One to watch: menswear designer Eliran Nargassi

2^nd February 2014

Niten Thakor

Niten Thakor

2 February 2014

Eliran Nargassi has recently debuted his A/W 2014 collection. The designer has a personal and attentive approach to designing. His A/W 2014 collection was inspired by Robert Mapplethorpe’s series of black and white photographs which reference gender, race and sexual orientation.

We caught up with Eliran Nargassi and found out how these images inspired the collection. This is what he had to say: “I grew up in a Jewish religious home, causing my curiosity and attraction to dealing with questions about gender, sexuality and nudity. During my academic studies in Shenkar, I wrote a paper with the topic of male nudity and homosexuality in the 20^th Century’s art. The research led me to Robert Mapplethorpe’s series of black and white photographs. Since then, I’m entranced  by his aesthetic; the contrast between black and white, stiff and soft, masculine and feminine.

All these contrasts are being reflected in the collection: by the colours, the oversized cutting with the dropped shoulder and the use of soft and rigid materials like velvet, jersey and neoprene.”

The collection is very clean and minimalistic with a powerful use of contrasts. The designer had wearability in mind rather than commercial value when designing. We asked the designer what drew him to use monochromatic tones and whether this theme is important to the brand’s aesthetic. Eliran explained: “The use of monochromatic tones in the collection came from an inspiration. I really like to work when I have an inspiration board to refer to as it guides me with the use of colours and tones. Unexpectedly, I felt that I had to add a striking pop of pink, even though it doesn’t appear in the series of photographs. Inductively, I found a connection to the feeling, to the 80s and to the gender topic.”

The collection consists of 18 pieces that include semi-tailored tops, button down shirts and tailored trousers. We are excited about his S/S 2015 collection to debut this summer; we asked if he could give us any hints of what we could expect, and this is what Eliran had to say: “ I’m working on two collections: S/S 2015, which is going to be full of original digital prints I create, and more close-to-body cuts with geometric lines. Second is the 14/15 winter collection.”

Niten Thakor

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