Hardeman Spring/Summer 2018
This line leaves no one out, Rouge 66 is loud, exaggerating elements of westernwear— riotously weird, wacky and heavyhanded in the best of ways. In a season of designers doing "over-sized" modernism and boxy "male dresses," Hardeman heads West. Inclusivity is important, and neutralising sexuality in style is vital. But the all of the sleek black "sexless" skirts seem hyper-serious.
So, Hardeman sends Rick Owens to the rodeo.
Odd, devious, grotesque, erotic and abstract, the show was sensual in the worst and best of ways. With sarcastically scary makeup— rashes, blood, burns— and a bucket of PBR, the theme of country offered a crazy and artfully charged drag-like dramedy. Doing something different in design is often difficult, though the Hardeman takes each season are innovative and interesting and insane enough to evoke all our impatience.