Josef Lazo and Andreas Schmidl chose to look back at their early, unfinished designs this season, riffing on references from their first collection a decade ago with new, more experienced eyes — and techniques.
For those expecting Dayglo Speedos, look away now.
There was a more romantic, dressed-up — and covered-up, relatively speaking — feel to the collection, which had a ‘90s club culture vibe as if looked at through a nostalgic lens.
The design duo’s favorite artists including Gilbert & George, Paul McCarthy and Norbert Bisky were referenced in check overalls that were Lazoschmidl’s interpretation of tailoring, and in painter-like canvas coats, torn and adorned with Swarovski crystals reminiscent of gravel stuck under the skin of a child’s knee or patched, but with metallic thread details. Pants were wider, all the better for a louche swing for nightlife lovers that are the label’s fanbase, with quirky open panels above their back pockets so a lover’s hand could sneak in for some skin-on-skin time, or with grass stain-like shading around the knee.
Well-being was one of the key themes of the collection. The crystals, also found as appliqué motifs on striped vests and peppered through the lineup, nodded to it, and a hoodie emblazoned with “100 mg Sildenafil,” the molecule better known as Viagra, shouted out Lazoschmidl’s vision of the notion.
Here was a fun, playful collection that was less in your face than previous offerings, and with broader appeal.