Menswear can be courageous. A lot of
details that didn’t previously exist are making their way into “contemporary
menswear”. There are a lot of layers, fluidity, structural minimalism, and bright
natural colours. My assessment would be that these clothes are ‘constructed’
piece by piece. Vidur is a contemporary
menswear brand headed by RCA graduate Raj Mistry. Founded in 2012, the brand’s
other co-founder has a background in music, and I think that aesthetically,
Vidur has succeeded in carving-out a distinctive awareness around who they are
and what they stand for. I would like to discuss two of Vidur’s distinguishing
characteristics which I feel bring light to their design philosophy; the
integration of athleticism and functionality, and the use of natural materials.
We are currently witnessing a period of experimentation
in the menswear design scene. My reading of the situation is that dressing down
is central to this experimentation. Athletic silhouettes are not new to
contemporary menswear. In my very short life, I recall an era in the late 90s
and early 2000s when dressing down blue denims with Nike Airmaxes was very
popular. This grew to be normalized through brands such as Common Projects who
designed and made sneakers that didn’t feel ‘sporty’ at all. In 2015, I still
like to wear my Adidas sneakers to the office either with raw denims or chinos.
This is because of how functional it feels. Vidur have made this element of
“functionality” to be at the core of their design philosophy, and this is
refreshing and relevant.
Vidur also use natural materials in their
garment making. This is important, particularly the use of natural colour. Indigo
dyeing is one of the oldest traditions in the world. It’s nearly impossible for
large-scale clothing manufacturers to use natural indigo partly because of its
scarcity, but mainly because it’s a lengthy process. So these manufacturers use
artificial indigo dyes. Major problem with that is once the artificial indigo
dye is used, the water can’t be reused (because it’s contaminated). This may
seem like a minor issue if you’re dying small amounts, but if we’re talking
about millions of tons of clothes dyed in artificial indigo each year, how much
of that water goes to waste? Vidur are clear about how they are constantly
engaging with their manufacturers and mills to keep the natural composition of
their clothes at an optimum. The use of natural materials is becoming just as
critical as a brands other unique selling points.
I believe that this brand will continue to
cause global headwinds. In 2013, they were selected by Vogue Italia as “one of
the menswear talents to watch”, and after discovering them at last month’s
Copenhagen Fashion Week, I agree fully with Vogue Italia’s endorsement. Keep
going Vidur.
