Walter Van Beirendonck‘s recent Fall collection was inspired by an exoskeleton, the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal’s body.
The designer was fascinated by the machines being made today to make a person stronger, and wanted to play with that idea by creating a look that gave extra power. His collection featured garments decorated with spikes, which held blow-up elements, creating a second layer on the body, just like an exoskeleton. Van Beirendonck also used blow-up under-layers to pump up the volume of coats, jackets and sleeves, and fashioned delicate jackets from a bubble-wrap-like fabric.
The collection also featured a skeleton motif on finely hewn sartorial garments and bomber jackets, with horizontal cutout sections running along their fronts. The designer used a variety of techniques on t-shirts, including embroidery, prints and rhinestones.
Van Beirendonck’s inspiration for the collection came from a mosaic he saw in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Annunziata in Puglia, Italy, which sparked a revelation in him. The mosaic is an enormous and intricate musing on the nature of life and death created by forgotten hands in fragments of colored stone. The designer created his own riff on the mosaic’s tree of life, creating a cast of serpentine characters with phallic characteristics and glints in their eyes.
The collection was presented under the credo “We Need New Eyes to See the Future,” reflecting on sex, death, and environmental collapse. The designer’s vision remains as sharp and unique as ever, as evidenced by this thought-provoking collection that blended fashion with social commentary.
You maybe interest to read:
Walter Van Beirendonck – Spring/Summer 2023 – Paris Fashion Week
Simon Cracker – Fall/Winter 2023-2024 – Milan Fashion Week
JW Anderson – Fall/Winter 2023-2024 – Milan Fashion Week
Click on this link to read this article in French version.