Designer Shangguan Zhe presented SANKUANZ‘ Spring Summer 2020 collection inspired by the visual aspects of American culture – such as Richard Avedon’s In the American West portraits book, Coen Brothers movies and the Red Dead Redemption video game, on Tuesday June 18th, during the first day of the ongoing Paris Fashion Week.
SPRING SUMMER 2020 MENSWEAR COLLECTIONS
“Supported by a strong and directional street casting, the designer treads the balance between “tongue in cheek” eccentric takes on Western cowboy costumes and the brand’s signature, more classic, streetwear and military-inspired engineered pieces. Sprayed colored graffiti, art-inspired prints and glitzy logo embellishments such as Swarovski crystal embroideries and brightly colored motifs are liberally showered on an exhilarating parade of looks evoking Las Vegas Cowboys as well as cops and gangsters straight out of «Mean Streets».
A sense of stage costume pervades the all-over spray paint graffiti printed on fluid satin shirts and matching jackets with peak collars, or on shirts with long red fringes running down their fronts and arms. Hitting on cinematographic homages, 70s tailored suits with flared pants have the dark romance of the pimp protagonist of an American movie and even flirt with a feminine side when cut in a pale pink satin with gathered fabric panels cascading down the sleeves. In the same vein some of the leopard motif jacquard tuxedo or denim jackets are sometimes paired with fun short shorts for men.
Variations on the Sankuanz logo draw intriguing similarities with the motifs from traditional cowboy gear, surfacing on Western-style shirts and suits or on heavily washed and destroyed denim pants and jersey t-shirts.A worn patina surfaces on the cloudy colored satin bomber jackets worn with matching zipped shorts or on the bleached effects of jersey turtlenecks and tops. Playing on proportions, shrunken knit sweaters sport naïve Cassidy cartoon characters on their fronts, as if nabbed from a kid’s wardrobe.“
Images Courtesy of © Ritual Projects / SANKUANZ
