ANEST COLLECTIVE’s contributing creative director expounds the beauty of cross-cultural exchange
Pierre Soulages had been painting for hours and regarded his work with devastation; it was bad. But he persevered, and each new stroke brought with it the realisation he was no longer working with his favoured hue – black – but its very material; that with enough patience, its surfaces created a secret light. This seminal piece was the first in his lifelong series Outrenoir, the rough translation of which is ‘beyond black’. Daubed in thick calligraphy-like layers using improvised spades, spoons, brushes and rakes, his now infamous canvases carry a black pigment that is at once total and “reflects, transforms and transmutes the light it collects”. It is these abstract paintings from the French centenarian, along with the encouraged ‘errors’ of double exposure photography, that act as the conceptual springboards of ANEST COLLECTIVE’s illusory SS22.
“The idea for the collection was to look further than what is directly in front of you, beyond what the eye can see,” notes Brendan Mullane, contributing creative director. “There is so much texture and feeling in Soulages’ work, a depth that some might miss because of the striking black on black.” Trompe l’oeil and bold noble fabric pairing abound across men’s and women’s ready-to-wear: What appear to be traditional revers on a coat have in fact been severed and then re-appliqued in satin, mohair silk sits alongside nylon, while a poplin shirt is overlaid with the appliqued trace of a zippered jacket in superfine twill. These wily interpreted tailoring codes play out across (among others) ivory, blonde camel, taupe and bone, steel, powder blue, chocolate and, of course, black.
Established in Shanghai, 2017, the label also counts Milan as home. Mullane – whose storied résumé includes Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Givenchy and Brioni – joined just as the pandemic began imposing lockdowns, in 2020. Balancing out the Zoom calls across vastly different time zones was the opportunity to physically connect with the UK textile mills and family-owned Italian manufacturers it selectively works with, some of whom the creative director has known for over two decades. “One of the best parts of my job is meeting with the artisans who translate and breathe life into our work,” he says. “As a designer, that is incredibly enriching.”
Sartorial craftspeople are not the only components of its refined point of view, its wider world also complemented by collaborations with artists and idiosyncratic shoots from acclaimed photographers such as Jack Davison, as well as younger talent like Osma Harvilahti. It should come as no surprise that its Chinese boutique, located in Xintiandi, is informed by ‘suprematist’ painter Kazimir Malevich’s concept of ‘a space without limits’. For Mullane, the cooperative potential of ANEST COLLECTIVE, in which different domains are brought in, is only getting started: “When we invite a creative to work with us, it is to celebrate their vision, not enforce ours. It is a wonderful thing to watch an artist come into their element on set, bringing their expression of the brand. In a way, we are acting as a gallery for these different perspectives. The future will involve bringing more people into the fold – we want to show the beauty that cross-cultural exchange creates.”
That future, insofar as the autumn/winter collection later this year, is a reflection of its work to date, and our collective emotional state after a generation-defining health emergency. Titled Fragmentation, the garments are currently embargoed, but Mullane confirms they are aptly built around the notion of pulling things apart and putting them back together. “I both loved and hated the lockdowns. It was tough, but they also gave us the ability to reset… to grow in difficult circumstances. The upcoming pieces are some of our strongest statements yet, told in a quietly confident voice. Boundaries are there to be challenged. After everything we have been through, it is a chance to ask: How are we rebuilding ourselves?”
Photography Emanuele Camerini
This article is taken from Port issue 30. To continue reading, buy the issue or subscribe here
