The implacable force of nature with its incredible roaring power, beat down on men, leaving the earth in a sublime spectacle of devastation. A deafening silence, palpable to all life-forms, wraps the blanket of darkness that suddenly surrounded everything. What remains after the hurricane are only tall bare shadows, rubble of shattered dreams, beliefs dismantled and the  waiting for the salvific aurora, which finally arrives, carrying scuffled symbols of the eternal hope. The Swedish designer Aleksandr Manamïs starts from this broken reality, from the debris of feelings left by this allegorical destructive storm, to create his A/W12.

For this season, the mix of materials and their illusive surfaces, submitted to specialist treatments, allude to the natural state of man, finding and using what is available to him unconditionally. The selected fabrics range from exquisite linen, sheer wool, raw silk to luxurious re-processed polyester cotton and hand treated lamb leathers. Special dip-dye techniques give to garments a more faded look, while special washes, further enhance the materials opulent and textured hand feel.

The signature monotone colour palette has been thoroughly aligned with the collection’s austere composition and morose story-telling. Three central shades illustrate this protruding soberness, ash (dark grey), ground (moshed sands), gauze (off-white) and the Aleksandr Manamïs classic black ebony. The collection pays an elaborate genderless homage to traditional craftsmanship and quality construction. Refined horn buttons with concealed details appear seductively alongside leather contra-buttons, as a reference to ancient mastery. Aleksandr Manamïs appeals to our inner turmoil, abrasively confronted by the essence of our existence, challenged, yet profoundly consumed by hope and eventual diligence.