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NYFWM: Matiere and Landlord

By Jackie Mallon

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Fashion

The loud, anarchic world of punk was the inspiration behind Matiere’s Fall capsule collection. The result might be the quietest, most well-behaved punks ever to pogo to The Clash. But it was a relief to see the brand eschew the clichés of studs, rivets, zippered leather and kilts and, how ever incongruous, feed their reference material through the in-house filter of understated luxury.

An anti-establishment attitude was only in evidence in the confrontational stare of the models and their cladding of tartan and windowpane plaid. Demure cardigans and buttoned-to-the- Adam’s apple shirts were crisp and polished. Kneelength shorts in grey herringbone worn with tights, lace-up shoes and a fur-collared, double-breasted coat even exuded the dandy aristocrat. Seated on ornate wooden chairs against wood panelling, these gentlepunks demonstrated their familiarity with cigar-scented libraries and hip whiskey bars, not squats and dive bars.

Flannel henleys, merino wool parkas, seersucker and terry soften the edges of their abrasive attitude. There are no harsh melodies, just tonal cashmere stripes, olive corduroys and stripped- of-detail modish anoraks. Their inspiration might be Johnny Rotten but their mentor is Jony Ive.

Matiere and Landlord show at New York Fashion Week Men's

Also nostalgic for a bygone era synonymous with music was Ryohei Kawanishi of Harlem-based label Landlord who riffed on the hip-hop scene of the 90s and 00s. Recalling its “bling bling” swagger, he employed head-to-toe fuchsia and royal blue to flamboyant effect, then added plackets and pocket flaps of alligator and stingray skins in reference to the flashy slip-on shoes from the label Mauri that his favorite rappers wore.

Pastel fur was not altogether tamed by oversized workwear jackets and shirts. On a visit to the Saatchi Gallery in London, the designer encountered the cut-and-paste-style digital pieces of British artist James Howard and was struck by the gaudy ironic qualities he identified in the work. It inspired him to create a range of graphic T-shirt prints reminiscent of the “diamond encrusted album covers” that defined hip hop’s heyday.

Japanese cottons, wool and Italian exotic skins round out the fabric range. The scattered Persian rugs lining the runway place us in the nouveau riche atmosphere of the rapper’s crib because, in the words of a young Jay Z, we doin big pimpin up in N.Y.C.

By contributing guest editor Jackie Mallon, who is on the teaching faculty of several NYC fashion programmes and is the author of Silk for the Feed Dogs, a novel set in the international fashion industry.

All photos: Jackie Mallon for FashionUnited.

Landlord
Matiere
New York Fashion Week Men's
NYFWM