Have you ever found yourself in a deep, dark Instagram rabbithole, only to be jolted back to life, brought up gasping for air upon having just come across something spectacular? Of course you have, it s 2015! This is what happened to me a couple weeks ago when I discovered the wonderful world of British menswear designer Martine Rose. The image in question was from her spring 2015 presentation: she had boldly showed only one look, a lone model on a pedestal, clad in enormous gray sweatpants and a tight athletic burgundy zip-up layered under a navy hoodie and topped with a menacing black leather coat. The look was so intensely haphazard and awkwardly proportioned that it struck a chord in me that hadn’t been resonated since I fell hard a few seasons back for my 1990s-minded Acne Drift jeans. Martine’s similarly nostalgic pants combined those same raver vibes with a heavy dose of hip-hop, quite literally referencing my deep love for both Gwen Stefani and Eminem. I was determined to get my hands on these magically massive sweats.
I started frantically emailing around for a way to get in touch with Martine Rose—my office-wide subject line reading "Holy F---ing Sh-t." I proceeded to email Martine: I stumbled across you on Instagram and immediately fell head over heels in love with your clothes. I really can’t stop thinking about them! I would love…” and so the story goes.
I finally have these amazing pants in my possession and they are even more fantastic in person. They have a double waistband: The interior elastic is purely functional while the exterior exaggerates the scrunch of the drawstring, giving them an extra-oversized garbage-baggy effect. Simply genius. I wear them high on the natural waist (I am definitely more dorky than the heralded musicians of my youth) with a simple white tank, sneakers and slightly blingy gold jewelry. My fiancé is now prone to making the occasional teasing Slim Shady reference—I couldn’t be more thrilled.
