When Sigourney Weaver dispatched the terrifying H.R. Giger-designed Xenomorph into the jaws of hell in Alien, she did more than let the movie’s audience finally exhale again. As Ellen Ripley, Weaver created a heroine for the ages, one who has become revered by designers—including Atlein’s Antonin Tron. “I first saw Alien when I was 14,” Tron said a few days before his show.“The shock of her, and her performance… It’s a sexy movie, in a way, because she’s so sweaty and physical. When she’s hiding, trying to get into the spacesuit, she’s sexy, but it’s a sexiness that’s for herself, and of herself.”
You might get some visual clues to Tron’s inspiration from looking at his accomplished spring collection: his ruched drawstring effect similar to the pulls on Ripley’s fatigues; the wet, slicked skin and hair of the models akin to her appearance as she waged her one-woman war against a big old homicidal creature. Yet it wasn’t the real takeaway here. Ever since he launched Atlein, Tron has made a point of using his impressive draping and cutting skills with jersey, his favored fabric, to create clothes which empower a woman; he might be a guy, but there is absolutely no room for male gaze objectification here.
So that ruching, which gathered this way and that, emphasized his athletic silhouette. It might run down the sleeves of a second skin tailored jacket, or slither down the sides of a hip-cleaving skirt in crushed velvet, a new fabric for him. More ruching worked its way diagonally across dresses which looked like they could be slipped on as easily as a T-shirt, while others had been worked with a ruffled effect (also new for Tron) that was anything but fussy or frilly. There were scuba-like leggings with tiny cut-outs at the waistband, with one-shouldered tops, and plenty of columnar or softly draped dresses with open backs, as if Tron had just taken a length of fabric and magicked it around the body, the ease of the pieces belying the kind of technical skill needed to create them. (Let me tell you something you likely already guessed: That’s a lot of skill.)
Tron has been quietly working away, honing and perfecting his idea of Atlein for a while now, but this collection felt like a bit of a breakthrough moment; greater fluency in his articulation of technique, ever more commitment to sustainability (many of his fabrics were yet again upcycled or recycled) and eschewing anything extraneous in pursuit of clothes which felt strong, and real, and adult. This season’s shows marked the rather strange crossroads fashion is at: looks lighting up like fireworks on social media, and disappearing as quickly; powerful, inescapable brand statements played out on a global scale. What’s an indie designer versed in the art of making meant to do? For his part, Tron is clear. “With this collection, I’ve made peace with myself, as to who I am as a designer,” he said. “I’m focused like I’ve never been before.”
