The Effortless Chic of Haute Sk8oure: Monse Resort 2022
New York Fashion Week is here. A day that many of us had no fucking clue as to how it would go. I mean, how do you celebrate New York’s most enticing fashion collections of the new season in a pandemic?
Ask Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim:
“Saturated colours, nylon cargos, and crochet skirts motherfucker”
Monse’s Resort 2022 collection gives an accurate visual of what modern “not-trying-but-totally-trying” fashion is. It’s fiercely functional while keeping attune to simplicity so much so that the final result is a feeling more than a reaction. The garments, the models, and the setting mend together to construct a sanded atmosphere of laid-back lucidity.
Garcia and Kim nail down what effortless cool can be from the guise of American chic-ism. Let it be known that “cool” is a spectrum of different silhouettes, colours, and textures. However, in this case, I’m focusing on today’s American go-getter.
Where are they going?
How many plus-ones are they allowed? Now add three to that.
When do they have to get there? Now add forty-five minutes to that.
The Monse maverick is a wearer of clothes that accentuate their ruggedness rather than the hole between their cheeks. They aren’t necessarily swimming in fuckloads of cash, but they also aren’t struggling to pay rent. They’re in that invisible tax bracket that the government neglects to care for.
Tony Hawk is the only skateboarder I know.
Keeping in theme with the rugged effortlessness, the show took place at Pier 62’s skatepark. From the experiential perspective, this was a clever take. It could’ve quickly gone tackzilla, but the stripped-down show proved as a platform for the pieces.
Also, my inner Avril Lavigne is screaming. Yes, I was seven when Sk8er Boi came out, but damn did it do wonders to my self-image. I thought I was reckless when in reality, I wasn’t even scratching any fucking surface. First-grade bietch.
Prints that Make You Wonder (and Consider Microdosing to Reduce Your Bitchiness)
Upon further analysis of the clothing, I found myself reconsidering my entire existence.
What the fuck is with all of the mushrooms?
Towards the end of the show, a variety of mushrooms began appearing. I was worried, but I was also intrigued. Were these two high when they designed this collection? Or were they playing Mario Kart? Intrigued I was.
Although I cannot say that these mushrooms would’ve been an initial thought, I still found myself slightly “getting it.” The naturism of the greens, the leaves, and the cloudy graphics speaks to the younger generation. It’s tasteful enough that it works while also playing to the comfortable, casual aesthetic.
Monse is truly that torn-down fence between distortion and structural expression. These pieces have movement and are asymmetrically welded onto the bodices of these models. And we as viewers are eating up every second of the fucking thing. I love it. Manipulate my mind.
Also, I want the sweater in Look 16. I’m going to find you, you unique emulsion of nature’s goodness. And once I do, I will wear you to the ground.
Fuck What Mom Thinks, You Can Wear Combat Boots to Your Sister’s Wedding
I will say that I never thought you could pull off combat boots with a long emerald green dress. It’s visually mind fucking me right now.
This goes back to the allure of the partnership that is Garcia and Kim. It’s not only a departure from their work at Oscar De La Renta; it’s at a whole different airport hoe.
Crochet the Day Away
The crochet tank in Look 5 is probably the only piece I’ve ever seen in my twenty-six years of existence that would make me rethink the knitwear in my wardrobe. The wavy blend of the colours gives it structure and accentuates the detail of the lines. Bitches, this is a statement piece. Everywhere you look, people are talking about statement pieces. I know what you’re thinking: what the fuck is that?
This is a statement piece. It speaks for your outfit and your taste so that the other elements can have a break. It’s that member of the group that does everything while the rest of you are blazing in your stepdad’s backyard. It’s doing the work. Its back is in sheer pain from simply carrying your look.
A Solid, Rockhard Escape from What’s Going On
This is resort wear but in the most youthful way. These are pieces that speak to the escapism we need and, most importantly, deserve. Cargo pants that are blown to the max as you eye down to the ankles, knitwear with shrooms plastered up and down, and bold colours that we grew up with but somehow ripped out of our wallet of inspiration as we got older. Dull colours are what maturity mandates. But thankfully, for you and I, we missed that chapter in the book of life.
File this collection under 2022 aesthetic for living a life of Y-O-U and less of T-H-E-M. No, not there. I didn’t say place it in the center of your desk. It belongs on the edge, daring enough that you don’t know whether everything’s going to topple over or remain steadfast in all its glory.