Recently, I was reminded of one of my favorite clothing lines, Cloak, in a New York Times Magazine piece. I had just moved to New York in 2005 and saw the documentary, Seamless, which highlighted various designers chosen as finalists in the first CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. One of those finalists was Alexander Plokhov. While he did not win the award, he left an impression on me. My affinity towards his subtle, tonal, black, and highly constructed line was perhaps fed by a youthful obsession with the Cure. The impact on me professionally was the reinforcement of the concept that oxymorons or the Hegelian dialectic (thesis begets antithesis which births synthesis) where seeming opposites crash to create something special is an important one. Monotones of color meet highly constructed details and striking silhouettes to create something unique. Unfortunately, Cloak shuttered its doors and Plokhov departed for a seemingly odd pairing with Versace.
I lost track of him.
Until now.
With his namesake line, Plokhov creates the same dialectic, without reliance on bright colors, to create something even more striking. In tones of black, grey, and green, we are forced to focus on the cuts, the shapes, and the details. Ironically, the small things become even more blatant to the eye and am reminded that context, presentation – even within the piece itself – create the aesthetic hook.
One would initially believe the repetition of images would detract from the overall impact of the highlighted ensemble, but it does not. The “less” in variety of color is met with the “more” of repeated images. I like it. Do you?
NY Fashion week, here we go…