The form and function of Bauhaus — and Berlin’s club scene — were behind the YMC collection, which was packed with military basics, plaids and easy, unisex silhouettes.
The brand showed men’s and women’s together for the first time during a presentation in a space meant to conjure Berlin of the late Seventies and early Eighties. Models swayed to live music by Factory Floor on a multiplatform stage.
The partly underground space where the show took place, in Covent Garden, looked from the outside like an invitation to squatters, with a big, droopy sign spray-painted with the brand’s name You Must Create, and YMC.
Yet there was nothing rough or improvised about the chic and contemporary collection on display inside. It was filled with unisex looks, such as a black sheepskin flight jacket, a host of Breton tops and scarves, tartan toppers and wide-legged trousers.
For men, there was an olive green military-style shirt and trousers, worn under a blue and green plaid jacket; a rust-colored baseball jacket; dark, textured suits with cropped trousers, and a quilted coat with a fur collar.
For women, there were overall dresses, long plaid coats, tie-neck shirtdresses and pleated leather ones, too, all suited to these 24-hour party people.