During Australian Fashion Week we introduced the debut menswear collection of womenswear designer Christopher Esber, which was, to say the least, a highlight of the week. To celebrate the capsule, we exclusively photographed our favourite men's looks.
The designer made his name with a
conceptual approach to ready-to-wear clothing, and where in other cases such a
description conjures a comic or unwearable aesthetic, Mr Esber’s is quite the
opposite. A fusion of textures, often employing leather, mesh and silk, Mr
Esber’s work is razor-sharp in its clean cuts: pencil skirts, crisp, collared
shirting, knife-pleated blazers. And while the masculinity inherent in such
garments may appear an easy transition into menswear, many
underestimate the challenges inherent in men’s tailoring: they’re not only
technical, but there are far greater boundaries and established rules than in
womenswear.
Yet despite his background, his offering was a seamless
extension of the women’s looks he presented: both components felt accomplished
in their own right, but there was a coherency between the two that many
designers fail to achieve, particularly when shown alongside one another. Mr Esber sought to
experiment with sportswear shapes in his shirt-making, cutting garments from crisp
cotton in t-shirt-like patterns. “I want to get shirting down pat before I
really explore blazers and suiting,” he explains of the pieces, which are created
in Australia from cotton, leather and linen.
All clothing by Christopher Esber; Prada shoes & socks;