G-STAR: A Tribute to Denim at its Finest

Since 1989, G-Star Raw’s Pierre Morisset has pushed the boundaries of denim innovation, challenging designers to investigate new materials, styles and cuts. Fusing high-level craftsmanship with street level edge, G-Star was the first to introduce a new luxury denim sector. Through their synthesis of raw, untreated denim as a wearable and desirable material with 3-D perspectives, G-Star’s focus is still devotedly ‘Just the Product’. In his latest collection, Morisset designed an array of utilitarian pieces inspired by 1920s metropolitan explorers, built to withstand whatever unwelcoming elements the next winter may yield. For Fall 2011, G-Star reflects unexpected combinations and hidden functionalities in their modern 3-D approach that once again designates designer Pierre Morisset as a bona fide denim pioneer.

G-Star’s Fall 2011 collection highlights their characteristic tailoring, embodied in elegant fabrics inspired by 1920s city life fused with outdoor utilities in a dusky color palette of indigo, hunting green and shades of grey. Representation of the 'metropolitan explorer' theme is predominantly revealed in G-Star’s recurring use of a waxed finish, inspired by early North Sea fisherman who rubbed linseed oil onto their smocks for water- and windproofing. The centerpiece for the men’s collection is ‘The New Charlie Pant,’ featuring a 3D-shaped leg and extreme high back, originally designed to protect from weather conditions at sea. The voluminous pant style is to be accompanied with a yarn top for a warm, woolly feeling.

“The look of a thick knit style inside the pants with suspenders or an oversized belt is a very different look,” commented Collection Stylist Remco de Nijs, who combines his personal and professional passion for denim through G-Star’s aesthetic. “The modernity of the glue-lined, 3D-shaped leg with brushing techniques used on the kneepads translates the philosophy of G-Star’s unique combinations.” While jeans boast built-in kneepads, military inspired wool coats were finished with elbow pads. The unisex ‘Launceton Coat’ features a storm collar with the natural insulating properties of wool, creating a weatherproof piece in addition to promoting a refined, tailored silhouette. The theme of the metropolitan explorer who returns from the big city with a ‘London dandy’ is expressed in G-Star’s use of a modern, angular take on a camouflage print. Used in both the men and women’s collection, the pattern was styled with deconstructed scarves and leather gloves, providing a look that translates into outdoors utility mixed with 1920s grandeur.

Denim overalls with a wide leg and navy blue leather trim, a voluminous quilted floor-length skirt, and a pair of revealing booty shorts in the women’s collection saw G-Star’s merge authentic European fabrics with deft experimentation. Merrel Westhoff, who as G-Star’s additional Collection Stylist is responsible for styling shoots and runway shows, commented on the technique of embroidering the G-Star logo onto the designs as a way to make the clothes more balanced and delicate. “Tough and stiff fabrics merged with elegant embroidered denim make for its own life,” Westhoff observed. In addition to adorned denim, the rugged-seeming women’s collection is made feminine with shiny pumps and brightly colored booties.

Through top-notch tailoring and attention to detail, Pierre Morisset’s designs offer modern luxury with a respectable influence of heritage. Aside from being an innovator when it comes to denim, G-Star Raw repeatedly upturns the definition of cool. — Devon Golding

Today...

G-Star’s Autumn/Winter 2011 collection combines city chic with wilderness adventures! Experience the rugged outdoors without leaving New York City. G-Star presented their Autumn/Winter 2011 collection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. Combining modern 3D denim and craftsmanship with elegant fabrics from the 1920’s, the collection features a dark color palette including dark green, indigo, grey and blue, and a plethora of hidden functionalities. The Selwyn Vest is finished with a waxy coat, inspired by early North Sea fishermen, who would rub linseed oil into their smocks for waterproofing and windproofing.  The Lancelot Coat, for both men and women, features a storm collar and the natural insulation of wool, creating a weatherproof piece while retaining a tailored silhouette. The show took place at Lincoln Center with many celebrities in the audience, including Rosario Dawson, Chris Hemsworth, Mena Suvari and Jared Leto. G-Star.com — Michele Tymann