[ENGINEERED GARMENTS FALL WINTER 2022]
With the Engineered Garments Fall Winter 2022 collection now available in-store, we decided to find out what this collection is all about.
Engineered Garments’ Fall Winter 2022 is inspired by “The Lighthouse”, Robert Eggers’ genre-defying 2019 motion picture. Set in the 1890s, the film takes place on a remote island off the coast of New England, terrifyingly close to the shadowy, cruel ocean. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson star as wickies who gradually lose their grip on reality while attending to the titular lighthouse.
From its claustrophobic aspect ratio to its esoteric American coastal dialect, the film’s density demands patience from the viewer. Recommended to the movie by a friend, Engineered Garments designer Daiki Suzuki only watched half during his first viewing attempt. Undaunted, and struck by its gloomy beauty and murky depth, he finished it - then rewatched it again and again. The more he watched, the more interesting it became. Entranced by its visuals and range of cinematic techniques, he began to sense the outlines of a collection.
Immediate influence on this year’s Fall Winter season can be traced to the movie's costumes and color palette. The authentic nautical uniforms worn by the main characters in a dreary fashion provided a natural companionship to Engineered Garments’ military and workwear sensibility. This aesthetic paved the way for all-new pieces like the Deck Pant, Reefer Jacket, and Keeper Hat. Shot on Kodak’s Eastman Double-X black-and-white 5222 film, the bleak, monochrome tone of the film is exuded in fabrics like the Micro Polka Dot Uniform Cloth, Cotton Moleskin Reefer Jacket and Navy/Grey LC Wide Stripe.
However, the connections between this season and the movie have more in common than visuals. Both works have a richness that invites interpretation and extended consideration. Daiki often takes a cinematic approach to constructing apparel, leveraging homage, motif, and mood to his advantage. Perhaps the most important commonality between “The Lighthouse” and Engineered Garments is a refusal to be categorized. Just as the film incorporates elements of serious drama, B-movie splatter, and comedy in a single scene, Engineered Garments deftly combines a range of periods, clothing types and attitudes in one cohesive collection.
With the Engineered Garments Fall Winter 2022 collection, Daiki has succeeded in building a collection that is integrated within one theme, while existing beyond genre. Fabrics like the Silver Poly Refrective Taffeta and Navy Melange Cotton Flannel not only exist together, but elevate one another. Dark and beautiful, the items from this collection reveal their secrets the more they are worn.
