Stefano reports on Andrew Mckenzie

 

 

 

 

Dear Shaded boys+ girls, 

Part Querelle de Brest and gamine de Paris, part Buster Keaton and Berlin in the 30s, I must admit that this is what I was thinking during the latest McKenzie collection, men’s fall/winter 2009  and a preview of the female one. But the designer told us he was thinking about a modern day ‘Lost generation’, the followers of the Beat Generation, ‘cos as Jack Kerouac wrote "The Beat Generation is a group of kids on a street corner talking about the end of the world." Now anxiety, crisis and a lack of prospects send young people on a journey in the past, in search of history, references and certainty. So all Andrew Mckenzie’s clothes are aged and worn, with a sense of familiarity and belonging.

Must-haves of the collection: the oversized tie, the boots in leather or crocodile, featuring metal details with a mountain look, a Royal Navy duffel coat that reaches down to the feet.

Main protagonist of the collection is the three-piece suit in a “pulled apart” way to reach new proportions: the trousers have a high waist and a loose fit, the jacket is drawn in and slender, the waistcoat is close-fitting.

A new man is born in the Andrew Mckenzie's world, the collection is now more than just denim (which – by the way – is still one of the best around!).