The return of Cloak!

‘A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away’. No wait, that’s not it. ‘A few years ago in New York’, yes that’s better, I became obsessed with a label called Cloak. Remember the easy breezy days of menswear?  When Hedi Slimane was at the top of his game, and basically, everything was black? Well, Cloak dates from around this time, and although I may have stumbled into the Cloak store in New York, looking for an actual cloak, as in the item, I still loved the clothes  I saw. The label folded in around 2007, as so many daring and unique fashion houses and designers do, but the creative talent behind the brand, Alexendre Plokhov is back, designing under his own name. This is very, very exciting. 

Alexendre Plokhov Fall 11

The word goth is thrown around far too much nowadays, and it’s been applied to Plokhov’s designs before, but it’s not quite adequate enough to describe the aesthetic. Anything with a focus on black can easily be dismissed as ‘goth’ but Plokhov transcends that. First there’s the ultra sharp tailoring. Then the mind-bending construction where sometimes you’re not quite sure exactly what is what. Then there’s an intangible Victorian quality, borne out of a kind of overstated elegance, masculine but grandiose at the same time.

 Cloak – Fall 2005


Looking back at the 2005 collection I feel like I’d be happy to wear any of those clothes today –  and that’s a pretty good sign. I don’t feel like Plokhov’s designs quite match up to the grandeur of what was produced for Cloak, but it’s a long, uphill struggle for designers that lost financial backing.  It seems almost like Plokhov has been de-fanged. The clothes aren’t quite as daring as they once were. Nevertheless, I’m going to keep my eye on Plokhov because I know, that he’s going to make the clothes that I want to wear. 

Wishlist –
Franks of Australia Shorts (and weather to match)
A fringe like Eleanor Friedberger ( a boy can dream)
 Givenchy Rottweiler Sweatshirt

All words by Warren Beckett
Follow me @RobotMonsieur
Pics from style.com and Alexendre-Plokhov.com

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