If style is a circus, then who’re those that inhabit it? In Colm Dillane’s fingers the reply tonight was largely puppet, with a touch of clown. You’ll be able to’t argue with that.
Beneath his moniker KidSuper, Dillane’s biggest works of design thus far arguably haven’t been his garments, however his reveals. Since wangling his approach onto the Paris schedule after which successful his Louis Vuitton cameo, he has realized that these reveals can act as what he calls “a Trojan Horse of concepts.” In different phrases a proof of idea platform for an additional leisure venture, with a set on the facet.
Tonight’s KidSuper episode noticed him collaborate with Cirque du Soleil. As Melanie Summers, CdS head of licensing stated pre-show: “We actually like Colm’s approach of stretching his creativity and pushing the bounds of deciphering style… That is the primary time we’re doing each a [collaboration] capsule assortment with a efficiency built-in.” There may be, you think, extra to come back.
The present started with Cirque acrobat Mai Yamashi establishing some extent of connection between the 2 collaborating events. Spotlit, she sat beneath an infinite prop hand from which strings fell to her limbs. Utilizing cuts of sunshine to create a cease movement impact between her actions, she turned a puppet apparently activated. Then got here the runway.
Alton Mason was first out, in a go well with overprinted with a picture of a battered wood puppet. The strings tied to his thumbs led to a different prop megahand that ran across the stage with Mason following beneath, as if beneath its management. It was an ideal piece of staging. Female and male fashions adopted in tailoring printed with mannequins (style puppets), after which with pencil sketches of acrobats in contorsive extension. There was a bit of KidSuper streetwear—patched jean-shorts, crystal noticed denims, face-collage varsity jackets and shirting with Puma collab caps. Later a mannequin wore a go well with embroidered with a juggler’s fingers in motion beneath a knitted circus tent hat.
We swung on Knowledge Kaye-styled trapeze backwards and forwards between an appealingly wearable modern aesthetic and a freakier Edgar Allan Poe x P.T. Barnum vibe. A inexperienced velvet pannier gown got here with an outsized key apparently inserted into the backbone of its wind-up wearer. A stilt walker in hand-painted pants displayed the model’s dedication to numerous sizing. There was a enjoyable gown made fully of clownish ruffs. Each mannequin was led across the stage by a looming hand above. The closing look noticed a headless man in a confetti spot coat. For the finale, eight acrobats did mind-blowing issues—the German wheel part particularly—earlier than the night’s ringmaster got here out in a piano key necktie and was hoisted to the rafters in triumph.
