“I feel like that kind of sense romance about the future only bubbles every now and then. The rave subculture in it’s early form. I’m a bit too young to have been there, but again there is only like a few places where those things converged. Like a kind of sub-cultural space, and a kind of futurism.”
Patrik Ervell’s show notes promised a collection inspired by “the new age” and sci-fi infused aesthetic of the early U.K. rave scene. The 1980s genre Patrik Ervell so accurately referenced was a unique youth subculture that was highly optimistic. Ervell envisions how they might have grown up into adulthood. His starting point was the romantic futurism adopted by ravers to telegraph their ideas about the future. The nostalgia about this period is a useful device to give perspective to the present. What followed was an astute remix of that heady period as seen through the lens of a young designer, whose own aesthetic mirrors the minimal, utilitarian, elegant designs. Ervell is noted for using innovative and unusual fabrics including gold foil, vintage parachutes, fabrics dyed with oxidized iron and copper, handmade rubber raincoats, horsehair, and most recently splash-dyed silks.
The designers spot on take of early U.K. rave scene included a range of oversize windbreakers in futuristic looking color combinations, topstitched work pants in twill and polyurethane fabrics, three-panel down coats, and plastic ponchos perfectly suited for raving in the rain. Half-zip fleece pullovers in panels of mohair, and an abundance of mock turtlenecks, and long-sleeved tees with abstract graphics inspired by crop circles were all authentically styled with chunky “New Rock” shoes. Still relevant today, are the three-button, high-lapel jackets reminiscent of Prada’s menswear 1.0, and a bearishly huggable long coat in shaggy wool and mohair.
