District L

So I'm more than a little obsessed with Mjölk in general - I've been impatient to see what they have in store for Fall since covering them for S/S 11. The preview video they put together for A/W 11 is visually stunning, so I had to go through and grab some of these more poignant moments. Look out for the entire A/W collection, which (we hope) is coming soon.

-Post by Nicolas Sera-Leyva

A little while ago we filled you in on designer Lars Stoten and his killer menswear line, Mjölk.

What really captured our attention was the designer's intelligent, simple use of color to build upon an already artfully executed collection. I believe the precise term we used was "colorful, sun-kissed moxie".

To further drive the point home we now have these brilliant posters, available online at the hihellohighfive gallery.

Blown up images of the tags found in all Mjolk garments, these clever little taglines broadcast all the moxie you can handle in bold primaries (and green) - ideally, situated in quadtych above one's headboard.

So Have Hope, My Love - fashion hasn't lost it's sense of humor.

Post by Nicolas Sera-Leyva

I leave work and step out into the street from our building in midtown Manhattan, and it's RL COLD. Now that NYC has been cast back into the inescapable black hole of F/W, I find myself on the one hand rejoicing (TRENCH COATS, YES) and on the other hand lamenting (POLAR BEARS, NO).

On the subway, trying not capsize amid a torrential sea of a million other shitty commuters, I sort of just stare out the window and fantasize about corduroy short-shorts and heathered jersey tank tops, wishing I lived in Rio de Janeiro. Then, realizing I've been sitting underneath mood-alteringly bright flourescent lights all day, I weep.

So all metaphors and adjectival phrases aside, winter is really screwing with me right now.

Enter Mjölk - the label of recent New York transplant Lars Stoten, and the label that gave me the hope I might live to see April. One of the really great things about his S/S 2011 collection, among many, is that it's inspiration was taken partly from the very same gritty, urban ennui that drives me to heavy weekend drinking aboard sunken ships. Yet in the end, what we see is a beautiful show of well-proportioned menswear, luxuriantly spartan at times yet full of colorful, sun-kissed moxie.

"The history of industrial New York and Coney Island, Depression-era photography, aerial views of farmland, stained glass windows, and contemporary art all inspired the balanced and distinctive range of colors and shapes this season."

A rich, well researched source of inspiration, combined with a deeply educated use of color theory, made for a collection that gave rise to ravenous cravings for summer. I mean, if you're starving and cold and there's a single, ripe peach hanging off the branch of an otherwise dead tree, you're going to climb that fucking tree and do whatever it takes to eat that goddamn peach. Well, Mjölk S/S 2011 is rather like that peach. Do your worst, F/W.

You can find more looks, as well as a downloadable press release here on the Mjolk Homme website.

Post by Nicolas Sera-Leyva