FOCUS ON THE LVMH FINALISTS : MATTHEW ADAMS DOLAN

By Crash redaction

The 9 LVMH finalists have just been announced, an occasion to look back on our features of some of the chosen designers.

Since earning his degree from the prestigious Parsons School in New York, Matthew Adams Dolan has been riding a hot streak. He launched his own eponymous brand whose first collection, presented in February 2017, has won massive acclaim and the support of fashion and music icons like Lady Gaga and Rihanna, who has become the brand’s de facto ambassador. In September, he presented his second collection, for spring/summer 2018, in New York. Unisex, urban, and unstructured: these three adjectives represent the keys to understanding Dolan’s work, as he rethinks the classic American style by twisting the codes and clichés of “Made in the USA” fashion. Denim, a fabric immersed in the vast landscapes of the American West, holds a special place in the designer’s work, as it appears in jackets and oversized pants that seem to swallow up the body. Part of the same idea of modifying the classic wardrobe, striped blazers mutate into mini-dresses while wool cardigans morph into skirt and top outfits. For this collection, Dolan took inspiration from the Menendez brothers, whose preppy wardrobe clashed with the chilling violence driving their murders, as well as the character of Patrick Bateman, narrator of the cult novel “American Psycho” by Bret Easton Ellis. Horror and human violence, both factual and fictional, form the aesthetic core of Matthew Adams Dolan, who also admits to having a soft spot for 90s Ralph Lauren and Bruce Weber’s idyllic photos. Contrasting two opposing visions of America and its credo, dress shirts sit half-tucked into exposed boxer shorts, knee socks cover otherwise bare legs, jackets and suits appear oddly shrunken, and ties sling over the back… In the designer’s opinion, we are all a little “MAD” – the designer’s initials, and the logo he emblazoned on jackets, shirts, and boxers as a discreet sign of concealed madness.

Written by Alice Butterlin.