This is Not a Love Story Menswear Collection - Autumn/Winter 2024
Rory William Docherty’s debut menswear collection follows his signature design ethos, merging the poetic with the practical, expressing masculinity and femininity and blending grace and drama with the kind of easy pieces – Re-Work Levi’s, intarsia knitwear and relaxed organic cotton shirting – that have universal appeal.
The collection is for, “Individuals who identify as male, women who like menswear and anyone else for whom it resonates,” says Docherty. True to the designer’s vision of fluidity, the menswear will filter into the womenswear collection, using an identical unisex cut. “Whether the jacket feels perfectly fitted or beautifully over-sized will be unique to you,” explains Docherty. “It’s all about trying things on and deciding what works for the individual.”
There’s a brutal romance in the colour palette drawn from Docherty's original painting, itself reminiscent of Francis Bacon’s pinks and oranges, beiges and pale blues. Printed silks and painterly velvets display the full spectrum of colours, while single tones are picked out in pieces like the bronze bow shirt, paprika tailoring and the deep-pile of a double-breasted jacket in aqua alpaca wool.
Docherty’s modern fashion language gathers layers of influence that span cultures, sub-cultures and eras. A strict double-breasted waistcoat tightens up the languid silhouette of billowing harem pants, a flowing shirt and matching tie. A classic zip-through parka hood gives a new spin on a full-length trench coat. Formal goes with casual and opulent with basic; sheepskins and silks, pinstripes and pie frill collars, tailoring and tank tops, it’s a rich mix that makes a cohesive story, ripe for individual interpretation.
