After art to hang on the walls, Colm Dillane was back with another piece.
Only this time, it was the kind that could blow the house down: a tornado installation by kinetic artist and fellow Brooklynite Daniel Wurtzel. It was the centerpiece of “From a Place I Have Never Been,” the latest KidSuper show staged in a 19th-century hall in the La Villette cultural complex in the northeast of Paris.
Going into the unknown was the starting point of the collection, inspired by a recent trip to Tbilissi, Georgia, a city Dillane had never visited until then. He came out of the experience determined to break new ground.
So along with that tornado – swirling an increasing array of feathers, petals and strips of paper – was his largest lineup to date, coming in at 50 looks.
Those included the hookups with a raft of other labels – a different way to tell the KidSuper story, as he put it last season. There were the Bape by KidSuper collection, and a handful of somber tailored looks from a capsule with Yohji Yamamoto’s conceptual project Wildside.
Others conscripted for the season were Brazilian streetwear label Piet, futuristic outdoor specialist Hamcus and American designer Kody Philipps, whose wears have been seen on the likes of Drake.
Asked if the tornado was a comment on the times we live in, Wurtzel said that was open to personal interpretation. Dillane, on the other hand, seemed more of an optimist.
The first models swept onto the runway in earth-toned dusters and faded gear that wouldn’t have looked out of place in “Dune” or “Mad Max.” Gradually, the designer worked in more structure, with parkas, blousons and suits. Color-filled streetwear, silhouettes splashed with his artwork came next, and finally a trio of pristine all-white looks.
The balance between conceptual and commercial felt well-dosed. Dillane leaning into potential crowd-pleasers like bags, painterly patchwork and shirts featuring his sketches felt like a solid foundation.
Before the show, he said that trying to always one-up yourself was quite difficult. “I try to do the impossible every time,” he told the crowd afterwards. “Thank you guys for coming, I’ll see you next year. Let’s go.”
