Backstage at the Fall 2019 Atlein show, it became apparent that all was not as it seemed. How about that molded and draped black leather, impeccably worked into a swaggering biker jacket atop a spangled emerald green jersey skirt, or a killer dress, the material deliciously caressing its way around the body? Ah, wrong. The “leather” is actually, designer Antonin Tron explained, a coated jersey he has worked on, created by “an indigo induction,” as he called it, “a bit like a denim treatment.” The muted florals that gleamed from short sequin jersey dresses? Well, nearly right. It’s actually a print that blends camouflage, an animal pattern of indistinct origin, and yes, blooms. But perhaps the biggest—certainly the most unexpected—reveal of all: Tron is a goth. Who knew?
The collection, its staging, and the very starting point of thinking about what he wanted to say this coming Fall came from going to a Bauhaus gig at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris in November last year; his love of the group only superseded by his fandom for the Sisters of Mercy, another shadowy intense band. “I know I don’t look like it,” Tron said, grinning, the very picture of a clean-cut, athletic man, “but my heart is black velvet.” And right on cue, there was indeed a gorgeous and considered use of this soft and pliable fabric, particularly in an abbreviated dress, its light-soaking qualities creating the subtlest ripples on the body. However, truth be told, the one quibble with going so Bauhausian with the presentation’s moody lighting was that it didn’t always make it easy to appreciate his very good work. But then, peering through the gloom has been the story of Paris, as much as big shoulders and stomping ankle boots.
Ultimately, though, Tron’s Atlein is about seeing what you get. Since he started a few years back, he has pushed himself to explore and experiment with the jersey that defines the label. (No wonder then that heroines like Madame Grès and Jean Muir were his aesthetic mentors when he was thinking about this collection particularly, and Atlein generally.) And if Tron likes his music loud, then there’s a quietness to what he does that should be appreciated in an era when fashion’s volume has been turned up to a disconcerting, ear-splitting level. “There’s a lot of pressure because of that,” he said, “but my idea of radical is not to go overboard; I want to keep the focus on what we do and how we make it.” By which he means working with small French factories or using deadstock fabrics, a sustainability practice he has been committed to ever since he launched Atlein, and which he has never discussed before. Perhaps he should, to appreciate the better what he does, because while Tron may love goth, he also knows plenty about soul.
