Walter van Beirendonck Spring / Summer 2014, all images by Ko Kok
A trip into the mind of Walter Van Beirendonck needs to be accompanied by a sense of abandon. Paris Men’s Fashion Week (Spring / Summer 2014) is our invitation into his ‘Home Sweet Home’, in a collection that has eyes wandering along hardwood floors, tramping on Oriental rugs and ever-resting on young Dorian Grays. We imagine these gilded models attend his bedchamber, serving hot inspiration in periwinkle teacups.
Impeccably tailored suits provide the canvas for snapshotting the Antwerp designer’s interior aesthetic. A patchwork sensibility is reflected in luxurious silks; Van Beirendonck’s dandyism spins nostalgia into the contemporary. Growing out of a sleek blazer, a flower pot is a boutonnière on opiates.
Modulating the assault, lighter interpretations of the interior space are served – the designer deconstructs his spaces into pastel geometrics, playing with corners through colour illusion on perfectly cut silhouettes.
Rippling Indian silks in thigh-length tees and floor-length trousers are immediately relaxed. Prints tell an uninterrupted vertical narrative through each ensemble, at times giving the easy illusion of one-piece pajama sets.
Hats and shoes are distinctly phallic. They gesture proudly to the sky. We could all do with a few more wicker basket phalli in our lives. What ingredient could be more perfect to make home just that little bit extra sweet?
Symonne Torpy
