(Oct. 29, 2022 ● Oslin Pierrette)
I absolutely love Bianca Saunders’ work. She is such a beautiful designer. What she has done for menswear is amazing. I feel she’s implementing her perspective on beauty into menswear. It seems like she creates for a very confident, expressive, beautiful man, while also holding the element of masculinity. That’s a lot of what I get from her garments, still maintaining the core of masculinity while loosening the boundaries, to allow more beauty. I feel when men wear her clothes, they probably feel a strong sense of confidence, because of how much beauty the garments evoke.
I remember having a discussion with Patra Kiera about men excelling at designing for women, and women excel at designing for men.
I’m generalizing, but women would probably be great at designing for men because of their freedom to see the beauty of the male body. They can have a more intimate and vulnerable relationship to it. Also they can bring a sense of infatuation into their work. Where a man sometimes may neglect the aspect of beauty in their own body, a woman can implement that aspect to create the beautiful man. Do what she feels would suit the beauty of the man. I understand these are gender normative points, especially in fashion, but yeah.
You see that a lot in Bianca Saunders garments. She uses subtle manipulation to bring out the masculine beauty. One thing I notice a lot from her, is her emphasis on the manipulation of the shoulders. When you think about it, the male shoulder is a strong aspect that dictates the masculinity for man, and I see Bianca implementing cool shapes around the shoulder to create a broader shoulder look, or sometimes smoother shoulder look. That’s at least what I get from that.
Bianca Saunders: Spring/Summer 2023
This was an amazing collection. Most of Bianca’s magic comes from the silhouettes and fit of the designs. And she has a satisfyingly simple and subtle approach to her creations. There was this amazing boxy look that she put on denim, that complemented the shoulders so nicely, it really accentuated the masculine look. Very clean denim look. Also a great wash and assortment of colors.
But also she has a bold & bravado feel sometimes too. There were these amazing asymmetrical pieces. I loved them, because you felt that strong element of playfulness. She played well with the structure of the shoulders, with that nice hexagonal look on one shoulder, and drop on another, giving it this constant slant look, which was also emphasized with the downward slant undershirt… Or actually looking at it now, the undershirt is giving it the illusion that one shoulder is lower that the other.
This look right here is immaculate. Again with emphasis on the male structure. This set was to create the look of a strong man. With those high slanted shoulders, into the straight boxy shape. I also like that cross collar. It’s amazing knitwear. Amazing print. This is what I mean, she creates garments to make the man feel good and confident. I need this in my closet, because I know I would feel beautiful and great in it.
Also she has this scrunge look in some of her garments that I really liked. It gave the garments more satisfying motion.
Bianca is great at making a shirt. And a nice straight leg trouser. Her patternmaking skills are amazing. I also really love her suit making too.
I like the optical illusions she’s playing with in some of her prints. To manipulate the body, to accentuate a broader look.
Those outerwear looks, the oversized coats were absolutely great, and it was a unique oversizedness. Typically oversized wear can make the subject appear smaller. But with Bianca’s take on oversized wear, it’s seemingly playful which I like, she applies that broad shoulder boxy look to accentuate a more broader masculine body.
I just would really like this jacket.
This was an overall great show. In years to come, I see Bianca Saunders having a heavy impact in the fashion and soon everyday world. She’s going to have a huge influence on menswear in fashion and the general public. Her visions and structure of menswear garments need to be implemented on the mainstream masculine look.