“Our problem was to take athleisure then inject our sensuality and fierceness into it,” mentioned Charlotte Knowles of the brand new Nike collaboration revealed at tonight’s KNWLS present. However had been there yoga pants? “No!” she and Alexandre Arsenault replied in unison.
The designers’ Milan debut was intriguing not just for these wanting to see the fruits of their practically three-year assortment improvement with the Swoosh, however for these additional tantalized by the presence of Diesel founder and OTB president Renzo Rosso. Suffice it to say that KNWLS stays an authentically indie London begin up, whereas being open to facet hustles with aligned spirits from each style locale.
The spirit of the intertwined KNWLS x Nike and KNWLS mainline collections that Rosso and the remainder of us noticed was outlined by Arsenault as “operating to the membership.” The set-up was what he referred to as “a bizarre sci-fi scenario that feels a bit Zoolander” and noticed the fashions stride at velocity via a semi-transparent walkway earlier than rising into full view as VTSS DJ’d on a platform above.
The Nike stuff was radical. The important thing sneaker got here largely in black or off-white colorways plus one pink higher, pink sole model made to match a subtly ruffled, lace-cuffed, puff-sleeve costume in a gently contrasting pink jacquard. The shoe’s pointed, barely raised toe in molded TPU was based mostly on that of an archive KNWLS boot named the Raptor and generated a refreshingly bracing unfamiliarity: it appeared like a futuristic poulaine.
There was additionally a Made In Italy purse with waffle sole base, leather-based strap and paneled nylon physique. Though we’ve seen Nike purses prior to now from designers together with Jacquemus and Riccardo Tisci, this nonetheless appeared virtually transgressively past the sportswear model’s regular class boundaries and all of the extra fascinating for it. A vaguely paramilitary corset made in proprietary Flyknit was one other jaw-dropping novelty for connoisseurs of the Beaverton model.
None of this appeared incongruously imposed in opposition to the all-KNWLS assortment round it. Leather-based bonded with neoprene was minimize into exactly darted outsized jackets whose cumbersome, round-shouldered silhouette emanated an armor-like toughness and was lent a vaguely fencing taste by the ruff-style collar detailing. Roughly textured knit verify jackets and flute-hemmed skirts above layered tops had been another actuality riff on Chanel.
Ergonomic piping meets kinesiology tape traced the bodily structure on bodycon layers in sludgily-toned, tightly woven cotton and tubular-knit lycra that generally resembled washed denim.
Whereas all of it appeared extremely designed to serve some non-specified bodily operate, the aesthetic’s actual function was to intensify a mentality of warrior-confidence—that fierce sensuality flagged by Knowles from the beginning.
