Lutz Huelle is a well-known name in trouser season. Trained by Martin Margiela, Huelle designs for the street, not the runway, and he specializes in those details that elevate a garment, making it transcend everyday life. Take the sequins. He tucked silver sequins under the lapels of a double-breasted black suit so that when the collar was lifted, it shone. But if decor is central to his aesthetic, simplicity is baked into his iterative design process.
Huelle made a vest for spring, cut from a simple square fabric with two holes on the arms. He loved the listless effect so much that he applied the pattern to jackets and coats for fall. They have similar ease. The soft cloth is folded from the front, or a corner can be tucked through a slit on the opposite side to collect material with the zhuzh at the throat. Through interdependent collections, Huelle’s pieces have a lot of inherent versatility.
His experimentation with denim also continues to apace. On the jeans, he cut the legs vertically from the front to evoke the creases his mother left when ironing his childhood jeans; added wide stripes of sequins to the side seams; and had fun with silver paint, “Foiling” the top few inches of a pair of upcycled pants and turning them into party pants in the process. Denim jackets have been given a more radical makeover, including lateral deconstruction and reconstitution for dramatic funnel necklines. Necklines are the focus of this season at Huelle, and button-down shirts can be buttoned at the shoulder seam or worn sexy across the chest.
Other independent designers are also struggling in this difficult economy, but Huelle has reportedly been picking up business. Here’s another reason to follow him. As viral fashion was questioned and runway stunts began to feel dated, he became a founding member of the slow fashion school.
