ELLESSE X LIAM HODGES' SNOWRANGER words Andre Ward - photography courtesy of Ellesse
Italian sportswear Ellesse teamed up with contemporary design icon Liam Hodges to create a strong and fresh capsule collection for AW19. Inspired by snow-sports - part of Ellesse's design archive; the capsule collection explores new sports features of designs while experimenting with the alpine color and geographical maps outlines. These outlines have been translated throughout and are effectively represented in the premium capsule. Technical skiwear aspects are also seen while elevating the streetwear elements into a whole new level.
Speaking about the fresh collaboration with Ellesse, British designer Hodges stated: "We spent the first part of our research going through the Ellesse archive, looking through the garments they made, what the brand is and their heritage, how it started with skiing and tennis. Then we focused on skiing and then took it from there." Hodges continues by saying that Ellesse's technical campaigns and the garments made a big contribution to the creative and design process and from analyzing these elements closely, they were then able to and started to "put our spin on it." The capsule is a combination of Ellesse archive skiwear designs and Liam Hodges distinguished futuristic style - which has become iconic and easily recognizable within the fashion industry.
The collection is formed of ski jackets, trousers, t-shirts, and tracksuits in grey, white, black and electric blue colorway. The color palette draws strong inspiration from the palette found in the mountains. Autumn/Winter also sees prints which have been developed from microscopic details of snow. The two brands' logos are juxtaposed and combined in a perfect collision and are seen on pieces in the form of crackle effect and embroidery.
To top it all up the collection also includes footwear which takes great influence from classic snow and moon boot styles. These have been recreated and redesigned to give a more streetwear look to them while making them more functional to everyday life. The design has also been modernized by the addition of design details such as Velcro and chunky rubber soles.
When speaking about the brand partnership, Hodges said: "I think its really exciting that you get a brand like Ellesse who wants to work with a brand like me, whereby they aren't just re-hashing their past, they are actually looking further forward to developing something and looking further to the future." He continues by commenting on the best part in the process by saying; "My favourite part of the collection was the process of creating the repeat print. We were trying to recreate the idea of ice crystals and snow and we did it through working with a friend of mine whos a scientist to make salt crystals and develop them through microscopic lenses into a repeat print, which was something quite exciting for us to do."
The capsule comprising of a 13-piece apparel capsule with 2 footwear silhouettes, the Ellesse X Liam Hodges collaboration will debut at Liam Hodges AW19 show at London Fashion Week Men's on Saturday 5th January 2019. The full collection is now available at www.ellesse.co.uk.
