The success of Archie Alled-Martinez’s spring 2022 collection, which celebrated gay male romance and tragedy, propelled him to revisit the theme for fall. “I was wondering what would it be like to have been openly gay during high school,” he said on a Zoom call, “and how difficult it was for people in my generation to be themselves growing up. When I go online now and see all these queer kids, it warms my heart.”
Alled-Martinez translated the high school codes of the early aughts into his garments. There are tiny tees, and tinier, tighter trousers, and perhaps most symbolically laden for those actually in high school in the aughts, jeans shrugged down so low that boxer shorts peek out from the waistband. Bruce Weber’s Abercrombie hunks come to mind, but Alled-Martinez has a more approachable look—think of this like a Hollister fever dream. Furthering the theme, he’s made tees that say Top, Bottom, and Vers.
The star of this season, though, is Alled-Martinez’s film. Beautifully directed by Pau Carrette, the film chronicles a boy’s high school loves and losses. The designer plays a track and field coach, while guys run around in their tiny A-M outfits. Unlike many of the other fashion films we’ve seen during the two-years-and-counting pandemic, this one actually 1) has a plot and 2) resonates beyond fashion. Maybe a director’s chair is next for the designer? He does have a big announcement on the horizon… more on that soon.
