Like most Millennials, Arthur Arbesser had wanted for a few years to buy a home. Not a place to spend his afterhours leisure time but rather as an atelier for his brand and creative practice – the latter channeled into myriad other gigs, in fashion and design, than his namesake label.
When he set that ambition straight in his mind – and figured he would finally be able to pour his DIY spirit into decorating a space and use it like an empty box for any creative project – he started saving money.
In a few weeks, the new headquarters will be finally his, a confirmation that efforts poured into the project were worth it.
In recent seasons the designer has kept the brand’s collections concise and presentations intimate. Spring was no exception.
Staged inside a small space borrowed from his gallerist friend Martina Simeti, carpeted in fake grass, he unveiled a coincise lineup rejiggling his signature tropes, arty concoctions that have become his blueprint for modest fashion with an eccentric twist.
A yellow ruffled taffeta skirt was paired with a pristine dusty pink shirt; all-black pleated full skirts matched silk blouses incorporating pinstripe and checkerboard motifs; see-through organza in sorbet tones, from peach yellow and lime green to lilac, was plied into overshirts layered over kerchief tops and full skirts, while parasol-like striped cotton sets injected a jolt of summer happiness.
Arbesser trained his creative thinking on new prints, a fixation of his, with colorful sticky notes decorating the front of a pristine white shirt and the photograph of the hands of one of Arbesser’s collaborators gesturing – such as offering a flower – turned into almost surrealist patterns.
“This collection is widely based on the signs of friendship among people,” Arbesser said, highlighting how togetherness and a sense of community have permeated his career.
A rack of postcards printed with lookbook shots and close-ups of the collection’s patterns was taken by storm by the fashion crowd and passersby, alike.