HOW does fashion navigate a post-human era? Los Angeles fashion house C2H4 asks this question with the SS20 collection at LFWM. Playfully abstract, the collection divides itself into three categories, inspired by a fictional dystopian social hierarchy, moving from the Underclass, to HDS Staff, to Elite Class. Presenting a letter, promising the protection of data and memory in this fictional world, C2H4 doesn’t stop at creating meaningful clothing, surpassing this to create its own society and political sphere. This new earth erases death entirely, and instead a memory wipe becomes the new definition of dying.
Taking inspiration from a range of post-apocalyptic film and literature, the space becomes almost movie set like in its theatricality and suspensive music. Shifting through the classes, the tone changes completely. The “underclass” is comprised of loose-fitting silhouettes, layered pieces, and distressed details, fitting within a monochrome palette to convey a sense of adversity.
Moving onto the HDS Staff, described as a group “oppressive, optimistic, steadily moving forward” the clothes become more structured, with elements of tailoring introduced and some use of neon.
Finally, the show ends with its Elite Class, constituting “the higher authorities of the planet”, the clothes take on a more relaxed mood, while keeping within a more structured silhouette to convey a sense power.
by Emma Hart