In every OAMC collection, a military influence has become par for the course, whether obviously asserted or not; it contributes to the literal and figurative discipline so intrinsic to Luke Meier’s approach. This season, its presence could be traced to an especially specific and cerebral source: artists Joseph Beuys and Ellsworth Kelly, who both served in World War II—granted, for different sides and in different capacities. Meier integrated aspects of their creative output into this multidimensional collection. From the opening look, you could spot his tribute to Beuys’s Felt Suit, now meticulously cut and molded without visible seams. The extended belts also channeled Beuys, as did the all-rubber boots, a clever albeit quasi–stomach-turning interpretation of his work featuring fat. Later on, Kelly’s color abstractions half-occupied coat surfaces, impressively interrupted by the body’s natural shape.
Technically, Meier had already gone above and beyond his duty to respect the artists. But he ostensibly felt compelled to properly relate their work back to his, which led to his wondering how both men might have felt upon returning home from service. This theoretical emotional layer could have easily weighed down the clothes, yet as proof they didn’t, look no further than the blanket layer scrawled with Gesamtkunstwerk, the German notion of a synthesis of the arts.
Viewed independent of concept as well as the runway’s floral wallpaper corridor (as beautifully unsettling as it was), the collection’s alternative suiting, the softer spin on sportswear, the mysterious prints, and the filmy organza outerwear (an oblique nod to Kelly’s service in the Ghost Army) held appeal in commercial and wearable terms. You can safely conclude that, under Meier’s watch, none of it will be standard-issue. In pure sensory terms, all that felt feels like a comforting, enduring way to confront the world.
With today’s news that Meier and Arnaud Faeh, the brand’s business director, entered into a partnership with Onward Luxury Holding Co. (the owner of Jil Sander, where Meier is co–creative director with his wife, Lucie), OAMC is now poised for significant expansion. Assuming Meier can keep to this level of rigor in his process, all parties stand to benefit.
