Playing with proportion as a theme for the fall2023 season might be preliminary, but in Our Legacy it does, with Christopher Nying focusing on actually fitting some really well-fitting clothes.
As a father of two young daughters, Nying looks at their clothes as well as his collection of children’s clothing over the years. (One of the inspirations for the collection was a pink and white striped jumpsuit that Nying described as an “inner smile” as a showpiece.) “I’m a bit scruffy,” the designer admitted. But if his new series is personal, it’s also a technical one that involves clever problem-solving.
Take shape six as an example. It’s based on the designer’s daughter’s jacket, a vintage N-3B parka that Nying brought to the office to play with. “We only changed the proportions of the width to make it a top.” Leather sleeves were added and pockets stuffed with kids’ art pencils to elicit another smile.
“I love the idea that in this collection, we actually wash and dye a lot of this proper bronzer, like shrinkage. The mistake is there,” says Nying. There are also many wonderful details: the twine used for the elbow closures is repurposed as the vest’s original tie; chain-knit updates a classic cable; The Cure speaks out through a Robert Smith T-shirt; corduroy is placed horizontally; some trousers And the jacket has zippers instead of buttons.
Nying pointed out that a slightly longer cardigan would fit just as well as his own cardigan he would wear to his daughter. Note also how the shoulders work with the shrunken blazer. Pants are sharp or full; Nying’s vision is wide open and allows for variety. At the same time, he also has certain touchstones. Military equipment is one of them. In addition to the American N-3B jacket, Nying also reworked a classic Swedish military top (look eight). There were bomber jackets and waxed field jackets, as well as duffles and teddy bear coats that, despite their tweaked shapes, were still classics. In OL, it’s not just what you wear, but how you wear it, which is personal style.
“It’s a very personal style for me,” Nying said over the phone. Swipe across the collection and you’ll find double skirts, trousers over pants, sweater over jackets, knit over leather, knit over knit, legging over trousers and plaid overs. “I’m not usually a big fan of layering, but with this collection, because you have large scale and small scale, it’s easy to layer.… It’s like a mixtape where you take what you have Puts it on you in a certain way. It’s a bad shape, but I like it when you do it because it’s comfy and [it keeps] you warm.”
Nying is talking about not just looks and a function, but a natural, off-hand gesture, one that cares more about where they’re going than how they’ll look when they get there; essentially an anti-fashion stance. Of course, the collection and its looks are conscious, but OL’s magic is in creating clothes that are at once familiar and “out of place” in a way that draws you in—and keeps you coming back.
