Photographed by Yanyi Luo.
When designers say their new collection is menswear-inspired, they usually qualify it with something along the lines of, "...Yet, still feminine." While a feminine twist on masculine clothing appeals to many, it leaves out a large chunk of people for whom that feminine detail makes the fashion less desirable. Unapologetically masculine clothing not made for men's bodies is hard to find — even with the rising popularity of androgynous clothing for women, few designers achieve a look that's truly androgynous, much less truly masculine.
Enter: Marimacho, a Brooklyn-based indie company created to fill this niche. With masculine silhouettes designed specifically for people who are left out of current menswear options, Marimacho is both subversive in mission and classic in product — after all, what's more classic and traditional than a well-tailored suit?
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Marimacho's spring '14 collection, aptly titled Deep See, continues to carry out this mission. Inspired by a vision of the future in which gender variations are infinite, the runway show was a dazzling foray into an aesthetic made possible by simply removing preconceived notions of femininity and masculinity. The fluidly gendered models were united visually with a uniformly strong brow — as makeup artist Karlo Karlo for Emani Vegan Cosmetics said, "A strong brow is the one feature that our culture values equally on both men and women."
The unisex clothes ranged from super-chic masculine swimwear to gorgeous shorts suits and a handful of sporty mesh pieces. We loved the asymmetrical colorblocking and the ocean-inspired color scheme, with sea foam, dark green, coral, and off-white. Think The Capitol from The Hunger Games set in Water World.
In the front row across from us giving nods of approval was none other than Orange Is The New Black star Lea DeLaria (Big Boo). We were already stoked about the collection, but the positive endorsement from this self-defined butch celeb seals the deal. Spring is about to look mighty dapper, indeed.