This one's for the big kids. Doublet's punkish Spring/Summer 2022 collection is cheekily charming and it has the Suicoke collab to match.
Since snagging the LVMH Prize in 2018, Doublet has gone very much against the grain of the po-faced fashion industry with a series of ingenious shapeshifting garments and parodic layering pieces — even Doublet's previous Suicoke collaboration took plush animal slippers inspiration to the logical extreme.
But there's a real attention to detail at the heart of everything Doublet does.
It's easy to look at Doublet SS22's banana-inspired sweaters and overdyed hoodies and think it's wacky for the sake of wackiness.
"Too much fashion," the late Andre Leon Talley might've said. And, to be sure, Doublet's wares are indeed wacky.
Behind the fun façade, designer Masayuki Ino infuses Doublet's output with extreme attention to detail.
This season, for instance, excess textiles from knitwear and sock facilities are woven into mohair for the sweaters, jackets are internally fitted with a rubber elastic that allows for maximum comfort through stretch, and organic cotton is dyed with materials sourced from food waste, including coffee and onions.
Ino cleverly riffs on this waste-not-want-not motif through things like hand-knitted cardigans that incorporate lemon-shaped patterns, a reflection of the contemporary taste for kitschy crocheted clothing.
As for the seasonal collaboration, which launches on Suicoke's site this week, Ino went full-bore on the costumey themes he previously explored with the Japanese footwear brand, issuing a trio of strappy sandals with removable "socks," which can be worn on their own around the house.
The first thing I thought of were those kid-friendly sandals that parents get for their kids before a trip to Disneyland or some other summertime destination (that's the Florida in me talking, I guess).
They've even got the heel straps and comfy chunky sole of the kid-tested, mother-approved models, though Doublet's sandals swap cheap plastic for plush pony hair and leather patterned to resemble leopard fur and reptile skin.
Underneath, Suicoke's custom Vibram footbed is upgraded with animalistic treads, giving the impression that a vary narrow-footed dinosaur or giant dog is roaming around.
Par for the course for Doublet and fresh terrain for Suicoke, which is gearing up for a strong summer season with several new sandal models.
