A.P.C. Automne-Hiver 2010 Photography: Vinoodh Matadin and Inez van Lamsweerde
Season after season, characteristically Jean Touitou’s Parisian label stands to a contemporary testimony to itself by the consistently strong and resilient seasonal ranges, that has built the brand’s image as a creative outlet into creating clothes much more than an established fashion house. In the past few seasons of A.P.C.’s prêt-à-porter, the label has called upon the creative directional services of New York art director Marc Atlan in the direction of its cross-range campaigns, indicative of a pubescent yet sophisticated and intuitive lifestyle the brand continues to omit. In the previous advertising campaign, produced by American fashion photographer Bruce Weber for Printemps 2009, ‘A Formula for Life’ printed on the campaign poster evokes a youth naivety that fluctuates between languid and irreverently exciting. The upcoming Automne-Hiver season, soon arriving in the Northern Hemisphere always stimulates a dark beauty, mixing woven thick colours with graphic and pattern prints that perpetuates a bright warmth within a hellish season of weather and changing skies. For the new Automne-Hiver 2010 campaign by A.P.C., the brand enlisted the photographic direction of Dutch photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vidoodh Matadin. Both working and personal partners, their work is as vast and extensive having working ever so closely with French graphic design studio M/M Paris with one of their notable productions of the 1998 catalogue for Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto. Countless other editorials and campaigns have been produced for high-profile fashion houses including Balenciaga, Valentino, Gucci and Givenchy with their recent included imagery of Flora by Gucci and Gucci’s Spring/Summer 2009 campaign. The Dutch duo’s incredible output shares a kindred spirit, also echoing creative design by Christian Stand Bergheim, Magnus Helgesen and Magus Voll Mathiasson of Norwegian design studio Grandpeople. But if Vinoodh and Inez can be represented by one ultimate protagonist, it has to be Bjork. Whilst adding to their list of major fashion campaigns, the duo’s describable chemistry is their ability to construct a myriad of collage and human hybrid imagery, transmorgifying elements such as limbs and facial features enabling multiple reactions of something hyper-surreal.
The development of A.P.C.’s introductory campaign for Automne-Hiver 2010 was realised by Inez and Vinoodh, accompanied by their close working relationship with American model Jessica Miller. If one can at all, stylistically reference a moving zeitgeist, the outlandish makeup and stone noir paints captures a serene picturesque landscape, construed however by native forklore and tribal culture. It would have been stupid for A.P.C. to have literally cross translated these thought-provoking concepts into its clothes heavilty. Instead and what we have come to know, the brand has well developed a visual pluralism of individualistic garment pieces of both texturally heavy, sea-worthy, utilitarian and perfectly in tune with an urbane contemporary. Perhaps the label’s strength does not come immediately when viewing an individual garment. Though each are made to a craft-like quality, the strength comes through pieces mixing together in its whole entirety. Subtle themes of sea travel, Oliver Twist, rock ‘n’ roll’, outdoor hunting and military undertones have swept through the brand’s seasonal collections and remains an indicative captivation for loyal A.P.C. and new followers.
The new season steps away from inner metropolitan city life and embarks on a personal exploration of sea by woodlands. Shirt dresses in chinese blue and plaid, a taupe linen dress, woolen outerwear alongside zippered denim skirts and soy/cashmere knits all beautifully intertwined with cinched accessories including web and chain belts. The mixture of hard and soft surface textures brings out the young, cosmopolitan chic the A.P.C. women has constantly resonated throughout each season, without ever a quick haste in brash and bold fashion changes. Some notable additions to the new season include a Russian-style outwear jacket, ‘Man’ tailored wool jacket, soy/cashmere knitwear and a camel wool sailor’s cap. The men’s range remains classic, modern and refined. Pantsuting is fractured by sailor’s knitwear and plaid button-down shirts, chino and grandpa trousers with impeccably cut and lined outwear including a ‘liquette’ parka in chambray, striped pullovers and a royal insignia officer’s toggle jacket. What may first appear as preparatory wear is induced by a portrait image of today’s working, muti-tasking male.
Jean Touitou has reiterated that A.P.C. as his brainchild company is a fashion insider but remains an outsider and his company philosophy responds to this:
A.P.C. IS NOT FASHIONABLE BUT IN FASHION
A.P.C. IS LINKED TO MUSIC
A.P.C. IS CONFIDENTIAL & POSH
A.P.C. IS OBSESSED BY FABRICS
A.P.C. STYLE IS EXTREMELY ORDINARY
A.P.C. IS SOMETIMES EXPERIMENTAL & CRAZY
A.P.C. IS EASY TO WEAR
A.P.C. GARMENTS CAN BE WORN FOR SEVERAL SEASONS
A.P.C. IS ESSENTIAL
A.P.C. IS A FAMILY
A.P.C. IS INSPIRED BY WORKING AND MILITARY CLOTHES
A.P.C. IS BACK TO THE ROOTS
A.P.C. IS SOMETIMES MILITARY
A.P.C. IS SMART
A.P.C. IS CYNICAL
A.P.C. SHOULD NOT BE SUMMARIZED IN FEW WORDS
A.P.C. IS NOT A CONCEPT
A.P.C. IS ITS GARMENTS ABOVE ALL
