The venue for 032c’s second-ever runway show was designed to feel like the scene of the crime after a long and sweaty rave. “You know, like how at Berghain the shutters go up when the sun starts to rise,” said Maria Koch, holding an iPhone photo to illustrate the idea to this reviewer, who, unfortunately, has yet to experience Berlin nightlife.
Koch professed a commitment to realness this season: “I’m not very interested in living in a fantasy world,” she proclaimed. “I named this collection Everything Counts, because considering everything is what makes it real.”
In that spirit, Koch invited the American musician Casey Spooner to walk the show and feature on the soundtrack. She also asked the model Mona Tougaard to cast the show—this was her casting director debut. “The girls are all her friends, so it made more sense to just have her do it,” said Koch. The “girls” (and others) in question included Colin Jones, Alex Consani, Mika Schneider, and Alton Mason.
As for the clothes, this season Koch made some headway in terms of establishing the 032c look, and doubled down on her mission of establishing a uniform, this time with an almost officewear sense of dressiness. The key element, a Bavarian “janker” jacket which Koch said she wears often, was rendered in wool bouclé and decorated with embroidered graphics (“they make it quite punk, I thought”). She also drew a low waistline with a couple of slick tailored suiting jumpsuits and army jackets, and raised the neckline to just under the chin with monastic collars in work-ready shirting. The overall silhouette was sharper and heftier than last season’s drapey fabrications, aided primarily by a handful of cool sturdy waxed leather styles. It was a step in the right direction.
The show found its footing in the contrast between its rave-like atmosphere and Koch’s semi-corporate pieces. This is the kind of tension that makes contemporary style interesting at the moment, and it’s a pocket of youth culture Koch could benefit from looking further into. Where she focused on more straightforward casual clothes, which oftentimes read more like merch, the show lost its momentum.
Launching a collection, Koch has given herself the tall order of trying to encompass 032c into a look that is not derivative of the fashion that exists in the magazine’s pages, but that speaks to the same audience and to the people working behind the scenes, which is even harder, because many of them already have their own uniforms. The vibe is there, and by the look of it so is the community. With the right kind of massaging the clothes will find their way too.
