July 17, 2013 |
Epic masculinity. Well, that’s what the press notes said. Epic masculinity. Or masculinity that is epic. Epic as in great. Not a long poem. Jil Sander does not deal in poetry. She deals in fashion. Epic fashions that are masculine. Here follows a breakdown of the epic masculinity. It is both epic and masculine. And rather regal. In parts. Sort of royal servant. Someone who wears a fancy uniform. And hangs around Buckingham Palace. Like a member of the Household Cavalry. They, too, are epic. And masculine.
THE COLLAR
The collar is not a collar. Well, it is. But it’s detachable. So if you weren’t feeling a collar today you could remove it. Say, if you warm. And you could reattach it if you got cold. You could call it a neck warmer if you were so inclined. A scarf but not a scarf. Anyway, the collar is high. And stiff. It covers the neck. And resembles, in a way, a crisper, more structured pilgrim collar. It is the same collar that is attached to the capes worn by the Household Cavalry. They wore the collars at the Jubilee. While riding down The Mall, escorting the royal carriage, or something. It was very cold for June. Hence the capes. With the collars that keep your neck warm. They are oversized, too. Giving the models an air of dress-up. A sense of Little Lord Fauntleroy. A young boy in grown-up clothing. The collars are very grown-up.
THE COLOUR
The colours are those of the Household Cavalry, too. Navy. And red. Not much red. Only two looks. But sometimes two is all you need to change your perception of a collection, to add a hint of regality to the proceedings. The red here is deeper than the red of a Household Cavalry cape. More the red of a royal throne. Did you ever see that BBC documentary about the Queen? It’s the same colour as her throne in Buckingham Palace. Regal red is obviously epic. Navy is masculine. When worn together they are epic. And masculine.
THE SHAPE
Boxy. And square. On top. And long on the bottom. An elongated silhouette with a raised waist. They look a bit militaristic. A bit uniform. Uniform, well, royal uniform has become a bit of a running theme here. There’s a stiffness to the coats. They look soft but there’s something stiff in the softness. They look as though they’ve been constructed from packing foam, in that there’s a bulkiness to them. They sort of stand away from the body. Yet if you were to go up to someone wearing one and, say, poke them, the fabric would wobble. Stiff softness. Of soft stiffness. Either works.
by Natalie Dembinska
