Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
LONDON, United Kingdom — Kiko Kostadinov's mesh of inspirations was a stimulating appetizer. What could kayaking suits, Yves Klein's love of judo, the oeuvre of cult movie director Barbet Schroeder, the music of Pink Floyd and an obscure German magazine from the Sixties possibly have to do with each other in the context of a humble collection for Autumn/Winter 2018? Don't even try working that one out. I found a more direct route into Bulgarian wunderkind Kiko's work. Thank you, 1980s. The male models sported blond quiffs by Katsuya Kamo (Jun Takahashi's hair maestro) that looked like David Bowie's do on his "Let's Dance" tour. The colour palette, highlighting teal and maroon, also evoked that decade (although the designer said the colours actually came from traditional Bulgarian pottery). So did the emphatic waists, the geometric patterns, the box-pleated pants and cropped, elasticated blousons. So far, so New Wave. But if his men looked like uniformed citizens of a sleekly industrial future, Kostadinov's women could have stepped out of a Weimar cocktail party in their silky bias-cut dresses. They sported Druid head-dresses of antlers, branches and pussy-willows. And they had absolutely no connection with Kiko's boys. Questions, questions. Fortunately, Kostadinov has his bright future in which to answer them.
