menswear on exhibit.

so doing some morning reading and mr berry over at we-are-awesome touched on a subject that got me thinking. last week, South African menswear designer, Cameron Foden chose to showcase his collection as an exhibition as opposed to a catwalk show. it got me wondering whether that has anything to do with how Foden wants his collection to be received? or how any designer who chooses to "exhibit" their collection wants to be received?

there is certainly a trend of designers choosing to "exhibit" their collections in an open space where the pieces can be taken in, carefully viewed and discussed. i like the process of viewing and being given the time to process what you see, which as most know is just not case with catwalk shows. model no.1 enters, struts her stuff and before you know it model no. 2 is out and your eyes don't really know where to go. it's all too quick and the whole scene sort of reminds me of those flashy MTV ads. this debate really echoes the fashion vs. art debate. traditionally, fashion belongs to the catwalk and art/design belongs to the gallery, but the lines are clearly blurring here.

i haven't yet seen the entire collection, but i'm really impressed with what i've seen so far. the collection reminds me a lot of British womenswear designer, Louise Goldin's SS09 collection, which i expressed my love for not too long ago on the blog. i think it's the structuralism and geometrical padding that has my brain jogging.

i've felt a little out of touch with local fashion since i've returned. i think i'm slowly getting back on track though. so far, however, i've been blown away with the cuts and shapes seen in a number of menswear lines, which is great for the guys. i don't think i can hear another male complain about how women have "soo much" to choose from and work with and they have "nothing". you boys are slowly running out of excuses.