Thursday, January 14, 2010

Time for action

Time for action? Drawstring sheer top by Omar Kashoura.

After the month of excess that is December, every New Year brings a few heavy breaths and much belly surveying followed by the utterance that 'I'm going to be more active this year." Perhaps you profess that you will join a gym, take up pilates or jogging, or maybe you'll just cycle to work more often. Unfortunately these will end up either being short lives promises or downright lies on the most part. However, do not despair and throw down your skipping rope accepting your tubby fate before replacing it with a super deluxe chocolate eclair. You can look to the Spring Summer 09 shows for inspiration. Fashion156 have just unveiled the Sports Issue which is packed full of fashion inspired by and celebrating in those sweaty, active pursuits it tends to avoid. The time to be more active, or at the least appear so...is now.

From left to right. White neoprene shirt by Yang Li, black trousers by Matteo Bigliardi. Jacket by Yang Li shorts by Nicomede. Vest by Yang Li and shorts by Nicomede. Charcoal suit by Yang Li.

As we have all come to expect from our favourite online magazine, the real highlight can be found within the editorial pages. The sport inspired Fashion section showcases LFW favourites Carolyn Massey, Tim Soar, Lou Dalton and Satyenkumar along with emerging design talent including the likes of Omar Kashoura and Georgy Baratashvili whilst throwing up the freshest talent with Nicomede Talavera (current CSM student we caught up with last autumn) and Yang Li. This is the type of fashion which I'm prepared to run to the bus for.

Navy shorts and navy sliced tee by Lou Dalton

As soon as I flicked through the latest issue my mind raced back to an article I read by Dean Mayo Davies which talked about the tension that now exists in fashion. The confrontation between the sartorialism of the gentleman and the most active and reactive codes of sportswear. In the post he includes a comment by Casette Playa's Carri Mundane which keeps playing on my mind;

"It's a privilege to not have to wear a suit but still be in a position of power. The same way that working-class mods subverted the suit, taking the attributes of conformity by charging them with menace and the threat of violence. Sportswear now is no longer about performance but a refusal to conform."

A number of the more progressive SS10 shows (Ann Demeulemeester, Giuliano Fujiwara, Calvin Klein, Juun J, JW Anderson, Damir Doma to name but a few) demonstrated graphic shapes, bold attitudes and even more interestingly tech derived fabrics. Despite the obvious tension within the different schools of fashion, I am enjoying watching these two aesthetics challenge and push one another forward on the runway and on the street.

Black trousers and blue jacket by Carolyn Massey.

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