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We decided to kick off New York Fashion Week: Men's by checking out what Private Policy had in store for its FW17 collection. Now in its third season, Chinese-born, NYC-based designers Haoran Li and Siying Qu's label has managed to amass considerable buzz with New York's thriving community of underground cool kids thanks to its politically-charged, discernibly downtown-tinged designs.
While the brand's SS17 range sought to expose slave labor in the South Asian fishing industry, this season tapped something more global. Dubbed "Polycephaly," which is the condition of having multiple heads conjoined to one body, Li and Siying drew inspiration from the ever-changing landscape of modern globalization (no American Horror Story references sadly), which couldn't be more relevant given the world's current sociopolitical climate.
According to the press release, "The 'one body' is a metaphor for a giant global system that can easily be affected by a single action taken by another country [and] cannot survive without the heads' collaboration, so the trouble of one area becomes the trouble of all."
This notion of "cause and effect" was realized via deconstructed tailoring, patchwork details and graphic patterns, resulting in a series of futuristic workwear mixed with the flashy sportiness and billowing cuts of rave gear from the late '90s/early '00s (out of curiosity, I asked the designers if these motifs were intentional – they weren't).
Denim was spliced with canary-colored velvet. Bombers, quilted vests and work pants were cut from glossy nylon fabric. Straps, chains and harnesses were pierced through caps, sleeves and waistbands. One look, perhaps the collection's magnum opus, consisted of a matching biker jacket and cropped trousers and was showered with bright patches of other countries' flags.
I have to admit, the collection's underlining theme was (and still is) a bit difficult to interpret upon analyzing the actual clothing on display. But when is a designer's vision, or any artist for that matter, ever completely understood? I imagine this is only the beginning of what will surely be a bundle of collections inspired by the current political zeitgeist, but at least Private Policy knows how to relay the news in a stylish way.
You'll be seeing a lot of Dior Homme's FW17 "mosh pit" print next season, here's why.