Sure, the current mood may have turned to optimism and femininity—but who’s going to dress all the tomboys out there who will never feel pretty in pink? Hopes were high for Jens Laugesen, a Danish-born designer educated in Paris and at Central Saint Martins. The impressively organized Laugesen has already delivered two on-the-money collections full of pieces that fit nicely into the military/utility tendency.
Sad to say, those who turned up eager to witness a new fashion visionary—or even find a sharp new angle on a well-established subcult—went away nonplussed, if not exasperated. Laugesen works in cut-up, monochromatic T-shirts, sweats, knits, and deconstructed tailoring. But his first look, a loose jacket over leggings in layers of cream and gray and festooned with hanging straps, carried a distinct air of déjà vu. As he progressed into canvas leggings heavily cross-laced at the back, the comparisons with collections shown last season—most obviously, the work of Helmut Lang—were painfully unavoidable.
There may have been some oversized knits and overgrown vests that stood out among the layers, but however well Laugesen is capable of executing individual pieces, he can’t escape the expectations that face every young designer who ventures onto the runway. Next season, Laugesen should work out what he has to say and articulate it in a voice that is his alone.
