If I’ve learned anything from my time writing about fashion, it’s that everyone loves Kiko Kostadinov. When I say everyone, I don’t just mean the young fashion-craved youth or the sneakerheads obsessed with whatever potion the Bulgarian designer’s cooking up with ASICS, I mean everyone.
For Kostadinov’s widespread appeal is perhaps his main draw. He isn’t a designer that alters his products to appease one particular type of consumer, he simply creates as he wants and, as it happens, it’s loved by the masses.
The London-based designer’s latest collection, “Rathbone/Newman”, is a prime example of Kostadinov’s versatility: it’s deconstructed and playful, yet also clean and typically technical.
Sherpa-lined outerwear and suiting is juxtaposed with asymmetrical tops, mismatched stripes and leg wear could be mistaken for a jacket, such is its perplexing construction.
But, that’s where Kostadinov excels: by weaving the unorthodox with the orthodox, he manages to make the abnormal seem, well, normal. The same can be said for everything Kostadinov does, not just the work he does for his eponymous label.
Take his long-standing partnership with ASICS, for instance, where he played a huge role in the brand’s foray into high-end fashion with his futuristic and innovative designs. So much so he now has his own ASICS sub-label, NOVALIS, which launched earlier this year.
Or even the way he transformed the Marc Jacobs label into an underground grungey cult by way of a few inherently Kiko-esque tweaks.
Point is, whatever Kostadinov turns his hand to turns to gold. Or well, in Kiko’s case, it would probably be a weird and slightly unconventional version of gold that we likely haven’t heard of.
