In the midst of today’s 80s fashion redux, trust Christophe Lemaire to offer an elegant option with no hint of retro, despite a moodboard packed with new wave music references. The artistic director of Hermés has partnered with one of Korea’s most well-known apparel brands, Bean Pole – famed for its previous collaborations with such stellar artists and designers as Sir Peter Blake and Kim Jones – to create Novö, a new line named after French rock critic Yves Adrien’s Novövision, the 1978 manifesto that predicted the revolution of machines in music.

In this top-end endeavour, Lemaire’s knowledge of extreme quality and super-cool intuition for casualwear combines with Bean Pole’s belief in the power of creativity to challenge the outer limits. Much like the very first sounds of a synthesiser on a Kraftwerk record, their debut Novö season evokes the careful, rather restrained beginnings of European new wave: the palette is black, white and yellow, and the prints range from twitchy, electronic punctuations to simple, graphic lines. Form doesn’t strictly follow function, though the slim-fit pieces are tailored for trendy lifestyles of the young, fast and mobile – details include hidden industrial-pockets and removable down-linings. The collection takes inspiration from the eclectic work of members of Memphis Art Collective, a non-profit organisation that supports local communities in and around Memphis, Tennessee. The result is a modern record of the smart, offbeat style spearheaded by the German electronic pioneers and developed by the likes of Cabaret Voltaire and Suicide, infused with Lemaire’s unmistakable sporty-chic spin.

Bean Pole Novö is available at Oki-ni.com, Liberty.co.uk and Flannels

CREDITS
Hair Karin Bigler at D+V using Frederic Fekkai
Make-up Gina Ven Den Bergh using Chanel
Model Guerrino at Nathalie Models
Photographic Assistants Ismael Moumin, Kelly De Block
Production Claire Silva Moreira