Saul Nash is a connoisseur of the male form. Through the seasons, the designer has made sportswear into a language, allowing him to stay close to the body while studying it. Where is desire, where is attention to the body, clearer than in the act of working on it? Nash utilises this proximity to theorise.
Here, Nash begins with two intersecting ideas: the idolization of male pin-ups from the 1950s and male corsetry from the Victorian era. The first is personalised through the wrestling singlet, shown here in stretchy taupe and bright navy. Hidden beneath shiny tracksuits, their erotic potential is barely concealed, peeking through as the models walk.
Singlets become more than a point of interest; they become a muse of sorts. In compression tops, their shape is manipulated, turned into a pattern that gathers at the waist and expands at the shoulders. In baggy knits, the same motif is used; its initial purpose – to define the body – now completely obsolete.
The same can’t be said of the closing look: a sheer compression shirt-and-shorts set whose seams define the body. Gripping the pecs and shaping the shoulders, tracing the quads and framing the abs.
Still, the body isn’t merely a site of sexual tension. The choice to reveal it (or conceal it) is also explored. Technical jackets and hoodies are riddled with two-way zippers, allowing the wearer to expose the physique at their own discretion.
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
