MARTINE ROSE‘s collection of shirting for a/w 09 was one of the highlights of MAN for me. So precise, such a clear focus and I wanted to wear them all!
So as part of an ongoing feature on MENSWEAR we asked Martine to explain the story behind a piece of her choice… The thinking was that, looking at pictures of things online, you can’t always get the reasoning behind the choice of fabrics, the way it’s presented, the secret or hidden details, the concept. Martine picked the following shirt with a distinctive quilted circle pattern. It’s story is below:
Martine Rose A/W 09/10. Photography by Tung Walsh, styled by Richard Sloan.
The starting point
“To be honest I can’t really remember the initial starting point, as for me it is always a work in progress. I have a mood or an idea of course to start with, but before I know it, the collection takes on a form of it’s own and often dictates to me.
“I really enjoy the working within such a tight frame work and trying to push the boundaries as much as possible within that box. So menswear already has quite firm rules, as there are only certain things that men will realistically wear, shrinking that framework further and focusing on shirts is even more exciting.
The details
“Changing details, such as playing with the yokes or taking them away, changing the width of the button stands, or the depth of the collar etc is already quite radical- as far as men’s shirts are concerned- because there is a function and a formula for why all of these things are the way they are, and it is unquestioned.
“Sportswear is an area of menswear where men can be a little more flamboyant, whether it be with colour, or texture or print etc. What I tried to do with this collection was to fuse the two into a sort of hybrid- the convention of a shirt with the added flamboyance of sportswear, both of which I think men will still feel safe to wear.
Martine’s work on display at London Fashion Week in February.
Materials and process
“This collection used breathable oxygen performance fabric, with airtex, poppers, quilting and foil prints on oxford cottons and pinstripes. The silhouette is much slimmer that my previous seasons, as again, I wanted to keep the arena for all of this strangeness, contained. I felt there was a danger of big silhouettes looking too comedy.
“Everything is a work in progress, and so even though I showed a collection the story is not over!! I imagine that for next season I will be continuing, setting boundaries, pushing them back, building boxes seeing how far I can take it…. how brave are men really?”
A question that MENSWEAR is always eager to ask, and Martine’s work provides some ideas towards. Martine’s work will be available to buy as of next season from oki-ni and hopefully many more places. We look forward to seeing it on the backs of guys everywhere.
You are my new favourite authority on menswear! Love this series and so good to learn some more about Rose’s collection, it’s really not been covered much.
/Cillian.
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