Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
PARIS, France — Lutz Huelle has been thinking about his favourite things, the pieces he instantly gravitates to in his closet. That "How Soon Is Now" T-shirt? An obvious top-tenner! I jest. What he means is something that takes minimum effort and yields maximum impact. And that was the foundation of his new collection: a reflection on the last six seasons, and the ways in which favourite pieces attach themselves to us, like pets. A fabric, a texture, a colour, a cut, inspiring the ineffable sense of feeling good about yourself.
His own favourite look from his new collection was a man's double-breasted jacket paired with an opera skirt in a gilded silk jacquard. The casual, skewed glamour of that outfit said it all really. But so did his favourite piece (there was a distinction). Huelle made his name with his elegant hybrids of sartorial and sport, so it made sense that the piece that was dearest to his heart was a black coat with the body and sleeves of a flight jacket.
Huelle talked about elevating the ordinary. Maybe it was with a sensational colour, like the hot pink that propelled a baseball jacket into homebase. (The taffeta helped too.) Or perhaps it was the mock turtlenecks of sequins that gave sober suitings a glamorous boost. Sequins were Huelle’s friends. Pavé-ed into pants, they dressed up a camel coat, or a simple black sheath.
It might be that simple and irresistible with Huelle: an ongoing dialogue between plain and fancy. A raw-hemmed denim skirt paired with a green duchesse blouse with dramatic bell sleeves? Quintessential. A jean skirt twisted sideways worn under an immaculately tailored jacket with gathered shoulders? Lutz at his most direct. Though the cotton poplin shirt dress came a close second.
The soundtrack was a jukebox of his favourite songs: “You’re So Vain”, Iggy’s “Lust for Life”, Britney’s ”Toxic”, the Slits’ “Heard it Through the Grapevine”. You can look forward to hearing those songs forever. Now imagine feeling the same way about your clothes. Or don’t, because Lutz already did it for you.
