Written by Lewis Cameron

Fri.17.Jan.14

 

Last week on the launch night of LC:M’s fourth season, I attended Funky Buddha’s showcase of emerging and up and coming menswear designers catwalk spectacular in collaboration with Fashions Finest.

 

A general rule when it comes to the world of catwalk, you always save your best ‘til last and Polish designer Michal Mrzyglod and his award winning, debut collection ‘Chin-Suru’ were most certainly that.

 

Fresh from completing his first year of menswear design at London College of Fashion, Michal’s ‘Chin-Suru’ collection has already made an impression winning him the title of second place in Poland’s most prestigious fashion design contest, ‘The Golden Thread’.

 

Here’s the fun part. ‘Chin-suru’ is a verb translating as “warming up food in a microwave” or simply “a microwave” in modern Japanese slang. Though, for Michał, it became a metaphor for various cultural and social changes that have occurred in Japanese society in the past century, resulting both directly and indirectly from the Meiji reformation.

 

Michał decided to combine some strictly Japanese inspirations, analysing the form of the traditional Japanese garments from the Edo period, with something seemingly abstract and remote – the Californian surfer and skater subcultures of the 70s. These were the starting points of the journey that followed. Organic growth of inspirations, their natural intermingling and progression, somehow resembling the stream of consciousness, stimulated the evolution of the collection, leading it to its final form. Given that, it became a creation that is truly pulsating, multi-dimensional and eclectic.

 

Silk satin and organza with rather surreal palm-inspired prints is juxtaposed with a peculiar texture of salmon leather or with organic patterns of laser-cut neoprene. This strong contrast is softened by the delicacy of cottons or the texture of velvety suede. Bold colours used complement the experiments with textures. Truly intensive orange is mixed with royal blue, lime yellow and with slightly toned down prints.

 

Neoprene jackets have characteristic ovoid, bulky shoulders and raglan sleeves, shirts are deconstructed, while pleated, wide hakama-inspired trousers resemble skirts rather than traditional trousers. Sleek geometry of Japanese inspired forms is contracted with modern, organic cuts. By playing with forms and proportions Michał tries to redefine the conventional distinction between feminine and masculine. Accessories give the silhouettes the final touch - high, wooden, geta-style platforms further supplement and redefine the proportions, while the aerodynamic cuts of the headwear create a sporty, exaggerated look.

 

For Michał Mrzygłód, fashion per se is treated as the ultimate translational tool. Almost any idea, any more or less complex concept, can be expressed by translating it into the language of fashion.

 

Funkybuddha Mayfair teamed up with Fashions Finest and the British Red Cross to host a menswear fashion show in light of the opening of the 4th Season of London Collections: Men on Janury 6th.

 

Images by Trevor Griffiths iDeLick Media