CMMN SWDN’s ‘Whitewash’ collection utilise a white colour palette and minimalistic tendencies to signify a fresh start.
It was to a backdrop of static television sets, distorted music and flickering neon lights that the SS15 CMMN SWDN collection introduced itself at London Collections: Men today. Entitled ‘Whitewash’, it represented a blank canvas for the menswear brand and the purity of the white based colour palette lived not only up to the name of the series of garments, but the manner in which they were delivered.
Taking minimalism from the ’90s as the starting point for their inspiration, details were stripped and embellishments were subtracted in the creation of pieces focused on the dynamism of form and importance of texture. Using a predominantly white colour palette, shirts, trousers and sweatshirts of sharp cuts all appeared, carrying with them an air of cleanliness and birth of a new direction for the label.
As the collection progressed, strokes of silver and grey appeared, adding both subtle detailing to the looks as a whole and a gentle elaboration on the white backbone of the collection. On the jumpers too, understated yet intricate white on white needlework continued to explore their focus on texture further, whilst signifying a departure from the graphic prints the pair are otherwise known for.
Comprised of Saif Bakir and Emma Hedlund, CMMN SWDN was founded in 2012 and was dedicated to proposing a new image for masculinity. Both hailing from Sweden but studying their art in London at the London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins respectively, their scandinavian design combines with their London education in the production of impressive results.
It may well have been a fresh start visually that CMMN SWDN achieved, but there was something about the sharp tailoring and atmospheric presentation of their SS15 collection that showed that, when it came to pure craftsmanship and design skill, spoke more of a progressive evolution than a rebirth.
Words: Josh Walker
Photography: Amy Beasley