Let’s start with the red herring (one of Bernhard Willhelm’s specialties): The MAGA T-shirt scrawled over with Amsterdam.
Ask the designer what Amsterdam did to deserve that, and you get a freestyle spiel that involves Japan, Fukushima, Pearl Harbor, Calvinism (read: minimalism), Zen, tourism, and the importance of investing in wind energy (windmills make an appearance, too).
Also, Willhelm spent part of the summer in Holland. That’s where he got his hands on artist Daniel Rozenberg, whose crocodile-eating-man-eating-crocodile motif etches out the symbol of infinity. “The crocodile is interesting because he swims with his eyes just above the water; it’s a half-half situation,” the designer mused. “Everyone has to find his inner crocodile.”
Infinity returned again in a concentric circle print on a black jacket; it was also spelled out on a tailored suit in red Japanese tie-dye that tapered into white (an oblique reference to the corporate style of dress in America), as well as track shorts. It cropped up as planetary references and also embroideries by Stefan Meier. Traditional Japanese pieces, from kimonos to fundoshi (the undergarment worn by sumo wrestlers)—Willhelm calls it “the infinity thong”—pay tribute to one of the designer’s most loyal markets. (That said, IRL, those kimonos are hottest with American and European clients.)
Willhelm considers his work a message in a bottle. “This generation is dealing with sexuality that’s purely virtual, a culture of narcissism and diminishing expectations,” he noted as he showed accessories such as a Bambi bag, a baseball cap emblazoned with Ex-Porn Star, and colorful “crocodile” totes.
“Crocodiles go along, looking at things, and maybe if they like it, they snatch it,” he said. “Maybe the crocodile is me.”
