[F/W 25: JUST NOT HER]
A LOVE LETTER READ AS IT WAS WRITTEN.
THIS COLLECTION IS FOR THE WOMAN THAT WAS ABLE TO SHOW ME THE COLOR IN THE MOST MUNDANE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE. EVERY PIECE CONTAINS A MEMORY FROM OUR TIME TOGETHER, THE SHAPE OF A BORROWED JACKET ON HER FRAME, OUR FIRST DATE, TO THE COLOR OF HER HAIR AND LIPSTICK. EVERY DETAIL LEADS BACK TO HER.
I SAW HER IN EVERY ASPECT OF THE WORLD, CLICHÉ LYRICS, ROMANCE MOVIES, THE TIRED TROPES. WHAT WOULD'VE NORMALLY BEEN SENTIMENTAL WAS INSTEAD INSPIRATION.
FINDING A MUSE SEEMS TO BE EVERY DESIGNER'S BATTERY AND DRIVING FORCE, BUT BEING ABLE TO FIND YOUR MUSE IN JUST ABOUT ANYTHING IS A BLESSING AND A CURSE….
IT MEANS YOU BEGIN TO RECOGNIZE THEM EVERYWHERE. THE WORLD QUIETLY FILLS WITH REFERENCES. PLACES, OBJECTS, COLORS, SILHOUETTES THAT ONCE FELT INCIDENTAL NOW CARRY WEIGHT.
THIS COLLECTION WAS DEVELOPED WHILE WE WERE STILL TOGETHER. IT WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE AN EPILOGUE. IT WAS AN ATTEMPT TO CHERISH SOMETHING IN REAL TIME, TO PAY ATTENTION WHILE IT WAS STILL HAPPENING. TO SHOW HER HOW DEEPLY HER EXISTENCE HAD SHAPED MY WORLD. WHAT EMERGED WAS AN ACCIDENTAL RECORD OF TENDER MOMENTS AND DEEP LOVE.
THE COLLECTION TITLE 'JUST NOT HER' BEGAN AS A JOKE. INSPIRED BY A PICTURE OF FUTURE IN THE CLUB SURROUNDED BY WOMEN BUT LOOKING OFF INTO THE DISTANCE. "THEY COOL BUT THEY'RE JUST NOT HER." I WOULD ALWAYS REFERENCE THIS WHEN I WAS WITH HER AND SHE HAD CONCERNS WITH ME. I WAS TRULY OUT IN THE WORLD AND FEELING NO PULL TOWARD ANYONE ELSE. NOT OUT OF VIRTUE, BUT OUT OF CLARITY. I COULD BE DISTANT WITH ANYONE. I COULD DISAPPOINT ANYONE. JUST NOT HER.
TIME DID WHAT IT ALWAYS DOES. THE PHRASE EVOLVED. WHAT ONCE SPOKE TO DEVOTION LATER TOOK ON A DIFFERENT SHAPE. WE CAN HAVE ANYONE, JUST NOT HER.
THIS COLLECTION IS NOT ABOUT LOSS. IT IS ABOUT PRESENCE. ABOUT MAKING SOMETHING CAREFULLY WHILE LOVE WAS STILL IN THE ROOM, AND REALIZING LATER THAT YOU HAD BEEN DOCUMENTING IT ALL ALONG. THE GARMENTS BECAME AN ALBUM. EACH PIECE A STILL FRAME.
THE MATERIALS MATTER. I USED THE UPCYCLED AND REPURPOSED FABRICS SHE BELIEVED IN. NOT AS A GESTURE, BUT AS CONTINUATION. NOTHING HERE IS DISCARDED. NOTHING IS WASTED. EVERYTHING IS CARRIED FORWARD. JUST LIKE THE LESSONS FROM OUR RELATIONSHIP, AS CHEESY AS IT SOUNDS IT'S THE TRUTH.
WE HAVE BOTH MOVED ON. WE HAVE BOTH GROWN BEYOND THE SHAPE OF THAT TIME. AND STILL, THE RECORD REMAINS. NOT AS A RELIC, BUT AS PROOF THAT SOMETHING REAL EXISTED. STITCHED INTO THE FABRIC IS A QUIET TRUTH. THE SWEETEST DREAMS ARE THE EASIEST TO WAKE FROM.
A LOVE LETTER READ AS IT WAS WRITTEN. A MEMORY TURNED TO THREAD.
YOU AND I.