In his AW25 outing, the designer loses formality and digs into his functional aesthetic.
How delightful it is to see a greatly edited, precisely formed collection conceived in a flash of inspiration that happens to make complete sense.
What was that flash of inspiration? In a word: metamorphosis. Or, more specifically, heavy-duty denim outerwear toppers joined by kinetic-cut seamless jeans in full functional fashion—a seemingly obvious staple that a young designer named Saul Nash happened to pick up, turn in his hand, and marvel at.
Has he always loved practicality? No matter, the happy experimentation set him off on a mission to find all the most compelling examples of fuss-free essentials he could conceive: namely, a recycled nylon parka and cropped bomber jacket made with padding cut with kinetic lines, each belted with cummerbunds that double as technical padded scarves and can be worn as cross-body bags thanks to a zip pocket.
Then he pieced more offerings together and emphasised the modularity and interchangeable qualities of many of the pieces, like a dual-colour Bemberg oversized cupro shirt with an asymmetric fastening, which, when unbuttoned, can be tied at the collar to change its shape.
This technique is applied to a recycled nylon twill asymmetric pullover jacket with snap closures at the wrist, paired with zip-through trousers which trace the contours of the leg, formalised with built-in belt loops (a Nash signature to the core).
“I think this collection actually looks at metamorphosis, but not only in the sense of transformation, but leaning on modularity: how one unzips or zips up, but also how you find yourself within the garment,” opined Nash post-show.
“It’s metamorphosis in the sense of me metamorphosising and embodying the person I am today, as I’m looking at movement from a holistic route. Moreover, I think exploring performance in the space that it actually exists in and being able to innovate or work with materials that maybe I can’t, opened doors for me to look at other ways to bring function into my work. What does a shirt look like if it’s made of waterproof material, but you put the hood up and it keeps you dry, but also it’s very smart? I think, you know, it’s opened up doors for me to play with tailoring in my own work.”
In a Milan season heavy on emotive romance, Nash’s version makes for a subtle but cool counterpoint. And as fashion once again starts looking to its young talents, it’s great to welcome a talent like this—who, by upending the old order of a big collection, has set his sights on making form and function du jour elements to slip into a man’s wardrobe.
by Chidozie Obasi