Fashion and photography collided at Carol Lim and Humberto Leon’s fashion-presentation-slash-exhibition of photographs by Spike Jonze titled, “Please Use Your Best Judgment.”
“We have a very close relationship with Spike. We’ve collaborated in the past and this was just our way of continuing that — his work is very inspiring to us and you can see it on the clothes,” said Lim.
The duo had full access to the director’s archive of almost two decades, an archive which mainly chronicles the rise and evolution of BMX racing, the skateboard subculture and early Sonic Youth tours. Fashionwise, prints were drawn from a wall collage on display in the gallery and used in zip-up jackets and men’s trenches. Photographs were also printed onto T-shirts for the guys, while a Kodak (sponsor of the printing) motif adorned girls’ Ts.
Although the translations were pretty literal, they worked because of the sporty and subversive attitude of the clothes. There was an obvious skate culture influence in the oversize fit and layering, as well as a sartorial edge to the women’s utility jackets worn with midiskirts, and a belted shearling style paired with the pants silhouette of the season: the cropped flare. And finally, boxy cargo pants for her and skinny printed pants for him solidified the collection’s androgynous appeal.