Bianca Saunders: “A Stretch”
Stretch:
verb. (1) to extend or lengthen something beyond the normal length.
verb (2) extend the scope or meaning of;
Making her Paris debut, designer Bianca Saunders presented her FW’22 collection entitled “A Stretch”. Known for her multidisciplinary vision, the ANDAM 2021 winner’s collection and promising designer, presented at the Palais de Tokyo, stood out for the beauty of simplicity and innovation.
Between three-dimensional perspectives, innovative patterns, silhouettes, and cuts, an apparent illusion in the pieces (buttons, embroidery, and cuts placed in different parts than usual) suggest one of the essences of the collection, which is to rethink the figure of man within menswear.
There is a difference between looking good and feeling good, and sometimes the former denotes the skewed stereotype that fashion should be uncomfortable, but it is in the case of the designer where there is a balanced and well-exemplified harmony between looking good and feeling good.
This season, designers have spoken in their collections of a new contemporary formalwear, some of a neodandy, some of a combination of masculinity and femininity, others of a new way. Saunders, through her vision, conveys a familiarity that appeals to the wearer, not an ideal of what I should be but what I want to be and feel with who I am in harmony with her own personal approach.
Leaning more towards the second definition of the word “stretch”, the collection undoubtedly expanded the meaning of what makes a garment, both in its functionality and its appearance.
Sankuanz: A Room with No Sound
The best of both worlds. Characterized by its strong fusions, Shangguan Zhe presented a collection for this season that combines elements of high fashion approaches and underground street culture. Presented through a video filmed in Shanghai’s former Union Church, the collection emanated the signature aura of coolness and hardcoreness, making a harmonious contradiction between the quiet architecture of the place and the noise of the pieces, giving the impression of a neo-futuristic-dystopian procession.
Some of the high tailoring pieces, in square silhouettes, were adorned with metallic darts as well as small metallic pins with the brand’s logo, while others with elements of streetwear pieces such as T-shirts, hoodies, and jeans came with graffiti embellishments. The footwear, which was 3D printed, was made in collaboration with SCRY.
The collection also featured models walking while holding pieces resembling human body parts, which were made with artist Yuyu Wang.
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