T-shirt origami and new dress codes at the London label's Paris debut
KOMAKINO held its first on schedule Paris presentation for Spring/Summer 13, a landmark for the totally independent London brand. The latest British designer to find its place in the city of light, a tableau vivant of pensive youth found themselves in the bourgeois surroundings of an apartment in the Marais, amidst a set by Matteo Giordano; wheat wreaths and photographic portraiture of soldiers with no nationality or cause. "The installation around the presentation with the young soldiers was about young kids going to war showing the decadence of times past, youths forced to fight for a cause which was involuntarily put upon them and did not believe in. Themes present today, but perhaps disguised," says the label. Previous collections' inspiration has spanned from ancient Greek references to industrial music, military utility and the ambivalent relationship between discipline and anarchy. This season's catalyst? The way a skater would tuck their t-shirt into their waistband and leave it hang. Dazed Digital caught up with designer Federico Capalbo to talk about the blurring of dress codes to create something new...
Integrated, folded t-shirts
"We like the idea of mixing streetwear details into something more contructed and tailored. Starting from the way skaters would wear a t-shirt around their waist, we began folding t-shirts in unusual ways and integrating them into patterns, especially at the back of the garments, making interesting lines almost like origami. You create a strong panel this is actually very fluid, done with jersey – a total contrast. They're incorporated in different ways; upside down or attached through the side seam, specific to every garment. We wanted a feeling of layering in Spring/Summer.
Tailoring in a basketball silhouette
"The basketball short is the most simple in construction but done in tailoring fabric it translates to create a universe you couldn't imagine in polyester. It's appealing to see the basketball player silhouette of vest and oversized shorts translated into tailoring with raw edges around the arms, a play on opposites. This was inspired by the recent sportswear collection we created for Opening Ceremony.
Deconstructed protective vests and constrictive straps
"A continuation of our main reference, military wear. We've been doing vests for a few seasons, they create very nice layering over a very simple t-shirt or boxy shirt, you can exaggerate volumes with it. I like the idea of something so constrictive over something so relaxed in shape."
Presentation Photography Dennis Schoenberg
Lookbook Photography Rémi Lamandé
Styling Niklas Bildstein Zaar
Grooming Karin Westerlund
Model Jakub Nowocien at The Right Stuff
Photographic Assistant Vanessa Munier
Styling Assistant Sacha Quintin
