The Future is Behind You

September 27, 2018

How do you take a fashion house from the past—one so deeply engaged in the future—and bring it into the present?

That was the question on Courrèges new Creative Director, Yolanda Zobel's mind this season (and the first sentence of a statement the brand released pre-show). For her debut collection for the label, the designer looked to brand's past legacy to bring them into the future—and for her, that's sustainability and an end to waste.

Since launching in the '60s, Courrèges has been known for its vinyl outfits, so much so, that over the years, the brand has accumulated over 6,000M or plastic in stock. So, as Zobel asks in her statement: how do we honor a master of the plastic arts in a post-plastic environment?

La Fin du Plastique—a pop-up shop adjacent to the brand's Parisian flagship that holds its final capsule featuring the fabric, and a whole new (and eco-friendly) era in which Courrèges has a new motto: NO NEW PLASTIC. Plastique, au revoir.

Zobel also took a new direction when it came to her vision for S/S '19. Though, of course, the collection was still filled with Courrèges classics, like vinyl, and their trademark racing jackets, there was an all around effortlessness—and infusion of materials—that was totally new for the brand. Even those signature moto jackets felt fresh, done in paint-splattered and tie-dyed colors like silver and orange, or elongated into ankle-length versions in light pink.

But Zobel's overhaul of Courrèges doesn't just involve changing fabric or its aesthetic. Her plan for bringing the label into the present, and hopefully, future also extends into what goes on behind the scenes:

In the 1960s, founder André Courrèges looked to the endless possibilities of space travel as a potent symbol of progress. Today, Artistic Director Yolanda Zobel’s focus is closer to home—to the here and now. To us, the statement continued. And to the introduction of Courrèges to a younger and more international audience. As the embodiment of a global message of our time—transcending fashion and the brand’s French roots.

That’s why Courrèges is now committed to using its resources and influence to operate as a positive catalyst for ideas and solutions. To create an accepting and sustainable culture and global community; and to share its philosophy through meaningful collaborations with artists, institutions and other brands.

That’s also why the new Courrèges is stripping back its veneer to reveal work-in-progress operations—highlighting actions and processes as much as product; showing that the raw, the real and the imperfect are as valued as the final article.

André Courrèges made clothes that suggested new modalities and relations between the sexes, classes and tribes. Today, Yolanda Zobel’s collections for Courrèges blur gender, race, ethnicity and age. Hers are clothes and accessories that are both structured and undone. Flowing, feminine yet unflinching and forward-thinking. Focused and new but imperfect and distressed to reflect our time.

Unlike a lot of designers who take a spot as the head of an iconic brand, and struggle with the delicate and intricate dance of trying to balance that brand's legacy and their own voice as a designer, Zobel seems to have a clear grasp on exactly what she wants for Courrèges—and how to do it.

We accept that while fashion (and indeed the above text) sometimes offers big statements, issues manifestos, and talks of the future, Yolanda Zobel and Courrèges are, above all, committed to genuine convictions and straightforward actions more than words, the statement concludes.

No mimics. No grand gestures. Just doing.

The Future is Behind You.

See some highlights from the collection, below.

Photos courtesy of the brand.

Fashion

Go-See Situation

Agnès is wearing a top from Peng Tai, a skirt from IRO Paris and boots from GmbH

Moli is wearing a top from Mengche Chiang, a dress from r . l . e with with tights from Wolford, ring from Julia Bartsch and shoes from empty behavior

Chloe is wearing a top from Acne Studios, pants from MM6 with a belt from Julia Bartsch, sunglasses from Uvex and shoes from Proenza Schouler

Glory is wearing a shirt from IRO Paris, pants from peng tai and shoes from Yume Yume

Timothée is wearing a shirt from Paloma Wool, pants from helios Emil and shoes from Yume Yume

Youssef is wearing a shirt from Dries Van Noten, pants, boots and underwear from GmbH, and a vintage hat

Fashion

The People of Lang

April 05, 2024

“The person gives meaning and value to the clothes and not the other way around,” said Peter Do of Helmut Lang SS24, his debut collection for the brand, which has finally hit the shelves.

It is an interesting, if not provocative choice — not only to ont put the garments primary, but to focus not on the “people,” as in a collective, but the “person,” as singular. It's a nod to what the brand has set out to establish since Do’s arrival, framing dressing as a system. It's a democratic formula which feeds off individuality and personal expression, relying upon character as opposed to custom. It’s a manifestation of personality, a farewell to performance. And it leaves us with one question, who is person enough to embody such a humble request?

By Vilda Krog
Photography by Huy Luoung
Styling by Jason Rider

The person in motion, the person of passion, the people passing by on the street who don’t care where you’re going, because they’re on a mission of their own. As Do crafts his garments, likewise do these individuals carve out their paths for themselves. No rules, no guidelines, and if there were — aren’t those meant to be broken? Suggestively, Do broke several rules once he interrogated assumptions around everyday dress back in September last year. Criticism came from more than one place at once. However, by staying true to his vision, he’s already beginning to see the fruits of his labor: his system of dressing, crystallized. It's subtly arrogant, yet widely accessible, dynamic, and utilitarian: it's a blazer, those striped trousers, that turtleneck top, and the traditional flattering denims. In other words, it's your carte blanche, thus let their personality be the color.

Who are they? The campaign, photographed by Huy Luoung and styled by Jason Rider, stars An-My Le, Armina Howanda Mussa, Ash Owens, Connor Sen Warnick, Devin B. Johnson, Eli Ping, Frederique Thiollet, John Yuyi, Kai Avent-Deleon, Linda Rodin, Michael Abel, Mindy Seu, Minjae Kim, Oscar Yi Hou, Sam Stewart, Sophia Roe, Steph Shiu, Yahdon Israel.

Usually, I’d hesitate to spell out more than four names, but in this case, perhaps we should consider them adjectives. Not at the expense of individuality. But rather, the definition of it.

Fashion

From Perler Beads to earKron

April 04, 2024

Our expression has reached peak performance; it's no longer just about expressing my Self through my appearance; but the visual desire has moved beyond, onto the urge of expressing the self through my appearances’ appearances.

In an era defined by the digital, this then–naturally–means that my computer must have cute stickers, my phone has to have a cool case, likewise do my airpods simply require a chic capsule. But, what about the actual pods? CAS&Kera suggest that we’re simply too unique to stay loyal to the ordinary design, even when it comes to what functions, or rather, fashions, our ears (consider the Perler Beads the potential far forerunner). Thus they arrive to present earKron, here to elevate every element of our expression.

It’s that unneccesary need. That essential expense.

Photography by Rankin

earKronTM by CAS&Kera merge the concept of fine jewelry with technology, providing a high-concept alternative to the painfully white, plastic pods. The cuffs are tactile and substantial in the hand, but somehow weightless in one's ear. The ceramic audio chamber is accented with the 18-carat gold and titanium ‘memory’ cuff, which is both malleable and adjustable. The design, which, happens to be the winner of the Red Dot design award, also promotes an open-ear experience, lending the wearer to conversations, and to the world around them, while the cuffs are worn exklusively as jewelry.

The cuffs come in a limited-edition series of black + gold, and pearl white + rose-gold ear-cuffs. Luxury accessories include a jewelry box charging case, charging cable, Maison quality carry pouch, and polished foxtail chain. Available online and at H. Lorenzo LA.