Nehera’s fall collection, which bookended the previous one, represented a progression of ominous thunderclouds straight into the eye of the storm. Ladislav Zdút identified the two sources fueling this storm as the AI revolution and the current state of global politics. Bratislava, where Nehera is located, is about 900 kilometers from Kiev. Moreover, the company’s head noted on a call, “there will be elections in more than 80 countries this year, and very often we expect the populists to win.” He sees turbulence ahead.
After taking all this into account, the team, aware of AI errors and glitches, continued to shake things up in a humorous, subtle, and engaging way. An example of their “upside down principle,” Zdút explains, was a jacket with one lapel where it belongs and another protruding from the hem of a jacket. Another technique seen throughout the lineup was ‘shifted or blown seams’, which was seen on the puffer (look 7). This jacket imagined the storm to be a tornado or hurricane and had swirling asymmetrical straps instead of neatly arranged straps, but you might not notice that at first glance. Ditto the double shirt collars (look 31) and button closures. Likewise, cables on sweaters behaved by protruding into the ribbed hem. A number of fabrics seemed to reference the weather directly: a woven fabric looked as if raindrops had been splashed on it; the suit had a sheen of lamé, and the fitted short coats, made of laminated wool, mimicked the reflective and slippery quality of water.
Without the backstory, Nehera’s fall collection read as much about menswear-style tailoring of the more traditional kind, with three-piece suits and ties. These anachronistic accessories are a fascinating object this season; perhaps it has something to do with projecting power and/or bravado in times of uncertainty. ‘Chaotic, but organised’, is how Zdút described the collection. The sartorial touches in it added to the structure of that equation. Towards the end of the lookbook you can see that there are some ‘mixed media’ pieces, such as a car coat with a woven front and puffer back, which give a different impression of coming than going, similar to the before and after of a storm , Actually.
