Review of Marine Serre Spring 2024 Men’s Fashion Show
Landfill Chic
By Mark Wittmer
Don’t take that subtitle in the wrong way; there’s nothing trashy about this collection. Marine Serre’s latest outing was another hauntingly cool lesson in the need to rethink our wasteful production practices that transformed deadstock and fabric scraps into wearable works of art.
The designer dove even deeper into this upcycling practice with her latest collection, putting on a kaleidoscopic parade of found-fabric transformations.
While previous collections have tended to use one variety or source of fabric for different movements of looks across the collection, here Marine Serre lets it rip from the beginning, combining rescued graphic T-shirts with silk scarves and plastic packaging for some serious power clashing in fluid silhouettes.
After this over-the-top opener the sequences do focus up a bit. Army surplus fabric casts its wearers as camo-clad ecowarriors. Nursery fabrics give summer sets a colorful burst of childlike fantasy. Crochet and quilting that made use of deadstock yarns and swatches results in sweaters, skirts, and dresses that balance folksy crafted cuteness with an elegant edge. Denim pieces give rescued jeans at the end of their life cycle a brand new life.
The collection ends on an all-black tone with the return of the designer’s signature crescent moon monogram and jacquard weave, all worn by the models and artists that have consistently been a part of her tribe since the beginning.
One quibble might be that the collection looked quite similar to last season; we haven’t seen too many surprises from Marine Serre since she first burst onto the scene. But that’s not a bad thing: she’s settled into the strong brand she’s built for herself, and her consistent commitment to conscious waste reduction and transforming the excess of the past into a sustainable future is inspiring.
This is a selfless approach to fashion design. In lieu of imprinting her ego onto the world by way of creation and consumption, Marine Serre practices instead transformation and regeneration.
And in doing so, she has built a powerful community around herself – one that wears its many colors with pride.