Namacheko blends heritage and art influences for bold unisex collection

By

Erin Floyd

Published
Jun 20, 2018

Kurdish designers Dilan and Lezan Lurr kept their heritage in mind for their fourth collection, presented on a sunny Wednesday morning at Paris’ Palais Galliera museum on the second day of Paris Fashion Week Men’s.

 
The creative duo’s sombre woollen overcoats made a reappearance  -- but reworked in a palette of pastels and bold primary colours for Spring/Summer 19 -- as did solid-colour double-breasted blazers, many featuring a repeated diamond motif, layered over white shirts with mock collars. The latter, paired with broad twill shorts cut to the high thigh, ankle socks and welted black brogues, the models’ side-parted hair smoothed flat to the face, evoked something of a schoolboy in vestments.

“I was watching Solaris,” Dilan Lurr explained of the theme post show, “and [director Andrei Tarkovsky] does a lot with religious themes, so that’s where it came from.” Inspiration also came from artist and sculptor Evan Holloway – who is, incidentally, a favourite of Raf Simons --  an influence felt in the minimalist colour blocks and geometric, utilitarian pockets.

And what of the boyish cut? “Because I was a child when I moved from Kurdistan,” he recalls nostalgically, emphasising the heritage link of the label, which is produced in Belgium.

Skirting literal references to the sibling designers’ home country, the broad range of tailored, androgynous suiting (some worn by female models) instead featured hidden Velcro fastenings and tightly buttoned oversize wraparound cuffs, which was their way of “connecting to our background,” Lurr added.

Knitwear in shades of écru and sea green marked a contrast with the offering’s crisp pinpoint collars and suit jackets, lending a softer edge to the looks in which lightweight crochet peeked out from underneath functional cropped smocks. And, though any hint of this season’s so far ubiquitous sportswear was notably absent, the offering veered into casualwear with a pillar-box red bomber – for those not quite bold enough for a rose jumpshort.