Gosha Rubchinskiy’s 90s Italian sportswear, spring/summer 17: Though his cult label is deeply rooted in the specific codes of the post-Soviet skate scene, Rei Kawakubo’s favorite Russian designer doesn’t put geographic boundaries on his inspiration. So for his inaugural Pitti Uomo outing last month in Florence, Gosha wowed the hometown crowd with new takes on 90s Italian sportswear brands including Fila, Kappa, Sergio Tacchini, and Lotto. And to think, when Little Britain suited Kate Moss up in Kappa trackies, they were trying to make her unfashionable.
Chanel’s boxing knockout, fall/winter 1992: Forget a supermarket, Chanel could open up a sporting goods store with all the gear that’s appeared on its runway: snowboards, surfboards, motorcycle helmets, and epic ice hockey looks to name only a few. But fall/winter 92 was king of the ring. Kaiser Karl closed the bumper season (seriously, how many looks is that?) with a deep red series: quilted bustiers, slick leather overcoats, and billowing chiffon shift dresses all arrived in rich crimson hues — and dripped in layers of Chanel branded bling. The knockout look? A full boxing ensemble, complete with a long leather robe, bold gold belt, red boxing gloves, and protective headgear with CHANEL written in gold letters. Skip to 5:46 for the look fit for Muhammed Ali. Float like a butterfly, sting like a double C.
Margiela’s baseball mitt couture, fall/winter 2012: Fashion’s master recyclers, the anonymous collective of designers behind Maison Margiela have turned ski gloves and Christmas tinsel into jackets, belts into pants, playing cards into vests. But for its fall/winter 2012 artisanal couture collection, the house hit a homerun when it repurposed old baseball gloves into sculptural pieces like jackets and dresses.
Off-White’s grunge Umbro, spring/summer 17: Beyond the enduring appeal of its signature checkered soccer shorts, Umbro has become something of a fashion favorite. Kim Jones’ longstanding collaboration with the British brand spanned for nearly 10 seasons before he came to helm Louis Vuitton menswear in 2011; skate kings Supreme and Palace have both created cult capsules with the soccer giant. But most recently, its geometric logo made an appearance on Off-White’s spring/summer 17 menswear runway in Paris, and not simply spangled across thick knit rugbies or neon track pants. Virgil Abloh incorporated the graphic on grungy plaid flannels, too, which look as though they were resurrected from teen Kurt Cobain’s gym bag.
Thom Browne’s freaky football, fall/winter 2012: As only he could, the wildly idiosyncratic New York designer created a world in which 70s punks squared off with football players. But these jocks were far from your typical high school studs; they sported late 19th century-style uniforms, consisting of striped rugby sweaters, tightly tailored trousers, and leather helmet caps. To communicate the big, boxy silhouettes created by shoulder and knee pads, Browne notched the lumps and bumps up to David Byrne-meets-Herman Munster proportions.
Credits
Text Emily Manning