KYLE DENMAN

I met Kyle Denman the day before his show at Vancouver Fashion Week. The La based designer and teacher shared his background and insights on his award-winning collection "mul·ti·po·lar—ex·ist·ence,". Kyle told me of his untraditional route to becoming a fashion designer. A degree in political science had led him to work with Alzheimer's and dementia patients and how art impacts their life. " I was so moved by the experience. I decided I needed to spend my life in artistic endeavors. I thought what type of art impacts everyone's life, and I came up with fashion." Fast forward, Denman moved to Los Angeles to pursue an education in fashion. He now designs his collections under the label "Kyle Denman" and teaches fashion and art to underprivileged and at-risk youth.

KYLE DENMAN ;

A REVIEW

The collection Kyle Denman presented at Vancouver Fashion Week is the same collection that won him best designer of the year from International Design Awards. 

" I am telling a story with my fashion collections. I am hope to inspire, and make my collections relatable and emotional." These words from the designer are a road map to watch the collection. The story being told is one of the interconnectedness of people. How we as people are connected through both chance and circumstance. How we as human beings relate and connect with each other. The art on the runway reflects these ideas.

The models take to the runway with conviction. The clothing also has intent and conviction to the designers ideas. The outline of a face appears, an eye reveals itself from mounds of yellow organza. The garments are structural and some appear more like a moving sculpture than clothing. The opening look is a black dress that is a column. The models face appears from a cowl of black fabric twisted and contorted around the torso. The second is also black a floor length skirt with faces peering from the hem, a jacket has oversized sleeves that project a facial silhouette. A frothy yellow organza dress pops and shines.

Some conceptual collections are so abstracted that only the designer understands the meaning. In this case, the clothing has recognizable symbols. The most common image is the silhouette of a face. This face is drawn directly on fabrics, seamed into sleeves, and cut into wafting yellow fabric. The most avant-garde piece in the collection is an amorphous shape with a face on the front recalling Edvard Munch's the scream. Denman expressed the theme of soul mates and these identical facial profiles may imply the searching for that matching soul.

While the collection is conceptual there are wearable clothes. There are pants and a bolero jacket. A yellow sculptural dress is ready for a stroll down the red carpet by a young hip fashion lover. Kyle Denman told me "My clients are looking something for a special event or red carpet. I am connected to the ballet world and create dresses for galas and occasions."

The color palette is limited to black, white, and yellow. Combining these colors with lightweight and sometimes frothy fabrics gives the collection a buoyant and hopeful feel. Anyone would be challenged to not feel assured by the sunny, vibrant yellow. Even the looks that are all black are not somber. A yellow dress with facial profiles at the hips, breezes its way down the runway, much to the crowd's delight. In the tradition of a couture show, the closing dress resembles a wedding dress. It is white and voluminous and spectacular.

The designer expressed to me that his clothing is conceptual and possibly unwearable. My opinion differs greatly and I perceive a collection that is  not only highly wearable but desirable and chic. The pieces may not be for the mass market, in the tradition of couture they appeal to those who have the occasions to wear them. Kyle Denman showed a collection that is complex, challenging and creative. What the designer promotes is hopefulness in humanity. In our crazy world this heart felt nod to optimism is needed.

KYLE DEMAN WEBSITE

INSTAGRAM

MYSELF AND KYLE DENMAN 

CIAO FOR NOW J.ANDREW