The Steadfast Man

The Steadfast Man fue mi proyecto final en la carrera de diseño de modas, aquí comencé a especializarme en la tintorería natural; confeccionando y tiñendo a mano todas las prendas de la colección.

ABOUT THE STEADFAST MAN

It might be its functionality and simplicity or the fact that clothing for men has a more internal role, but menswear has indeed caught my eye during the last year. The design of it requires a balanced creativity coming to an understanding that men want to fit into the crowd, but also lead and feel the most confident. Even when this might sound like a limitation and even boring compared to womenswear’s innovation and recklessness, the truth is that this market doesn’t buy in advance of a season and it allows the experimentation and dedication to details in a deeper way, which actually not only took me to a development of a collection for men but also about man himself.

The global financial situation has lead to a new group sector of younger and less affluent men that has a stronger sense of confidence, even when they maintain a middle-class lifestyle. In a press report released by American Express, Desiree Fish explains: “Over a third (38%) of Americans equate being good and ethical to quality of life, far higher than being rich (5%)”.This costumers result way more sophisticated because they are able to afford more education and more powerful technologies; they have a desire to balance fun and pleasure with sustainable responsibility.

This group of newcomers reinforce the importance of creating a collection that emphasises the basics with the resurgence of crafts and quality goods, referring to this, Jonathan Openshaw Monocle’s associate business editor said: “Provenance now means more than price point for many costumers, and in any case, out sourcing is no longer a sure way to secure cheap labour”.The development of this project is not trying to follow a green trend, its a conviction of finding and sharing the good things in life; minding the materials, the procedure and thoughtful details designed for men interested in quality before quantity.

After analysing this sector that looks for better products, eco-sustainability and responsible choices I decided to rely on an established argument that supported my version of this congruent figure who I call “The Steadfast man”; I used Charles Wagner’s vision of manliness in the book “Courage” written in 1893; in this text he speaks about morality, respect, unity, simplicity and consciousness in order to accomplish harmony and progress. Charles Wagner explains: “Steadfastness is the indispensable quality of every man who one day does not wish to be obliged to say, “I have wasted my life”(…) We must encourage stability, habituate ourselves to remain constant (…) There is nothing like a steadfast man, one in whom you can have confidence, one who is found at his post, who arrives punctually, and who can be trusted when you rely on him. He is worth his weight in gold”

This almost unreachable figure of a gentleman, with very abstract values required finding an example of a Steadfast man; someone determined to accomplish a pure appreciation of the world, not only to make it better, but also to make it functional and aesthetic. This is why all the tangible resources I use for inspiration while designing the garments, drawing the prints, adding measurements in patternmaking, choosing the fabrics, trimming and colours, are based on the principles, proportions, values and procedures presented in “The Modulor: A Harmonious Measure to the Human Scale Universally Applicable to Architecture and Mechanics” written by Le Corbusier, in this book he developed a scale creating a visual bridge between the Imperial system and the Metric system that mixes the perfection of human proportions and the exactitude of mathematics, the measurements are based on the body of a man and then segmented according to Phi in two different series creating a spiral; the result is a system to be used on lengths, surfaces and volumes that maintains the human scale everywhere. This method and on it’s promise to be always harmonious, diverse and elegant instead of being banal, monotonous and graceless live up the ideals I want to represent with this collection.