid colours either immaculately splashed on top or stitched in padded textiles. And then for the grand finale of this symphony starring a travelling soldier – the technicolour installations in the form of tent-like sculptures worn as instruments of isolation from the outside disasters. And that’s how you do a show.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans.
