KTZ womenswear, spring 2016 – text by Silvia Bombardini

Dear Shaded Viewers and Diane,

 

A model in a sleeveless jumpsuit, fixed up with glitter and cellar tape and a ‘highly flammable’ breast patch, hurries down a catwalk framed by red fences, and the KTZ show begins. Her haste may be partially due to the after party that’s soon to follow, for which crowds already are queuing outside the XXL nightclub in Southwark where we find ourselves – one that allows entrance to women, if for tonight only. Mostly though, her pace matches the sense of urgency that this season conveys, carried over from the menswear collection but turned both darker and more sensual as the girls make their entrance here where so far was a men-only scene. Back from a winter ’15 venture in New York, Marjan Pejoski’s womenswear offer is crafted around the principle that ‘everything is possible’, yet his girl doesn’t rest on her laurels and her wardrobe is anything but rosy. It’s underground rather, gritty and tough, London-proof. The KTZ muse, if the hairdos didn’t give her away, is post-punk icon Siouxsie Sioux, and more on-trend than ever before, the show notes mention Blade Runner too. Decadent and angry with her sheer layers and fishnets, she reminds me of the Pris Stratton replicant, a basic pleasure model gone astray – who, according to the 1982 movie, was aptly created on February 14th, 2016. Perhaps enhanced by the setting we’re seeing them in, there’s a pronounced sexuality to her leathers, and some bravery as well. “People forget the punk thing was really good for women”, Sioux had once said “it allowed us to be aggressive”. The infinite possibilities Pejoski quotes are achieved in action, by making the most of the world at hand, of the present moment: upcycling, in particular, is celebrated. A tinkling minidress is made entirely out of what could be pressed bottle caps, and whole outfits are fashioned from what looks like treated cardboard boxes, complete with handles and zips as wide as belts – from a trench coat to creased blazers and shorts, and they’re styled with matching paper bracelets, halfgloves and high-rise boots. The show ends with its only note of colour and yet another great reference: a capsule series artfully drip-painted,

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