Minimalism isn’t part of Johnson Hartig’s vocabulary, but monochrome is. The designer started showing solid-colored fabrics in spring2022, and he reported that they sold well. Why? “I think they fit. They’re easy. They’re elongating. Everyone looks taller and slimmer in them, and it’s just a very simple, chic, complete outfit,” he said in the walkthrough. “There’s a new libertine out there who’s used to not having everything.” The new clothing labels have been shiny, so the clothes aren’t exactly ascetic, and it’s likely that many customers are using a solid color as a base to show off the One of the brand’s more ornate top hats, some people collect it as they would art.
Hartig’s instinct to clean things up — this is Libertine we’re talking about — is correct. After creating an OTT book showcasing five seasons of his series, it was time for a change. The photos for the fall collection were shot against a white background by the designer’s friend and super stylist B. Åkerlund, who, unlike the younger models in past lookbooks, wore the clothes with grown-up confidence; Can represent a libertine client. Not that these clothes are age-restricted, in fact, they look youthful in their joy, but all the handcrafting that goes into them makes them an investment piece. The most refined pieces in the fall collection were tailored jackets, densely layered with floral embellishments that took two men 60 hours to decorate.
Libertine’s story has been told before, but it’s rooted in the DIY tradition, with early collections featuring vintage clothing that’s been silkscreened or otherwise maximized. The paradigm has changed as stores demand consistent sizing, which is difficult to achieve when repurposing existing garments, and the supply of “premium vintage” has dwindled or become very expensive. “When you think about it, the past 21 years are forever with only junk clothes, so there’s nothing out there. And It seems like in the past years, everyone has turned into an antiques dealer or authority,” Hartig observed. Anyway, he basically created his own vintage pieces, had artisans recreate crazy quilt pieces on some cuts, and the pink and gold collection updated earlier 21 silhouettes.
