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John Waters said “ To use bad taste, you have to know the rules of good taste. I’ve always thanked my mother for that. She taught me how to eat with proper table manners and all that stuff, to the point of rebellion. But I couldn’t have rebelled from it if I didn’t know it.”
Vaquera may have only moved to Paris this summer but they have been around the block, they know the rules, they know how to break them, and now they know what sells– in Europe. Embracing the marketability of it all, and perhaps the pitfalls of these design fundamentals, is at the core of their latest collection- self proclaimed “wrong clothes- right place.” Not quite right, but infallibly cool. Turning taste on its head and favoring -for lack of a better word, a self-assumed consumer-oriented tackiness that screams Buy me! Ssense! Farfetch! Mytheresa eat your heart out!
Black and white vaquera branded suspenders paired with a black trousers and a suit jacket are feeling a little… Karl by Karl Lagerfeld. Jacobs by Marc for Marc Jacobs. They’ve copied and pasted the Versus Versace logo onto a plain black tank top, replacing the words with their own, “versatile beauty.” An homage to the diffusion line! I think I can get away with saying this because I’m pretty sure that was the point. Designers Patrick and Brynn have tapped into the market of sellabillity, reimagining their most coveted designs with Vaquera branding that references luxury insignias and graphics.
A real more-is-more without the pomp and circumstance of their usual 2000s streetwear does 80s theatrical maximalism- opting for a more nuanced take on silhouettes, focusing on exaggerated details, asymmetric draping, strong graphics, and relying on Emma Wyman’s clever styling to get their universe across. Mix-match is embraced not for the sake of quirkiness, but for evoking the sort of slightly-off realness that marks a true it-girl. A leopard fur cross body scarf with a striped jersey tank top and integrated mum, baggy jeans, and a lace durag fit together like the wrong pieces of a puzzle that still comes together as a pretty interesting picture, even if it isn’t the one on the box.
We see less of their enormous bubbling hemlines, ballooning puff sleeves, and stuffed hat brims- this collection is more streamlined for the e-com pieces that have been proven fruitful, while still incorporating their signature take on the drama and romance of New York grit. Through this filtering of what works, Vaquera has elevated and refined their tailoring codes and maximalises their graphic street styles into quite wearable pieces- that is of course, if you’re that girl.
Xx
À bientot ,
Rianna
