Uncloaked
Alexandre Plokhov speaks about his new line.
The world of fashion quite often seems like a carousel – a spinning wheel of similarity that makes everything into a blur that dulls your senses. But once in a while a designer comes along and jams a stick into the wheel, and makes you pay attention. Such rare jolts are called fashion moments, and they make fashion exciting. Usually, these have to do with the introduction of a new aesthetic. Cloak’s Fall 2004 runway show, with its military jackets, leather pants, and chunky knits in which the long-haired models marched to a thumping Joy Division soundtrack, was definitely a fashion moment. It catapulted the hitherto unknown brand that existed since 1999 to cult status. New York finally got their own designer who understood what young men who grew up on Tarkovsky’s films and post-punk wanted – clothes that were their armor, their protection against society in which they felt uncomfortable and unwelcomed.
Cloak, designed by a Russian expatriate Alexandre Plokhov, who in 1990 fled to the US on an international youth hockey visa, brought a breath of fresh air to the used up preppy Americana scene. His clothes were aggressive and decidedly masculine. “I felt really angry when I designed that collection,” Plokhov told me in the recent interview in his Flatiron showroom. And the clothes showed it in their severe geometric lines and hammered military brass buttons that reminded one of World War I uniforms.
Unfortunately, Cloak’s heyday was short-lived. In 2007, Plokhov shuttered the label, despite overwhelming critical acclaim. “I’ve never talked about this before,” said Plokhov, “but I really closed Cloak not for financial reasons, but because I ran out of steam. It was too much. I really had no life – it was all about production. The cycle was closing in and I just couldn’t break it.”
After closing the label, Plokhov had plenty of suitors. He interviewed with Dior and Burberry, but ultimately decided to try his hand at Versace. “I thought I would be allowed more freedom at Versace,” said Plokhov. “And I was, for the first season. I was a contract designer, so I don’t regret it. I think it worked for the better. I met Nicola, who is now in charge of production, I learned what they can do there; I worked with amazing people who know fabric and finishing, who can talk about shoulder pads for half an hour. It seems prosaic, but it’s actually very important. They are professionals – they are not in fashion in order to go parties.”
After his contract expired, Plokhov was eager to get back to designing his own line without constraints that an existing house inevitably imposes. The new, eponymous line continues where Plokhov left off with Cloak. It is more mature, with more tailoring and cleaner lines, but with the same aggressive touches – sharp angles, streamlined, slim silhouette, and a few bondage straps to boot. “The aesthetics are pretty much the same,” said Plokhov, “but there is a progression. If anything, I see taking off where Helmut left. The base is the classic tailoring, and then you manipulate the silhouette.”
Although there are slight echoes of Lang’s work, Plokhov’s aesthetic is decidedly his own, just like it was when he designed Cloak. Whereas Lang’s man was obliged to be in the office, but went to an S&M bar after work to be himself, Plokhov’s man never went to the office in the first place. A formal coat, made of untreated Italian wool, is betrayed by rough hardware closure and asymmetric zipper. Another coat has only one sleeve, with the shoulder looping around the armpit and held in place by an adjustable strap. On the fit model Plokhov paired it with a double-zip kangaroo jacket. The slim combat pants were also outstanding, especially in dark brown leather. For the less adventurous, there will also be a sartorial suit, totally handmade and with fully canvassed construction.
Plokhov’s production also progressed since he moved his production to Italy and now uses mostly Japanese fabric. “In terms of fit and execution I was really limited at Cloak by what they can do here. I am not limited anymore. Each one – outerwear is made by one factory, tailoring by another factory. They are specialists who have the right equipment and the right people. I think if there was a benefit of working at Versace, it was the learning and understanding how they work. You have to go to the people who know how to make things, not to those that you need to teach.”
Plokhov is confident in his new line. Only in its first season, he is taking it to Paris to show during the upcoming menswear fashion week. Speaking of his designs, Plokhov said, “I think every thing has to have a reason to exist. These are the kinds of things I would like to make.”
by Eugene Rabkin
photos by Alex Freund
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