Body Shell

>> Stiff and rigid aren't exactly the type of clothing descriptions that welcome you with open arms.  Balenciaga and Celine in recent seasons have been great purveyors of making the stiff and the rigid covetable.  Challenging, yes but covetable nonetheless.  Berlin-based longtime established designer Kostas Murkudis doesn't necessarily adhere to the same aesthetic strands as the aforementioned labels but his latest A/W 12-3 collection does run in line with the season's preoccuption with clothing as protective shells.  These are the type of shells that take oversized clothing to new heights as garments try their very hardest to stand away from the body, aided by bonded or stiffened fabrics, foams, neoprenes and quilting and heavy boiled wools.  Masking what lies beneath with architectural clothing obscurity is the aim.  Murkudis likens his clothing to furniture, having been inspired by the work of modern movement architects and furniture designers Eileen Gray and Charlotte Perriand and his lookbook imagery and video features the Non Conformist chair by Gray, mirroring the controlled curvature of the mintgreen padded foam top in Murkudis' collection.  You can continue to draw similarities between the collection and Gray and Perriand's modernist designs that don't necessarily fit one's immediate picture of 1930s design.  When Murkudis distills his designs so that the most eye-catching features are the architectural lines, the contrast of textures and the restrained but still intimate palette, you can forget about taking anything obviously historic from this collection even though he says the colleciton is about "historical pieces, looking backwards."  Regardless of inspiration source, it's the immedate impact of the silhouettes that is seared on to your brain.  I'm quite excited by the upcoming fall winter opportunities when these cumbersome shells for the body will feel entirely fitting and appropriate.      

P.S. I'm a ball of confusion, looking at heavy boiled wool winter coats whilst staring at a hot-HOT-HAWT pool at my hotel in Mexico City.  Yes, I'm on the road again.  I'll be here until Saturday so please, any tips, do leave them dotted about.