September 14, 2023 |
Luar’s off-kilter SS24 collection walked the line between orthodox religion – with all its straight-laced sermons – and sexy, soul-searching hedonism. Inspired by “El Hoyo” (meaning ‘the hole’ in Spanish), a rural and rough neighbourhood in the Dominican Republic that’s rather strangely split, with party goers blasing dembow on boom boxes on one side, and a church, with its disciples seated in the garden and a woman preaching on the sidewalk, on the other.
Born from the uncanny dichotomy of the community, the collection was effortlessly cool – the spiky hair pieces, shrugged-look shoulders and wonky eye glasses making it something fit for a subcultural kid – always with a touch of grandad chic.
A curious blend of subdued, slate grey suiting with wide peak lapels worn over draped skirts were in fact all one piece while gathered bandeau tops and skimpy dresses were secured with silver Luar logo clasps. Some models wore shirts and ties tucked into sweat shorts with furry hems, others wore cracked vinyl tops (meant to mimic the cement floors typical of houses in El Hoyo) with micro mini skirts or hot pants in the same material – sometimes with an Ana bag in hand. Many of the models wore glimmering Amazonian armbands or had crystal claws.
Protruding from a pair of ‘80s techno-style exaggerated sunglasses, a lush, off-white jersey draped along the body for the fourth look, becoming an atypical sort of halter top, and was paired with a cement-coloured asymmetric skirt decked with rouleau buttons, lacy branded hosiery and strappy black sandals. That quite literally eye-catching design feature was repeated across a menswear look worn with contrast cycling shorts and again, with a floor-sweeping black skirt – elevated by a slanted satin band at the waist and drapes peppered with intricate beadwork – that closed the show.
This was Luar’s most streamlined and mature collection so far – which makes sense since it was also the brand’s tenth year staging a runway. Designed to “tease and tantalise”, it was a deviant interpretation of a religious uniform fused with Carribean party culture.
Photography courtesy of Luar.
