the past weekend’s fashionclash at maastricht refreshed a few of my firmly held principles of fashion. i have long since believed that restauranteurs have a difficult job… which i am still convinced they do, but similarly the fashion business is just as difficult and dirtier to boot. oh and another thing: i often refrain from watching world cup finals of any kind; my empathic nature brings me too close to an embarrassing frailty, but similarly backstage at fashion shows you can sometimes cut the air with a knife; the tangible tension and anxiety can even bring me as observer close to a breakdown. with this in mind and since backstage is becoming the new frontstage, it was so refreshing to see how alexander popelier and avantgand studio choreographed their enlightening fashion videos to reveal a more optimistic outlook. something that triggered in me the awareness that the power of fashion has to change people’s ideals and aspirations and how the message of fashion can support and inspire societies.
this brings us to tom van der borght‘s naked safari; although most of his previous work like ‘aponycalypse’ and ‘church of chica’ also bears the signature colour-pattern overdose, this collection has a stronger thematic approach and what discerns it most from the previous is the confidence and fearless expression of his design style maturing.
his clever collection takes the eternal ethnic geometries combines them with savanna inspired prints and packs them into a positive punch filled contemporary street style package; karen blixen meets ab soto sort of.
although my daughter says she won’t go out with me if i look like ‘that’… the crux is that his work embraces the inevitable: the movement toward a generation unburdened with the conscience of the past. this embodiment of future freedom is exactly the perspective we need in fashion; not just a reflection of our concerns but a hope liberated from history.