Dear Shaded Viewers,
Nicolas Di Felice, the Artistic Director of Courrèges, presented the house’s first menswear collection in 35 years.
Founded in 1961, André Courrèges created his famous “Space Age” brand by putting women in angular mini-dresses, flat-boots, googles, helmet hats, triangular dresses and geometric midriff cut-outs, finding inspiration in astronaut uniforms. Using primarily white and silver color schemes, Courrèges became a defining brand of modernity and futurism in the 20th century.
Today, the Belgian designer Di Felice holds the reins of the Space Age brand, describing his first collection (FallWinter21 unveiled in March) as, “a tribute to the Courrèges workshops and archives, but with a touch of Belgium.” His most recent show comes as a continuation of the Artistic Director’s initial vision and a revisit to his first collection. The result is a sporty, modern wardrobe of everyday pieces for men, inspired by workwear, club scene and a dose of Courrèges magic.
“I’m inspired as much by the archives of the house as by what I see after hours, and by the freedom of this generation that is more daring,” said the designer in an interview with WWD.
Speaking of magic, the highlights of the collection for men included; geometric cut-outs on the gender-fluid jersey tops, black leather pants with circle cut-outs on the side, boxy minimal jacket with 3 pockets, beige knit body suit and the big logo-ed earrings. While for women the knee-high minimal boots, triangular mini-dresses, midriff cut-out jersey tops and bandanna meshed hats stole the show.
At the moment, Di Felice has been giving us a take on what modernity is at Courrèges and though we are only starting to get a taste of his vision, I am excited to see what his take will be on futurism and his definition of the Space Age today.
