Nicomede Talavera SS14

"As this is my first full season I wanted to move on from the Masters, to push myself and demonstrate just what I can do,” Nicomede Talavera excitedly explains as we’re both enveloped by the sculptural shake-up of the senses that is his spring/summer 14 collection. Confidently striding out from the Central Saint Martins classroom, beyond the realms of Louise Wilson’s omnipotence and the far-reaching ripples of applause that his graduate collection received, we meet a young designer ready to step onto a larger stage. Having watched him develop over the last four years, documenting his progression from eager second year design student to a fully realised label, he feels both familiar and forcibly fresh.

“I'm proud of my MA collection but I do feel as though I could have injected more personality into it,” he confesses. Moving on from a measured masterpiece of monochrome modernity that teased with its textural treats and proportion play we now see the blossoming talent delighting in the juxtaposition of the everyday, tailoring, abstract graphics and minimalist colour blocking. Free to produce precisely what he wants, on his own terms, Talavera has a grin from ear to ear because this collection is him. He has grown into his talent.

"As soon as I finished my MA at Central Saint Martins, I was exhausted and felt that I needed a break but a few weeks later I realised that I had worked so hard to build something, really enjoy designing and wanted to see what could happen with the label," he confesses as we sip instant coffee in his Bermondsey base. As he turned the page on one enthralling chapter, spring/summer 14 marks the beginning of the next. There's an undeniable promise that blank pages will be filled with all manner of exciting narrative in the coming seasons and beyond. However, like everything step he's taken previously, Talavera approached the latest leap correctly. When it is all too easy to be swept away in an ocean of excitement, this young talent paused and took stock of everything before diving into the inviting waters of possibility. “One of the first things I did was write a business plan, it was so beneficial to place my label in the market place and work out just where I wanted it to be.” Having visualised the future of his eponymous label, Talavera is now carefully crafting it by taking elements from his accomplished BA and MA collections, pushing them further and taking them in entirely different directions.

“I developed my previous research of Ellsworth Kelly whilst extracting fresh elements and at the same time I became fascinated by the business men of Canary Wharf, seeing them on the tube in their pinstripe suits, trainers and a backpack. I wanted to take the tailoring and sportswear influences of the modern man and it all worked back to Kelly and his own fascination with everyday landscape. I too began to see these squares,” he explains. The result sees him transform a canvas of sheer nylon oversized t-shirts and sleeveless tops with appliquéd leather graphic elements alongside re-imagined superfine suiting fabrics. Thankfully the sartorial awkwardness of crisp tailoring mixed with gym kits is waved away by the expert hands of Talavera. Flimsy synthetic gym bags morph into luxurious objects of desire as the designer continues his fruitful collaboration with Eastpak and dull, tired, bedraggled commuter chic comes to life and reverberates with youthful energy. This is the designer applying his filter over everyday sights, just like Kelly did.

"I like to work from things that I see, whether they’re man-made or natural or a combination of the two… The things that I’m interested in have always been there. The idea of a shadow and a natural object has existed, like the shadow of the pyramids, or a rock and its shadow; I’m not interested in the texture of the rock, or that it is a rock, but in the mass of it, and its shadows," Ellsworth Kelly confided to Henry Geldzahler in 1964 in a piece for Art International 1. Surrounded by walls of Talavera product, the influence of the painter, sculptor and printmaker is plain to see. His rails mirror the artist’s masterly interplay of form, colour, and space. Moved by shapes he found in reality, Kelly’s perception is inspired by an object's external characteristics, taking interest in shadows and the texture of surfaces isolated from their contexts. Talavera’s eyes were similarly searching. "For me, inspiration will always come from what I see around me. It has to be grounded in reality. I'm drawn to subcultures, youth movements and ultimately street wear." Nicomede Talavera had explained in our last meeting. Having previously looked to the sartorial sights and cultural diversity of his childhood home of Hounslow he now looks to the commuting rat racers. A true mixologist of menswear, Talevera balances tailoring with sportswear and artistic form with function. Take a gulp.

Detail photography alongside Nicomede Talavera's Andy Malone shot spring/summer 14 look book

From coated nappa leather cracking delicately to textural pinstriped suiting reinterpreted as long sleeved tailored tops and unexpected silk cargo pockets, the collection is rich in tactile treasure. Each piece has a sculptural quality. Everything has been masterfully realised by the creator's hand. Even the zips, so often uniform and ubiquitous are anything but here. "I contacted Lampo, a luxury zip maker, because they sponsored my BA collection and they expressed an interest in working together on an exclusive zip which was amazing. I looked to the work of Robert Morris because I've always been drawn to his square work, it was layering and de-layering, simplifying yet bold,” he animatedly explains whilst thumbing a puller. They provide the perfect functional finish to the outerwear and collaborative Eastpak accessories. Each and every detail has been carefully considered.

Looking through the Andy Malone shot look book alongside my own detail shots once again and having inspected the quality of the garments first hand, it is remarkable that this is Nicomede Talavera's first full collection. There's no limit to how far this talent can go. As ever, his own Van clad feet are fixed firmly to the ground.  "I’m looking to grow the label naturally, not to force it in the market before we’re ready. For this season, we're hoping to secure two exclusive clothing stockists, one London based and one in Asia," he declares. I'm in no doubt that he'll do that and more.

