Mackintosh 0004
Mackintosh 0004 is the fourth ready-to-wear collection designed by Kiko Kostadinov for Spring 2019. Each of Kostadinov’s collections have placed focus on a single material; 0001 using rubber, the fabric signature of Mackintosh, 0002 celebrating glass, and 0003 singling out felt. 0004 is based on the material lead. The 1968 image of artist Richard Serra hurling molten lead over the wall and floor of the Castelli Warehouse in New York, for his ‘Splash’ series, formed the starting point to the 0004 collection.
Kostadinov continues to explore workwear silhouettes, bringing a futuristic feel to archetypal welding uniforms. The designer also looked to the 1997 science fiction thriller ‘Gattaca’, which follows a cleaner who steals somebody’s DNA, in order to gain access to a coveted space program. Traditional British fabrics, like waxed and laminated cotton are used for the first time, and worked into interstellar, industrial silhouettes: a jacket ruched at the waist with utilitarian pockets on the bicep, two-tone welding coats spliced at the chest and connected with industrial snaps, protective cinching tunics layered with wool sweaters with arm band details.
The colour palette of sea green, cornflower blue and brown nods to the naturalistic artworks of Giuseppe Penone, and the Arte Povera movement of the 1960s that informed Kostadinov’s debut Mackintosh collection. Cotton twill tradesman trousers are imagined in a graphic patchwork of green and brown. An oversized peak collar mackintosh is woven with glimmers of brown and lamé, a tactile reference to Penone’s gold leaf and timber sculptures.
Heavy-duty construction pouches and tool bags inspire satchels and oversized clutch bags, and are cut in a new weighty rubberised fabric. The fabrication is an update of Mackintosh’s signature textile, which was invented by chemist Charles Macintosh in 1823.
Mackintosh 0004 proposes a forward-thinking, utilitarian wardrobe. In its exploration of materials and archetypal silhouettes, the collection denotes a British heritage brand innovating into its future.
