Who?
Sanchez-Kane. The label launched in 2015 by Mexican-born Barbara Sanchez-Kane. Barbara honed her sexy, tongue in cheek aesthetic working for Bernhard Willhelm, the infamously arch German designer, but marries the camp to a political seriousness driven by current attitudes to her home country. Previous collections have dealt with immigration, national identity and gender expression — not for nothing does she describe her brand as a “Mexican clothing brand curated by emotional chaos”.
What!
Barbara took sharply cut tailoring and mixed it with a sense of the absurd and a healthy dash of nudity — this season she had two jockstrap-clad dancers constructing huge dicks during the show, which the models, with condom hair do’s, had to navigate around. What really stood out, however, once you tore your eyes away from the shenanigans, was the oversize tailoring and killer cowboy boots, which captured perfectly what people actually want to wear right now.
Barbara’s men, who raucously celebrated their fearless leader backstage, are what she describes as “sensitive machos” — towering and slightly terrifying to be sure, but also lovely looking in their cutaway shirts and neon yellow flares.
Where!?
New York! Barbara’s show is one of the most exciting shows on the men’s New York schedule, a shot in the arm (and possibly a shot in the bottom too). Truly, there’s nothing better than an Annie Lennox remix (courtesy DJ Mexican Jihad — what a name) to wake one up on a frigid Monday.
Why!!!
Barbara’s not only one of the leading lights of men’s fashion in NY, but also one of Mexico’s brightest design stars, giving us a glimpse of the excitement and vast creative talent south of the border. Also, we just really want to wear one of her exquisitely cut suits — bright orange would be nice, with flame-toed boots to match. And maybe the astro turf bag.