Details... Miller's Message

"The phrase was theorised in a statistical book on the failures of children in council estate environments back in 1971," Matthew Miller explains. Appropriated for autumn/winter 13, the slogan graces a ribbed jersey crew neck (available at Other and Peggs & son) and feels particularly apt on North London Derby Day. Wrapped up in a red and white scarf and enveloped by nerves, this fan and jumper wait in hope.

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BERTHOLD SS14

"Harvesting, fusing and re-constructing references from a myriad of sources, she takes an anything-goes approach to the materials she uses to convey multiple meanings in unexpected ways," is how the Saatchi Gallery describes the diverse designs of Isa Genzken. "I can certainly relate to that statement,"

Raimund Berthold confesses as we sit in his central London studio, surrounded by his spring/summer 14 collection, a cacophony of concrete, jersey, art and sportswear. "Now, I've been aware of Genzken's work for three years or more, she used to be married to Gerhard Richter who I think is also absolutely amazing, but I hadn't looked into her own work until I began coming across it at exhibitions and auctions. I always try and go to Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips, it's a great way to encounter art that is rarely publicised. Having appreciated her work for a while, it was when I saw her work Knocken, meaning bones, that really moved me. The feeling it created from seeing this cement block on a beautiful plinth inspired so many things in my mind, from the material itself to developing this idea of mixing hard and soft." It is a feeling that BERTHOLD continues to provoke with his own designs.

Removing gender from the opening line above, the statment could easily apply to the bold menswear of Raimund Berthold. Led by inventive design and fit, it echoes Genzken's totemic sculptures, colourful mirrored panels and lacquered paintings. As for the myriad of sources, mirroring the inspiration of the contemporary artist, we always prepare for the unexpected to adorn the designer's foil mood boards. "A stunning image of mouldy bread, artfully stuck chewing gum on a wall, a shot of a neglected swimming pool, overgrown palm trees, an old photograph used as a styling piece and a variety of images that I shot myself in and around London, alongside scanned and printed ones from beyond," are just a few of the image descriptions that fall from the designer's mouth in between sips of espresso. Seemingly disparate and certainly peculiar, Berthold manages to balance and duly creates beauty from the unexpected. As this season's silver canvas shimmers to the breeze, a process of assimilation occurs right before my eyes as discordant daydreams come together.

BERTHOLD's spring/summer 14 mood board

Mouldy bread, reimagined chewing gum, bruised faces, neglected pools and some snapshots that have been enlarged and manipulated all come together to create one cohesive concept. "As this is a spring/summer collection I wanted to make it sportier, to make it easy," Berthold states simply. "I introduced more jerseys and t-shirts, it just felt right for now." The simplicity and quiet modesty of his words fail to mask the depth of proportion play, fabric feuding, eagerness to experiment and desire to develop his label. One facet of growth is the signature of shape being sketched this season. "My natural extinct is to rip everything up and create something entirely new but this isn't fair on the buyers because they would never know what they were getting to some degree. I worked hard to get two staple shapes, one oversized and one regular, that we could take forward to future seasons. Now, with these two silhouettes in place, we can experiment subtly and push them on."

Subtle and not so subtle experimentation in order to push on, this season. From simple concrete endeavours to complex print processes and 3D printing, Berthold and his team have been busy testing boundaries. In between further sips of an espresso, the designer excitedly elucidates: 

"We experimented by making cement ourselves which was a lot of fun. I liked how it came out quite brittle, just like a styling piece that could morph into something else. A small piece broke off and it was just perfect. We had it 3D scanned, printed and it became jewellery in resin, plastic and solid stainless steel. I had no idea that you could 3D print metal. I loved the experience, I can't wait to do more, I just think it is genius.

For this season's print, I wanted to approach it in a different way. I asked Ashley Joiner, a London based visual artist, to create a film which would then be manipulated into designs. He had complete freedom to create something around his interpretation of the brand. I really enjoyed working in this way and I'll continue this for future seasons with artists that I trust. Ashley filmed himself in all kinds of make-up, very Lady Gaga now actually, from different angles, projected it through clear plastic bags and then took stills from the other side which have ultimately been blown up. Once I saw the print, I decided upon the sizes of it and matched it with the garments and accessories that had already been designed."

Lo and hi tech treatments were used side by side throughout this collection's playful yet purposeful process. The result is a considered collection that teases and thrills. As I thumbed the tactile treasures, I couldn't resist snapping my own detail shots but the Willem Jaspert shot, Jason Hughes styled and Aaro Murphy designed look book captures the purposeful promise perfectly. "I've known Jason (Hughes) for many years so we have an easy relationship, In terms of styling, I find it extremely interesting to see how he interprets my work. So when I finish a collection it's exciting to pass it over and see his interpretation. After his initial play, we come together for the shoot and have real fun." Taste the fruits of their fun here:

Look book credits: Shot by Willem Jaspert, styled by Jason Hughes designed by Aaro Murphy and modelled by Stefan Lankreijer.

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Mirroring Stefan Lankreijer's hopeful gaze on the future above, Raimund Berthold is shifting his focus on the next collection and continuing to push BERTHOLD on. "I'm at the research stage of autumn/winter 14. I like to surprise myself, I don't plan what I'm going to design but the signatures are already there, it's a case of developing them. I'm actually toying with the idea of a presentation at London Collections: Men and we're at the early stages of working out just what a BERTHOLD presentation could be." The designer floats away in his daydreams as he begins to ponder the future.  I, for one, can't wait to see just what he'll create next.