Perhaps the easiest way to explain Each x Other is to think of it as Fashion x Statement. Designers Jenny Mannerheim and Ilan Delouis once again turned out attitude-enhancing clothes conducive to art parties (no coincidence the show took place at Emmanuel Perrotin’s spare gallery in the Marais). Then they recruited ongoing collaborator, poet-artist Robert Montgomery, as well as editor Jefferson Hack, to anchor the collection in idiosyncratic aphorisms. “You sleep on the feathers of birds and their flights fill your dreams,” from the former; “Hack the system” (in which the letters “HA” appear dripped over an “FU”) from the latter. Using words to build a wardrobe, explained Mannerheim, reinforces the semiotics of style and self-expression. Basically, we can choose to communicate overtly by sporting an oxford shirt patched and embroidered with Montgomery’s words, or a T-shirt printed and embroidered with Hack’s. Or else we leave ourselves open to interpretation when we wear a mannish peony pink suit, or a tailored jacket featuring unraveled, pleated cuffs.
Like the contrast in tone established by their guest contributors (who, incidentally, have known each other for 15 years), the collection boiled down to counterintuitive pairings: striped silk pajama pants with a black leather bra; a languid ivory robe coat disciplined with black straps down the sleeves, and extra-long feather-printed shirttails trailing from snug cavalry jackets. There was also a Belgian influence à la Dries, Ann, and Veronique—unspoken yet unmistakable—which they used to dial up the poetic rawness. Mannerheim mentioned how artists, be it the Beats or Impressionists, have proven stronger as collectives than as individuals. And indeed, one can’t help but wonder whether this duo is too reliant on its Other. But then, as one of Hack’s other musings seemed to suggest, the essence of cultural is the cult.
