Domingo Rodriguez

When you think of fashion, most might think Prada, Chanel, McQueen; all of which ground breaking in individual ways, but soon, the recent London College of Fashion graduate Domingo Rodriquez will epitomise the word fashion, having already designed a capsule collection for ASOS.com.  It is clear in his work that he mixes a touch of delicacy and masculinity to create something truly astonishing. The cuts of the clothing, especially the jackets and coats are not always conventional. The tailoring involved within the menswear jackets take inspiration from extremely traditional pieces, however are modified into a unique and youthful way. There is a definite feeling of fluidity especially within the AW 10/11 collection, combined with a youthful sense of naivety and venerability. One of my favourite things about this particular collection is that traditional pieces are just slightly tweaked. For example, a traditional overcoat,  double breasted, but in a very minimalistic way. No buttons, no pockets, incredibly simple and clean cut. Or even the lapels on a jacket; not quite removed, but make less obvious. Another example, a pocket, at a slight angle.

Although to some, Rodriquez' work may seem dull, too plain, and have nothing exciting to them, I urge people to look deeper than that. Domingo Rodriguez is actually incredibly daring; to mix the masculine with the feminine in such a subtle way, with the use of sheer, tight, and sometimes even shiny fabrics to apply to a menswear collection. Furthermore, the use of delicate flowers in one collection, a slightly bolder move in a male expression of femininity. 

Even when looking past the inclusion of a feminine touch, and the slight tweaks, within each collection is a new surprise. His SS11 collection boasts a full range of clothing, however entirely in black, something highly unexpected for a spring/summer collection, as well as going against the summer trends. Furthermore, something that I admire, is that on one jacket of the collection, it seems to be almost incomplete; no lining on the inside of the jacket, no seams at the bottom, but somehow, it fits so perfectly within the collection, consistent of its experimental nature. 

Domingo Rodriguez seems to be an evolutionary force of nature, with an unassuming determination of changing fashion, for people to think about what they're putting on their backs in the morning, a slight change to wake people up.