Jon Strassburg, who played first violin in his high school orchestra, enlisted a harpist for the spring Meta Campania Collective presentation, and cast musicians from the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France for his look book shoot.
These elements line up with the label’s obsession with the individual style of artists, who might sweat a little but less if they perform in Strassburg’s fine threads.
“For spring-summer, it’s getting more and more important to be super lightweight because, as you know, weather is getting warmer,” said Strassburg, the designer and cofounder of the Paris-based label, leading a visitor toward washed linen chore jackets and streamlined carpenter pants, minimalist trenchcoats in super fine cotton, and unlined jackets and running shorts in tropical wool.
Several of Strassburg’s artistic friends roamed the brand’s showroom and studio space on Rue Guénégaud, and you saw them before you noticed their clothes, whose details reveal themselves slowly: the kangaroo pocket on his dark navy sailor sweater; the caped back on her cotton wrap dress, which can double as a coat.
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“There’s always an element of utilitarian in the collection, which always defines the wardrobe of an artist,” mused Strassburg, who was modeling the brand’s sock-like shoes.
These are quiet clothes whose quality shines on the rack, but must be worn to appreciate the way a lightweight denim jacket with a “tea-wash” dye flares out just a little, or the way a silk rib-knit hugs the body only where buttoned, so it shows off more of the silk dress underneath.
Incidentally, Strassburg’s teen orchestra was good enough to tour Scotland and Greece, and play in Texas and Vancouver, and he wore a white shirt and black pants on stage.