February 14, 2024 |
Raul Lopez said it first. The metrosexual is back. He sees the term as “not just a label or a look” but as a “trapdoor to acceptance”, recounting it as something he could use to hide his sexuality in his youth. Achieving the ability to deceive with the manipulation of his outward appearance, Lopez assumed the role of ‘Deceptionista’.
Naming his AW24 Luar collection after that made-up turn of phrase (Deceptionista), Lopez explored the rise, fall and rebirth of the metrosexual, who is now more present than ever with the softening of masculine aesthetics that’s proving rife in the current fashion sphere.
Metrosexuals have been around for centuries; Lopez knows this, and taps into the varying aesthetics sported by these dandy characters throughout the centuries – namely the Elizabethan era – to inform this season’s designs.
Held in 154 Scott, models donned sweater-dresses and double denim. Everything had huge, swollen shoulders; trousers billowed; calf-length skirts were heavy, layered and wide. And there was leather… lots of it… arriving in the shape of hot pants, warped trousers with cumberbund-like waists, tied up crop tops, enveloping overcoats and jackets with wide necklines. The outing also marked the introduction of Luar Basics, a soon-to-hit-stores lineup of seasonless classics that reimagine key details from the runway for easy, everyday wear.
Sitting FROW was none other than Beyonce. The superstar songstress decamped to the Bushwick, Brooklyn, venue alongside her mother, Tina Knowles, and sister Solange – whose son Julez Smith Jr. walked the show – in a crystal-covered suit and cowboy hat. Her arrival nearly stole the show but when the lights went up, the clothes spoke for themselves and the attention was back on Luar.
Photography courtesy of Luar.
