January 7, 2020 |
There’s nothing more refreshing than seeing a talented designer doing things on their own terms. After taking a break from his eponymous label due to personal reasons, Nicomede Talavera made his triumphant return to fashion last summer – this time vowing to adopt a formula that works best for him. The method he’s landed on is showing through biannual capsule collections, abandoning the catwalk for a lookbook format that will be released to coincide with both menswear seasons each year.
First up was Episode 1, which interweaved tiger print, cow spots, and monochrome gingham check into a dazzling display of boyish silhouettes paired with outerwear cut with both an innovative and precise hand. “Episode 2, Brotherhood is an evolving new look,” explains the designer. “It’s taking Nicomede signature details and silhouettes that I designed for Episode 1 and pushing them into new realms.” All the aforementioned patterns made a sophomore appearance, now joined by corduroy, which the designer first used in his Central Saint Martins MA collection. He uses the fabric to create brilliant trousers, equipped with chunky double pockets that look fantastic when paired with blush pink swatches of glitter.
Though the collection is predominantly occupied by sporty fabrics, bulbous trenches made from puffer and nylon offer contemporary renditions to 1950s couture shapes. Nicomede also plays a deft hand in transforming even the most over-saturated items of clothing into desirable pieces, like the MA1 bomber jacket, swollen with dropped shoulders and nipped-in arms. “I wanted the collection to be bold, imaginative and unexpected,” he says.
Vintage tailoring techniques aside, Nicomede was also inspired by boybands this season, “Who signifies a youthful and positive spirit, as well as a charismatic and stylised identity,” shared Nicomede. The designer even mocked up his own boyband merch out of vintage t-shirts made in collaboration with Not/ Applicable that looks fantastic when worn beneath roomy jumpers with a heart cut-out at the chest. Each look is paired with kitschy jewels brooches and bracelets designed with Ekaterina Pronina, who is part of a team of collaborators Nicomede plans to work with as he journeys through the second stage of his career, including our Senior Fashion Editor-at-Large, Harry Lambert.
Whilst Nicomede looks to the cutting patterns of yesteryears to inform his design process, he is no way interested in creating clothes that look retro, vintage even. “I feel that the pieces have life and energy,” clarifys Nicomede. “It’s about building a timeless wardrobe that echoes the past and celebrates the future.” Cohesive, informative and dazzling in all its glory, Nicomede Episode 2 only whets our appetite for what’s to come next.
Lookbook photography by Tom Sloan, Styled by Harry Lambert. Exclusive backstage imagery by Nicomede Talavera.
