Asger Juel Larsen’s autumn/winter collection is the finest testament of the unique aesthetic he’s become renowned for, continuing his apocalyptic path through the past with a stylish tale that takes inspiration from the playful, powerful and deceptive in the American dream.
Asger’s childhood fascination with the 1860s enlightened him to the utopian ideals of modern living that soon exposed and invited the conflict of cultures. The collection “Uncle Sam” embodies this clash, illustrating the playful times of a ‘wild’ and earthy America with the federal and uniform side of battle. With all his collections, a modern taste is also fused into the mix with Gothic, mechanical, and industrial backbone to the landscape that Asger inhabits so well.
The character template of the collection is a mix of personas, from native Indian chiefs to a U.S federal officer, and even a craft mechanic with tendencies to fetishism. The fluxing between past and present hybrids an alluring sense of androgyny with prints of heritage. Exaggerated Victorian collars and funnel necks engulf half of the head; jackets surgically corset the body in an asymmetric manner; and melted rust and other industrial colored jeans reflect a city-weathered traveler.
There’s a playful and powerful vulnerability, which is only heightened through the mixture of soft and hard fabrics, from cashmere and wool to leather and tough Japanese denim. The boots were designed in collaboration with British rock n roll footwear brand Underground, giving an even heavier print to the runway.
An eye-catching element of the collection is the sprinkling of stars that hide or pounce on the eye. They’re a twisted interpretation of the American flag, with a Gothic and ‘clockwork orange’ vibe that illustrates something beautiful but broken: a mood that embodies Asger’s thoughts on the American dream. Asger’s Gothic aesthetic continues to evolve and excite with this new collection highlighting a wonderful dark magic in his eye.
Check out the collection.
asger juel larsen A/W 2016 UNCLE SAM trailer from Theo Prodromidis on Vimeo.
Photos by Ellis Scott & text, Copyright Asger Juel Larsen.