NIHL Fall 2020 Menswear

fashion week

NIHL Fall 2020 Menswear

February 5, 2020

Maria Ward

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Nihl Fall-Winter 2020

Neil Grotzinger’s MO is to design for those who share his own flair for sartorial theatrics—so why play it safe? For Fall 2020, the famously daring creative director behind NIHL took us to a provocative new place. With horror films and the link between legendary cinema villains and queer culture as his starting point, he cast each look as a character with sinister results.

While Grotzinger had previously organized his collections around themes of masculinity—this season, he looked to the fiercely feminine. He wove in floral prints reminiscent of kitchen tablecloths, taped red roses to models’ bodies, and threw in dangerously high heels. A muzzled maniac opened the show, stomping out in lace-up leather chaps with cutouts at the knee. Another masked man wore a shredded jockstrap on his face; after going up the runway in pelvic-dipping pinstripe pants, he flashed showgoers with a view of an “NIHL” tramp-stamp on the return

Beyond the concept, there was an admirable madness in the deconstructed (and then reconstructed) details. Of particular note were the looks where Grotzinger took kitchen aprons, chopped them up, and then pieced them back together à la Buffalo Bill style to create new barely-recognizable garments. His rejection of functional tropes of streetwear in favor of the fabulous and frightening spoke volumes. Those who aren’t afraid to love it, will really love it.

New York Fashion Week: Men’s was made possible with the generous support of Reebok.

Photos by imaxtree.com

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NIHL Fall 2020 Menswear

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