The Smalto couture man
For this Spring Summer 2012 show, the Smalto house decided to mix ready-to-wear and couture. The show was preceded by a dozen exceptional, one-of-a-kind pieces made in-house at Smalto, the only men’s label registered with the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture. A collection full of finesse and restraint. Of particular note was the finale, in which Alexandre Cunha was accompanied by a child model, both wearing three-piece shawl-collar tuxedos. This same finale earned us the honor of having our video broadcast on ABC’s Good Morning America, and over 40,000 views.
A collection giving pride of place to leathers.
With the complicity of the ateliers, Youn Chong Back infuses exotic leathers with his acute sense of modernity. Such meticulous craftsmanship that there’s not a single excess thickness or seam to be seen on this kimono tuxedo in plunged lambskin, whose collar is inlaid with a strip of ostrich leg; on this summer trench coat in velvet goatskin with crocodile inserts; and on this perfecto, whose body is cut from ostrich, the armholes from narrow ostrich legs, and the lower back from quilted plunged lambskin. Even the classic shawl-collar tuxedo reinterprets this treatment of skins, drawing inspiration from their relief with embroidery on the edge of the lapels, while a hand thread encrusted with black microbeads draws crocodile scales on a military jacket. Underneath, a shirt with a broken collar and bib, whose remarkable bias pleating required long lengths of cotton. The luxury of not counting, not showing. Just to suggest.
The 70’s influences are expressed in the cuts and lengths in a minimal, sharp mood.
First, there are the materials: silks, cottons, linens and blends of skins – exotic leathers and smooth leathers – that give a grain, a texture to the look.
The structure: borrowed from made-to-measure, it’s based on the traditional Smalto shoulder, with its slightly rising line and accentuated roulotte. And the geometry of the yokes and topstitching that underline the pattern: a seam follows the profile of the lapels on a jacket, while on the tuxedo version, a piece of satin acts as a trompe-l’oeil; hand-effect stitches punctuate the martingale on an officer’s jacket; double topstitching runs along the lapel of a collar, the cuffs and pockets of a short pea coat… Always the same tailoring signature that gives the silhouette its poise, construction, proportions and elegance.
There are vintage allusions in shirts with paisley prints, kinetic patterns and almost psychedelic flowers. But the cut – small collar, small cuff – makes perfect sense in a contemporary men’s wardrobe. Even the natural palette, infused with blue tending towards green, plum, wine lees, cigar or chocolate brown, reflects a muted luxury. In tune with the times and Smalto’s fundamentals.
Backstages
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