Rave seems to be a recurring theme at this season’s men’s shows. At London Fashion Week Men’s in particular, many designers looked to club and rave culture – from Charles Jeffrey, Christopher Shannon and Cottweiler, to Liam Hodges, Martine Rose and Topman. Going deeper than referencing rave’s bright-coloured, baggy-clothed aesthetic, many of them recalled the origins of the scene: a sense of melancholia, anger and disillusionment among young people. As Donald Trump gets elected as President of the US, triggering the largest protests in the history of the nation and similar events all across the world, it’s not difficult to see why these designers would be remembering this moment in time.
Yesterday, Dior Homme’s artistic director Kris Van Assche became the latest person to join the party, staging a hardcore techno-inspired show for AW17 that he dubbed ‘HarDior’. Apparently he had been thinking about the last time young men wore tailoring in a pop cultural as opposed to professional way, and that this had led him to the late 70s and early 80s – the dawn of clubbing, rave, MTV and style mags.
“People are talking a lot about how young men don’t like wearing tailoring now,” he said in an interview with Vogue. “But maybe they’re not giving them the right tailoring. I wanted to concentrate on that.” What ensued with a collection of suiting tailored for the rave generation, with particular reference to gabber, a genre of techno that emerged from Rotterdam in the 90s.
With their hair centre-parted or standing on end as if electrified, models showcased pinstripe suits flecked with splashes of bright colour (red, orange and turquioise), ‘HarDior’ bucket hats and reflective shades. The inspiration became very literal in the last five looks which were created from fabric printed with the photo-realistic paintings from Chicago-born artist Dan Witz’s Mosh Pits series, capturing the partying crowds at raves and gigs.
