JORDANLUCA’s Hopeful Reckoning
The June presentation of London Fashion Week has just come to an end and the variations of filmed collections ranged from performance art, filmed concepts, choreographic sequences and oh yes! some clothing. There were also music videos, about clothes and concept and also thankfully this season more than last, a few simply solid presentations of fully developed and engaging collections, JORDANLUCCA Spring/Summer 2022 was such a collection. It was a wonderful play on modern inclusive masculinity, surprisingly delicate textiles, deft monochromatic materiality with strong London and Italian sensibilities.
JORDANLUCA has only gotten stronger since IRK’s last live collection attendance in 2020. The tailoring and the range of richly textured fitted and loose knits are worth taking note of. Large framed shoulders, fully cut trousers and a variation of lengths of skirts and jackets announced a collection for all with a modern, tasteful spirit at heart. This was highlighted by approachable outerwear; quilted bomber jackets, motor-jackets in varying fabrications including tulle and drawstring hoodies with gathered oculus openings at the center back.
Jordan Bowen and Luca Marchetto established JORDANLUCA in 2018 as a menswear brand ‘bring together an authenticity to counterculture and a commitment to craftsmanship.’ Their approach to masculinity is rooted in the ‘visceral instinct to study the form and its possibilities.’
The design pair always melding Italian tailoring and London’s edge together.
Spring/ Summer2022, according to the brand … ‘continues to hone in on the precious nature of the present. On the rare occasion an eclipse is visible from the earth, it’s transient, ephemeral, and commands attention. Why do we so often forget to take the same pleasure in our own fleeting moments? The collection is a reflection of the multitudes we each hold within ourselves: anger, grief for all we have lost, yet also longing, joy and elation for the ways in which we have made it here, all colluding in a triumphant celebration of life and vitality.’
JORDANLUCA’s creative process is a catharsis emerging from their many years in recovery. Spring/Summer 2022 strength is vulnerability in the resolution of looking to the power and thrill inherent to renewal – it turns the self-destructiveness of addiction on its head, by re-imagining masculinity in the most visceral, jubilant and effervescent way possible.
The JORDANLUCCA color palette consists of white, jade green, saffron and ‘pillar box red’. The combination creates a delicate, somber mood and nineteen-fifties Cuban silhouettes stand in stark contrast to underlying themes of British movements; skinheads, postage stamps, bunting, memorabilia and crucially Pride. Monochromatic, Union jacks were stitched on cream jersey shorts, frayed and with raw edges, machine stitched tulle roses adorn vests and biker jackets, quietly commemorating London’s sub-cultural heritage without ever feeling nostalgic or sentimental.
This was a wonderfully strong presentation of a clear and hopeful vision of the return of fashion collections to London Fashion Week and London Men’s Fashion Week.
Share this post
Patrick Michael Hughes is a fashion and decorative arts historian. He writes about fashion culture past and present making connections to New York, London and Copenhagen's fashion weeks with an eye toward men's fashion. He joined IRK Magazine as a fashion men's editor during winter of 2017.
He is often cited as a historical source for numerous pieces appearing in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, LVMH, Conde Nast, Highsnobiety and others. His fashion career includes years as a fashion reporter/producer of branded content for the New York local news in the hyper digital sector. Patrick's love of travel and terrain enabled him to becoming an experienced cross-country equestrian intensively riding in a number of locations in South America Scandinavia,The United Kingdom and Germany. However, he is not currently riding, but rather speaking internationally to designers, product development teams, marketing teams and ascending designers in the US, Europe and China.
Following his BA in the History of Art from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York he later completed graduate studios in exhibition design in New York. it was with the nudge and a conversation in regard to a design assignment interviewing Richard Martin curator of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art he was encouraged to consider shifting his focus to the decorative arts with a concentration in fashion history and curation.
Patrick completed graduate studies 17th and 18th century French Royal interiors and decoration and 18th century French fashion culture at Musée Les Arts Decoratifs-Musée de Louvre in Paris. Upon his return to New York along with other classes and independent studies in American fashion he earned his MA in the History of Decorative Arts and Design from the Parsons/Cooper Hewitt Design Museum program in New York. His final specialist focus was in 19th century English fashion and interiors with distinction in 20th century American fashion history and design.
Currently, he is an Associate Teaching Professor at Parsons School of Design leading fashion history lecture-studios within the School of Art and Design History and Theory,
Read Next
