When the first model to hit the catwalk at Sunday’s Saul Nash show twirled after a few steps, one wondered if he had lost track of the rehearsed pathway.
Quite the opposite. That little extra movement was part of the choreography all the models who followed would embrace, there to suggest that the British Guyanese designer was again exploring sportswear in motion – or “garments cut for movement,” as he said backstage.
Save for the models’ extra twirls, and Nash’s final bow – a series of theatrical twirls and jumps all along the two-aisle catwalk – this was a rather traditional runway show, compared to previous performance-driven displays.
It was the garments that were supposed to do the moves.
Showing in Milan for the first time, Nash’s collection opened with a sartorial-nodding pristine white shirt and tie ensemble under a leather biker jacket which featured cutaway sleeves. Silky pants and an elongated tunic beneath a knitted piece with the same sleeveless treatment followed.
They best encapsulated the two facets of the lineup. Nash pingponged between Milanese tailoring – or at least his active-leaning interpretation of it – and his athletic wear roots, best exemplified by the launch of a multiseason collaboration with Lululemon, dubbed Slnsh.
Mesh-like tops with poet sleeves and sleek blazers both featured cutouts around the armhole for ease of movement. Anoraks were turned into tops with asymmetrical zippering and fluid shirts were buttoned on the bias to reveal a bare chest, as if they were both messed up by a gust of wind in the outdoors. Puffer parkas with faux-fur hoodies mingled with hooded shirt and pant combos, coming with cummerbunds doubling as boom bags, halfway between functionality and fashion fit. The velour tracksuits and gorpcore sets with second-skin tops looked designed for those who may want their urban wardrobes to easily cross over into workout gear.
The show was titled “Metamorphosis.“
“When we talk about it, we think about changing from one state into another. But this collection is also a metamorphosis for me and my journey as a designer,” Nash said. “It’s not necessarily about looking at the people of Milan as inspiration, but aspiring to, I guess, exist in Milan,” he added.
He certainly made a first good impression.
