On December 7, 1972, the crew of the Apollo 17 shot a photograph of the Earth as they headed to the Moon. Taken from a distance of 29,000 kilometers, it was the first image of the whole Earth, fully illuminated. It went on to become one of the most widely circulated photographs in history, known as the Blue Marble, since it made our planet look like a glassy blue marble.
The story appealed to Anthony Alvarez, a globe-trotting 29-year-old born in New York to a Filipino father with Spanish heritage and a French mother with Italian Corsican roots. In 2019, he borrowed the name for his fledgling label, having abandoned a career in finance to travel the world and then set up a fashion line in Paris (prior to Blue Marble, he briefly launched and ran a streetwear brand called One Culture). “For me, the photograph was so inspiring for what it represented: The whole world connected. It represents the values of the brand: Multiculturalism, travel, escapism,” Alvarez explained, speaking during a break between fittings ahead of his second in-person catwalk showing and his first on the official Paris schedule.
American sportswear, European savoir-faire, and Filipino artisanal touches are all in the mix for fall 2022. Alvarez’s starting point was the colorful sails of the traditional vinta boats that originally hail from the Philippine island of Mindanao. “I try to go back through my memories for every collection,” he says. “I had this dream of taking off, crossing the Pacific Ocean.” In juicy shades of yellow, purple, and pink, the geometric patterns of the sails take the form of a series of oversized parka jackets. Emphasis on juicy. “It was important with the colors for them to feel warm, even though it’s winter,” he said.
That same free spirit persists in eccentric knitted hats made in France, surfer-style ankle boots with foam soles and dead stock faux-fur uppers, funky ’90s reflective sunglasses, and a purple faux-fur leopard print hoodie-coat that is one of Alvarez’s favorite pieces. These are in turn offset by densely embroidered wardrobe classics inspired by traditional Filipino embroidery in Lumban. A navy mohair cardigan dotted with mother-of-pearl buttons and rhinestones and handworked in India sits alongside crystal and button-embellished baggy jeans, manufactured in France and Tunisia. Elsewhere, the naval theme is more literally interpreted in buttoned sailor pants, marinières with removable collars, and mariner-style weekend bags, made from dead stock fabrics.
There’s a lot going on, but the looks come together via the collection’s streetwise edge. Alvarez is into skateboarding and surfing, regularly parsing the dudes skating round Place de la République, near where he lives, for inspiration. There’s an element of accessibility in the oversized tie-dye sweaters, the crochet-trim knits, even in the Swarovski crystal-splattered shirting, that stops things veering too much into experimental territory. Timothée Chalamet, who was photographed in November wearing a tie-dye hoodie from the spring collection which Alvarez has wisely carried over, would be in heaven.
