Dear Shaded Viewers and Diane,
For spring, Craig Green lightens in layers but not in substance, as his slits reach higher and ties are let loose. It's a breezy collection, but never a volatile one. Held together with fine laces, it opens along a shoulder blade here, one elbow there, a knee. It’s a journey across hot weathers, dry rather than humid – it's Sub-Saharan where most would be tropical, rigorous instead of sensual. While softcore themes, instant crowd pleasers, run through much of London’s menswear, Craig Green remains blissfully above all gimmicks. And the BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund he was granted last month, the biggest prize in its category in the UK, proves that talent may still be, if not all one needs, at least generously rewarded. SS17 self-describes as a pilgrimage, and its winning posts are patterned blue-y compositions that could call to mind both the tiled interiors of Istanbul's Blue Mosque, partially restored and partially undone, or the meticulous craft and care of Japan's folkloric Boro textiles. They're followed by the vividly nostalgic colour combinations of summer camp’s tents, before sun and dew begin to bleach them, and then also after, pale and pink with sunset. They’re built from draped bundles of imaginary flags, flapping together, at peace. The skirting panels of layered sliced trousers, the square scarves tucked in at the waist, those tight little hoods: the Craig Green silhouette is both scrupulously practical and as elegant as a hourglass. Burnt umber and ecru trenches and flecked all-over with functional eyelets, signature quilted jackets come in diamond patterns, and it all wraps up with a softly militant black and white finale.
Later,
Silvia
