Multi-hyphenate and highly sought-after DJ and designer, Marcelo Burlon is a clever collaborator partnering with Stephen Spielberg to license “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” for his Spring 2019 collection.Thanks to Spielberg, Burlon was granted image rights from the film, and printed the original movie poster onto T-shirts, dresses and technical jackets. In the mix was athletic-inspired gear, like Lycra and mesh crop tops; a Morse Code T-shirt; black-and-pink striped shirts, and a black silk blazer.
There was a lot of neon of course, a collaboration with Eastpak, and Linda Farrow Matrix-esque sunglasses, but the main inspiration was Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of The Third Kind. “There was this concept of the UFOs, kidnapping people and wiping their memories,” says Marcelo Burlon. Think embroidered T-shirts and sweatshirts sporting graphics based on the movie’s posters and floppy disks; denim with “pharmaceutical graphics,” and sporty basics in neon colors, acid washes and technical fabrications.The mashup looked futuristic, but with a retro palette in neon colors like Day-Glo pinks and greens.
Technical jackets with printed graphics strode with bike shorts, and holographic gloves glistened alongside translucent anoraks. “Since Day One, we’ve always mixed fashion and sports,” says Burlon. It wasn’t as aggressive a collection as we’ve come to expect from Burlon, but it wasn’t any less impactful because of it. Model casting for the show was equally as buzz worthy as the clothes themselves; from seasoned high-fashion faces, to less experienced models, every race and genetic background included, even age was unrestricted. From elementary school girl twins to hip senior citizens. The impression was that of Marcelo Burlon’s curated galactic ark.