PHELAN explores the dimensionality found in the impressions of waves, in reminiscence of rain and wind, and shuttering light, all of which inspired the textile and knitwear developments for the Fall 2016 Collection. The result of this research was a collision of fabrication techniques that evolve within the same garment, starting as a structured form that bends, crumbles, or shatters, rendering a feeling of something wind-beaten and caught in a rainstorm.
Phelan translates this inspiration to reinterpret menswear motifs like houndstooth, into new, three-dimensional properties that alter our perception of these classic patterns. The collection explores the idea of mixing grid-like, structured fabrications with fluid, hand-drawn line work, translated into a knitted textile. The concept of the technical colliding with the natural world influenced material choices and the execution: trapping knitted fur into a nylon cage; lacquering angora in a synthetic foil; or knitting a hand-drawn line as a technical scuba jacquard with a raised velvet piled pleat.
The silhouettes and shapes of the collection were chosen to enhance a surreal, hallucinatory experience of morphing forms. Combining iconic silhouettes with highly innovative textiles simultaneously evokes something nostalgic and progressive. The color palette for fall encompasses varying shades of green played against midnight black, reflective white, mélange grey, chrome and rust.
Knitwear highlights traverse bold graphics, as reflected in a hand-drawn pleated jacquard dress done in a technical black and white yarn with spiraling artwork, wrapping the body in diverging directions. The reflective spiral bomber jacket and spiral tank feature the PHELAN inlay stitch with reflective wrapped wool yarn that produces a padded relief effect. The garment’s surface reflects flashes of light. Another highlight is the hologram flower jacquard jacket and mini skirt developed and produced by hand in Switzerland. Each raised holographic petal mimics the shade of the flower beneath producing an optical dichroic textile. The fabrications are cut into a mod jacket, shift dress and mini skirt for a 60s psychedelic silhouette made modern.
