For us, the real beauty of menswear is in the details and Mohsin Ali's debut collection for AW11 had a cacophony of them. Having been inspired by twenty first century explorers, Ali obsessed over the concept of integration and layering to create multi faceted items that blew us away. From built in thumb pieces to quilted linings, this was a collection that celebrates the true beauty of menswear. Fuelled by his love for both traditional and technical fabrics as well as his fascination with cut and silhouette, we were seduced by his approach. Driven by form, fabric and function, Ali's designs are simple yet effective and beautiful. It was, without doubt, one of the standout collections of the season and we've kept an interested eye on him ever since. Now, it is is time to share his SS12 collection with you.
For his sophomore collection, Ali researched industrial designers and architects such as Zaha Hadid, Otto Wagner, Charles Eames, Le Corbusier and there approach to design. From the line drawings and sketches of Hadid which inspired the lines of the shirts and jersey to the way Wagner, Eames and Le Corbusier mixed fabrications and techniques across their products. Taking all of this and more into account Mohsin Ali approaches this collection with his belief in a very clean aesthetic, the mixing of fabrication and the use of innovation. The fresh palette of white, beige, almond, silver grey and navy combined and a clean, narrower silhouette compared to AW11, mean that the collection again has a hint of maturity which compliments Ali’s love for refined detailing and technical finishes. This season showcases an exciting collaboration which sees the design talent work with now Japanese owned luxury luggage brand Globetrotter, to create three different cases with a design finish that compliments SS12 perfectly. Without further ado, feast on the look book...
Look book images supplied by Mohsin Ali
The label lives by three main rules; form, fabric and function. It hides behind nothing and I just love that. It is all about shape, detail and fabric. To the naked eye a product can appear simple but when you analyse and look closely you can really see the really beauty, the real greatness. This is what interests Ali most about design.
6 comments:
Nice to see some great menswear, especially as it's from a uk based designer!
Definitely impressed. Being nit-picky though, I would have like to see design that more mirrored those architects' "flair" that inspired him in the first place.
Anonymous: Thanks, British designers are always my first priority.
loveandalchemy: Good point. I did actually ask Mohsin but there weren't particular pieces that inspired him because I'm always interested in every designer's starting point. However, It was the mood of their work in genera that inspired himl. I guess I should have matched them up myself.
Is it just me or is there alot of Jil/Raf biting going on in this collection??
Can't say I'd consider buying a single piece. The white jacket in the first shot could be cool in my tastes if it where a 4 inch shorter cut and the pockets weren't so big. The gray block tee I'd actually wear, but that's it. I don't know a single guy that would wear any of that. Besides us Americans are too fat to pull those looks off anyway.
Really striking set of looks.
Any news of stockists? (whether bricks & mortar or online)
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