By Alex Wynne
Partnership was the name of the game for The Kooples for spring. The Parisian label, which hosted a presentation during Paris Men’s Fashion Week for the first time, is expanding its conceptual universe from (ad)dressing couples to celebrating duality in a broader sense — via siblings, business partners and the like.
One such pairing is that of The Kooples’ cofounder and creative director Alexandre Elicha and actor and designer Waris Ahluwalia, who was the muse for the collection. The result is a bohemian offering inspired by traveling across Asia, especially India, exploring opulent textiles and fluid, elongated shapes in a rich palette of colors like terracotta, burgundy, khaki and bronze.
This was subtly punctuated with elements of the label’s rock ’n’ roll origins with details like skulls as buttons and beads on jackets and tassled belts. Bermudas were made of black satin and worn with a long, dangling belt, while a russet jacquard blouson was adorned with a luxuriant leaf pattern. Striped khaki and bronze linen was used for pants and a jacket, giving them a luxurious yet relaxed feel accentuated by long, thin tassled scarves. Suiting was also given an Eastern spin, as in a Kashmir-patterned collarless jacquard ensemble worn without a shirt and tied at the waist with a black leather cord.
Accessories came by way of snakeskin babouche slippers and pointed derbies, as well as jewelry designed in partnership with Aaron Jah Stone and eyewear by Lotho.
