“Arts and Crafts.” That was Dries Van Noten’s post-show soundbite after a collection filled with fringing, embroidery, embellishment, and patchwork of all kinds. Sometimes the clothes were even sewn together inn patchwork, just laid on top of one another to give a patchy, mixy-matchy effect. Seventies textile artists were the references for the tufted and worked pieces, but they were grounded in the simple, sportswear pieces that make up any modern mans wardrobe – jean jackets, cargo shorts, bombers, parkas – so it didn’t make the models look like a walking, talking wall-hanging. Which is always an issue when designers get crazy with the textile embellishment. Likewise, it didn’t look fussy, or overly rich, or even too decorate – although it certainly was. There was a hearty, meaty realness, a rusticity, to this show. Maybe that’s just what wool fringing does to the back of a jacket. In short, super.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans
