Reviews > Le Dernier Homme - Geoffrey B. Small SS 2011
Le Dernier Homme
Geoffrey B. Small SS 2011
Many thanks to Geoffrey B. Small for his patience and generosity, and to Brian C. for his careful reading !
On each and every garment from Geoffrey B. Small’s “Logomania” collection, as they were displayed in his showroom at the last floor of the Espace Saint Martin, Paris, badges could be seen, of various dimensions, all representing the same nuclear symbol barred in red – an aggressive graphism, creating a violent contrast with the delicate fabrics they were pinned on. And this bold reminder of Geoffrey’s strong dedication to the antinuclear cause may indeed have looked, at first sight, quite outlandish amid all these illustrations of timeless refinement. But this was not the case, as one was progressively induced to admit ; because the barred symbol and the refined clothes were basically making a similar statement.
click to see hi-res picture
Geoffrey B. Small’s work is about resistance to the course of the world as we are conditionned to figure and ultimately accept it. The man constantly, patiently, recalls and explains the reasons and nature of his commitment. And, as it is rare enough to be mentioned, he speaks the same, and even more clearly, through his creations – not only through the way they’re produced, that is, as we know, artisanally and with a sincere concern for minimal environmental impact, using organic materials, traditional methods of dyeing and recycled leather - but also through the garments considered in themselves, as independent forms.
One of the first questions that come to mind when examining the work of a designer would certainly be: “What is the status of the human body in this ?” Geoffrey B. Small, from that point of view, shows as a problematic case: he does not seem to play with proportions ; he does not give the impression of being engaged in the process of deconstructing the masculine silhouette. However, the body is at the center of his work. Not the body that wears the clothes, though – and sometimes bears them ; but the body that lives in them. His work is not about spectacle, it is about comfort : obviously it adopts the wearer’s point of view.
When Geoffrey told us about this suit, he immediately stressed the fact that it was meant to allow its owner to live a complete day in it – including work and leisure time. He depicted it as a tool expressly designed to convert the deciding elites to another pace of living. Hence the large mother-of-pearl buttons and the slightly crumpled fabric, the calm and cosy feel that opposes the brutal ideal of efficient sharpness embodied by the traditional business suit.
But nothing will resume this general idea more accurately than this detail shot of the peaked lapel: here this commonplace attribute of the businessman’s uniform has been softened, made rounder, to the point of losing all of its usual aggressiveness.
Details of that sort are very likely to serve as the best introductions to understand Geoffrey B. Small’s point of view about designing clothes. Far from turning away from traditional structures in an attempt to get rid of a masculine silhouette inherited from conservative representations of virile elegance, and equally far from emphasizing the latter by assuming the power of fascination rooted in its muted violence, Geoffrey B. Small, in this collection, using both his experience in bespoke tailoring and his deep knowledge of the history of clothing, is essentially dealing with pre-existing patterns and savoir-faire from various origins. What makes his work his own, and not a succession of mere historical copy-paste, is the acute sense of detail embedded in each of these garments.
The suit pictured above was the first example of this approach. Let us consider some others. This coat, with its strongly flared front and its back slightly bending upwards, is reminiscent of an 18th century model. The use of a very sober, smooth black cotton fabric, allows its boldest characteristics – such as the cuffs and pocket flaps – to look perfectly in place on what we’re bound to regard as a very consistent piece of contemporary outerwear. Geoffrey comments on this topic: 'it is reminiscent of 18c. because the coat was made from a real authentic pattern dated 1772 that we found and then developed in our research. The fabric is made by a mill in Lecco, Italy called Limonta founded in 1911, who are quite famous for great cottons, and I choose it indeed to give a very light soft and contemporary sportswear outerwear application to the original authentic frock coat form.'
This jacket illustrates another aspect of Geoffrey B. Small’s work. Here we are not looking at the modern iteration of an historical pattern ; this garment, in terms of shape, still relates to some sort of classicism. Even some of the most recurrent characteristics in Geoffrey’s work - rather narrow sleeves and high armholes, high natural shoulders in the manner of the 19th century, associated with a slightly flared body – are not that obvious in this case. But what is enough to make the difference is the choice of this somptuous, crumpled light linen plum cloth, at the same time rich and frail.
Furthermore, about one thousand stitches have been sewn to allow the collar to keep its form: as Geoffrey told us, 'the thousand stitches are done by hand (about 4 hours of work). They are called "padstitches" and all must be done by hand (not machine) for the process to work correctly' – an eloquent demonstration of Geoffrey’s mastering of traditional tailoring techniques, which gives to his garments the most essential part – albeit not the most visible at first glance - of their value, each of them being, in the end, like impregnated by the time devoted to its making. As if the life of those garments had indeed begun long before they reached the racks. For they do not, by any means, look like new goods right out of the factory – nor do they look vintage, an already outdated gimmick in the fashion industry – but, most simply, they look like someone made them.
Hand-dyed fabrics, hand-made buttons, hand-stitched buttonholes... Everything in the process is about resisting. Against the dictates of rag trade’s and nuclear lobbie’s modern Molochs – certainly. The man says so and never ceased to. But beyond that, and maybe much deeper, what we are allowed to see here is a resistance of another kind – that is, shall we say, against the slow disappearing of time. Time dedicated to make things, time needed to use them and love them. In a world of minutes gained and bought, even at the cost of universal distress, clothes possessing a history of their own are, in the very least, a rare and precious memento.
Text by Fabien C.
Model: Fabien C. Pictures: Benjamin SIMMENAUER Discuss the review here
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