It’s been a year since fashion felt the initial blows of the pandemic. With orders canceled, production stalled, and revenues depleted, it forced designers to adopt a new kind of resourcefulness, both creatively and financially. Many chose to repurpose leftover materials or samples to save cash, a decision that was happily repackaged as a sustainable one (Waste less! Use what exists!). But Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim didn’t gloss things over. “It was literally the only option we had,” Kim said with a laugh. “We would have ordered new fabric like we do every season, but our CEO told us that just wasn’t an option.” It wasn’t that Monse was on its last dollar, but the future felt too uncertain to be anything other than modest.
The results are a tighter, leaner, sportier spring 2021 collection dropping today. Monse superfans will recognize the graphic polka-dot cotton on the opening look, a romper with extended cargo pockets and a quarter-zip neckline. The polka dots were later spliced into a handkerchief-hem camel trench coat, a Monse hero piece. Garcia and Kim had rolls and rolls of that camel, plus tons of army green cotton, striped shirting, denim, and navy wool suiting; the challenge was to rework their core fabrics into silhouettes both novel and wearable. Their twist on a white T-shirt—asymmetrical, sleeveless, with an exaggerated grosgrain bow at the shoulder—will speak to the women vowing to dress boldly (but comfortably!) as they “reemerge” this summer. The strappy slip dresses—styled with chunky sneakers, not heels—would strike a similar balance. For evening they trimmed a jet blazer with tulle and paired it with cycling shorts and flat boots.
In a traditional season Garcia and Kim would have shown all of this to editors and buyers back in September. By the time the collection arrived in stores, certain items may have been tweaked or cut entirely if there weren’t enough orders. Spring marks the first time they worked semi-backward; buyers saw the line in September, and their feedback informed how Garcia and Kim shot the look book and how they’ll market the collection to customers. It isn’t exactly “see now, buy now,” but it equipped them with the data and insight they needed to create a successful—and less wasteful—collection. In a tumultuous year, trying to force the “old model” to work the same way it always did would seem the less sensible choice. Another benefit for Monse? High-street brands haven’t had the luxury of ripping off those tulle jackets and trenches for six months. The copycat conversation is less prevalent these days, but it’s still a headache for young labels, especially as fast fashion grows bigger, stronger, and, somehow, even faster.
