This Is Not A Suit

I have to confess that as I darted from one press day to another last month it was all too easy to become a little bewildered by it all. Despite my brain reaching something close to sartorial saturation point, one find at Matches' press day sticks out in my mind, A. Sauvage. This new label is the brainchild of Adrien Victor Sauvage who whilst working as a creative realised that the stylish demands of his clients were not being met so set about meeting them with his own designs. The debut collection entitled 000-1 -000-11 showcases both radical and elegant menswear, each garment has traditional details and progressive cuts based in cashmere, flannel, mohair, micro cord and worsted wool that utilise a modern palette. Quite simply put, Sauvage works on the principle of perfecting cut and concentrating on fit. At some point in the near future we will take a closer look at the debut offering and will sit down with Adrien to discuss the label in more detail. In the meantime, we can take an exclusive first look at Adrien's This Is Not a Suit tumblr project. Its content form a fitting introduction to A. Sauvage...

Adrien’s journey in the field of portraiture begins with the This Is Not A Suit Series. The concept follows a simple logic within a strong framework. To explore the word suit and what it suggests. In each case, the artist invites subjects to wear garments from his collection and encourages them to express who they are whilst wearing a suit with no directorial interference. Having established the loose parameters of the experience it is left up to each subject to decide what to wear, diverse as they are, from the collection 000-1 - 000-11. TNS is a case study of the artist’s ongoing fascination with the internal and external influences that enable individualism. Adrien has now set up a temporary portrait studio in Berlin. The first body of work is entitled NATIVES, LA shot on Venice Beach 05.10 and without further ado, here it is...

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While making me long to pack my bags and make my over to LA, I love the questions that this photographic projects asks about sartorial individualism. What does a suit mean to you? How do you wear a suit? The tumblr will continue to document the relationship between their tailoring and interesting names from the art, literary and film worlds. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on the site and if you're that way inclined you can follow its exploits over on twitter.