Dear Shaded Viewers and Diane,
A couple of hours before the show, I run into KTZ’s Sasko Bezovski and he walked me to the bus station. It came to me later, on my way on route 25, how he hadn’t seemed the slightest bit worried, nor anxious or concerned – excited, yes, and confident: like he knew something I didn’t. And well, he did. The invitation to begin with, came through the post as a monochrome Rubik’s Cube, a riddle, and nobody I’m sure knew what to expect. We were none the wiser as we took our seats at the Old Sorting Office venue, but as soon as the lights went on and the first model walked in, there was no build-up: it was immediately clear we were witnessing something radical, uncompromising and unfiltered. The silhouette of the villain was declined in all of his glory – mainly focusing on Kubrick’s notorious, quintessentially British Alex DeLarge, complete with bowler hat, umbrella and boots, the waxy rubber capes of later looks could easily recall Roger Rabbit’s Judge Doom. Clothes with the potential to unnerve the people you’ll share an elevator with: KTZ’s fall collection speaks of a brand whose underground roots reach deeper than you might have thought, and haven’t been shaken one bit by the pull of success. Majestic, though, as their shows often tend to be, a profusion of pieces followed and referenced each other in a decidedly stratified, almost chronological arrangement – as if each theme was a milestone in a personal formative journey, starting from the pixelated but unmistakable portraits of the likes of Lenin, Mao and Marks applied in patches over pockets and sleeves of a formal double-breasted jacket.
Later,
Silvia
