When you ve got a name like "Devon Halfnight Leflufy," you d better rise to the occasion. And Mr. Leflufy is doing just that: The Canada-born, Belgium-based designer presented for the second time last night, showing a small but sharp collection of rave scene-inspired menswear. It was easy to miss the nuance of Leflufy s clothes, which was a large part of their charm—the collection s dissonant palette, punchy graphic motifs, and loud, vaguely Constructivist key print were the things that caught your attention at first. But what stayed with you was the quality of Leflufy s materials—textile development is a major focus for him, and with this collection he was seeking to elevate fabrics that are popularly considered pretty naff, like acetate.
Leflufy s version, whipped up into little traffic-cone-orange turtlenecks and tees, was lightweight yet lush. Similar thinking was at work with his adaptations of the classic Adidas tracksuit—a version in wide-wale corduroy gave the jacket-pant duo a totally new inflection. And Leflufy s keen attention to the craft element of his clothes was underlined by the fact that he d patchworked pattern into his coats rather than printing it on.
There s a customer for this kind of thing—Opening Ceremony figured out that much when the store picked up Leflufy s first capsule collection, straight out of his graduation from the MFA program at Antwerp s Royal Academy. Like fellow alumnus Raf Simons, Leflufy is all about specificity—he s not a button-pusher or a provocateur, and so his modus operandi is to enclose a multitude of innovations and punctilious details inside accessible silhouettes and familiar idioms. Here s betting he ll live up to his name.
