Tim Coppens Is All About Legos, Graffiti, & Method Man For Spring 2016
Legos, graffiti and skateboarding informed Tim Coppens’s latest menswear show, but this is no mere streetwear — the Belgian designer occupies his own avenue, and he turned the runway into the most sophisticated playground of the Menswear Fashion Week.
The Belgian designer cut his teeth designing sport-focused apparel for Nike, and he’s killed it for the last several seasons by bringing that edge to upper-level menswear, along with a willingness to play with color and form (I still have flashbacks to his kimono overcoat, cut in thick cream wool, from last fall).
This time, the designer aimed for a narrative inspired by his first days skating around and doing graffiti in NYC and by the kids who hang around Supreme on Lafayette Street, he said in a backstage interview. He paired highlighter colors — “they’re almost like Legos, but also not,” citing Method Man’s infamous yellow jacket as inspiration — with more muted tones and slouchy drawstring pants. A blotchy pattern motif (which looked like a cheetah’s markings or cobblestones, but were actually inspired by the drips from spray-paint cans, said Coppens) ran through sweaters; an occasional splotch broke away from the pack and landed on a jacket.
Is anyone else in menswear pairing whimsy with luxury as sharply as Coppens? He sent models down the runway in Vans accented with Swarovski crystals. A sweatshirt had a raglan stripe that was also accented in the shiny stuff. Coppens continues to be a standout in outerwear: Laser-sharp leather jackets cut with cool asymmetrical collars, slouchy varsity bombers with a playful “TC” logo, and a jaw-droppingly gorgeous red leather trenchcoat, which looked like it would be worn by Shaft in the year 2065.
Coppens said the collection was to evoke the fun of “rolling with a pack.” He cast his models for their similar skatery/streety looks, and they were typically morose, oblivious to the fun on their backs. You wanted to grab their cool-kid uniforms and run with them.
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