The Egonlab collection that’s on its way into stores—as well as the brand’s new e-commerce platform—is all about escapism. But with their fall collection entitled Parasomnia, designers Florentin Glémarec and Kévin Nompeix took a slightly different tack by exploring the surreal and the subconscious, with a lashing of punk and grunge for good measure. It was their most confident show to date.
“The world of dreams, nightmares, and fears structure who we are in the waking world, so [this collection] is really a way of extracting from dreams and reinjecting into reality to be the person we’re meant to be. We’re telling young generations not to give up; if there’s no dream there’s no hope,” the duo said backstage before a show that was also dedicated to Vivienne Westwood and René Glémarec, Florentin’s grandfather, a grandfluencer who modeled the brand’s looks at every show.
This is men’s fashion week, of course, and Egonlab positions itself as genderless, but this collection skewed more feminine than past outings, a siren song for would-be Timothée Chalamets everywhere. Mutton sleeves were the big news, perhaps paired with lace-up leather biker shorts and military boots. The garter was revisited as a denim skirt over trousers. Short kilt skirts were constructed with attached shirtsleeves. Some trousers were slung so low they made the bumster look prim; here, they arrived below the crotch and were held in place by a bodysuit construction (one assumes those were all in good fun). Throwing in a few belts by Gucci was pretty cheeky, too—and it worked.
Many ideas were far from new, however. Fashion loves a slip dress with biker boots, artfully distressed knits, or a chubby (here in holographic tinsel) with black leggings and stilettos. Where the duo really shone was the jackets, with an oversized pea coat in shocking pink, a velvet double-breasted blazer, quilted hooded numbers with contrasting piping, or a velour bomber with argyle knit accents. Anyone who prefers their argyle in black and silver sequins need look no further.
Backstage, Nompeix pointed out that “you can self-construct like paintings, and paint yourself in every color, because you’re the sole master of your destiny.” There was plenty of that going on in the audience. Judging by the crowd, Egonlab has hit its stride.
