The world of (corporate) work—including dress codes, availability (or lack thereof) of jobs, terms of employment, etc.—exists at the core of Sigurd Blank’s Mfpen. This is particularly true of the menswear because across time, from Dutch burghers to latter day Patrick Batemans, the suit is the most recognized and pronounced form of work wear that exists. (It’s also one that women adopted when they entered the workforce.)
For spring, Bank, who is both a hard worker and nonconformist whose own uniform is pants, T-shirt, and baseball cap, was feeling stressed. Who isn’t? In talking about the collection, he said, “we felt this overworkedness”—not the team, he stressed—“but just sometimes you have the feeling of being overworked because there are always deadlines. And every time you finish a collection, you start on a new one.” To counter that, Bank and co. transferred that feeling into motifs and textures. For example, a silk shirt was printed to look like it had been splattered with coffee; textures were pilled; slits appeared at the necklines and elbows of women’s knit tops; and colors were deliberately faded. Often a contrarian, Bank then created pieces that you really have to work to get in and out of. Shirts for men and women, and skirts, had dozens of hooks and eye closures.
Bringing the theme literally home, Bank, whose brand is 10 this year, and who puts on shows when he feels like it, chose his own office for a runway presentation and after-party. It was a nod to the old days when designers presented their clothes to clients in their establishments, as maybe Bank’s grandfather, who was a tailor, once did. “I think it’s more honest; you come to the office and you see the collection where it’s being designed.”
As there is less tailoring, or more specifically, less suiting, in the womenswear offering, the deconstructions there are material rather than symbolic. Lightweight knits were very appealing; the presence of a striped and pleated baby doll dress was surprising and also topical given the Internet’s reaction to Olivia Rodrigo’s preference for the leggy style. Lace made its way into the men’s looks via stockings and a subtle print on jeans. It shared space with grunge-inflected stripes, leather jackets, and hoodies for guys who want to rock but still have to make the rent. The opening look of pants, a button-down, and a loosened tie best captured the coming-undone theme of the collection. There was real polish to a high-collared raincoat, and suiting that was worn casually would look really sharp if restyled. Could it be that having reached the 10 year mark, rage and refinement can coexist at Mfpen?
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