Is menswear really as constipated as many still claim? Everyone talks boundaries, limitations, strictures…but, aside from the given (men probably aren’t going to embrace skirts or bustiers wholeheartedly), recent seasons have seen a fairly rapid expansion of what’s deemed conventional for men to wear – from meggings to mlutches.
F**k-off drama, though, still only seems to reign in the realm of womenswear. Aside from Thom Browne and Galliano, designs that revel in excess just aren’t that common on the runways of men’s fashion week. Enter ITS#NINE winner Michael Kampe whose imposing work is set to radically change the mores of menswear. Still a student at the frankly amaze Antwerp’s Royal Academy, German native Kampe won this year’s top prize (€25,000 and an internship with Diesel at its HQ in Italy) for his collection inspired by the exploded view of engineering drawings…er, yeah, I didn’t have a clue either – check this for enlightenment.
^ A digitally printed jumper from Kampe’s collection
Kampe took this source of his inspiration as the blueprint for his construction, ‘exploding’ staples like a trench or a parka and re-constructing them using, for example, digital printed cotton on foam. Alongside items like the patchwork denim jacket that caught Diesel’s collective eye, sit (or rather loom) mammoth multifaceted creations featuring digital prints of a rare photo series by Naoya Hatakeyama.
^ The patchwork denim jacket which is also lined with indigo-dyed linen
See more of Kampe’s BA grad collection, here. Check out Daryoush Haj-Najafi’s interview with Kampe for Vice Style for more on the designer’s work, tutelage, and fondness for Diesel. PS. I know, Vice comes up with something remotely interesting that’s not written in that cringe-inducingly obnoxious tone, whodathunkit?
Images from Vice Style
this looks like an awesome collection, amazing what Antwerp can still turn out really
i like this smart use of digital printing on clothes. this is an interesting collection.http://nouveauskin.blogspot.com
Hmm what an interesting collection. I think it would really suit you, Cillian. I can see it now- you being confused for an escaped iceberg from the north Atlantic. Yam!
I like the boy in tight pants