At the sprawling Aspesi showroom overlooking Milan, where the label’s fall collection was presented, I had a nice chat with Lawrence Steele about not only the collection, but also the label’s ethos, and the importance of tailoring. Disclaimer: I’ve always been enthusiastic about Aspesi—and Steele. Here’s what the designer had to say.
“I always think about the archetypes that deserve to be in a wardrobe; Aspesi is about underlining the identity of the people wearing the clothes, as opposed to a fashion theme I’m putting on people. I just provide great pieces for them to create their own language of self. This season I started with tailoring, and the tailored blazer with proud shoulders is where the collection is grounded. My goal was to find a form that would fit beautifully on both men and women, so that I could eliminate the sizing that is actually gender-sized. From tailoring came the rest of the choices, so the offer is slightly more formal than the spring collection. There’s also a sort of grunge feeling, but basically my work at Aspesi is about modernizing the archetypes of dressing while keeping them within a language of classic basics.”
“Tailoring is becoming prominent again because, having been stuck at home for so long, our sweats have become pajamas, and I think we want to get away from those sickly pajamas. Now that we’re stepping out into the world a bit more confidently, we want something bolder and more defined, which gives us a good posture. A blazer with a proud shoulder talks of strength, even if you feel vulnerable inside.”
“Tailoring and streetwear have an interesting interaction. I don’t necessarily think that a blazer isn’t streetwear. In the ’80s Madonna was wearing oversized coats, and it was totally streetwear. When I was a student at art school in Chicago, I bought a lot of ill-fitting oversized blazers in surplus stores; they fitted like T-shirts or sweats, they looked really cool because it was all about being self-expressive. I wouldn’t take the streetwear out of the blazer or out of tailoring. I’d keep it firmly rooted in whatever your identity is; you can play it from one extreme to the other. I think a blazer can be as unconventional as a motorcycle jacket. It’s the personality you put on a garment that makes it radical; the identity is the base of everything. I want freedom in the clothes we offer at Aspesi. The most important thing nowadays is to have as much freedom as possible. There’s never enough freedom in the world.”
