Text by Mark Benjamin
Imagery courtesy of Kiko Kostadinov, Patricia Buren and Kotaro Iizuka
The best fashion collections answer the question: How will we dress in the future? Menswear designer Kiko Kostadinov consistently offers a compelling response.
For Spring/Summer 2025, Kostadinov transports us into a clinical setting, inviting us to explore ourselves and, ultimately, our relationship with clothing. Drawing inspiration from the duality of medical environments – spaces that evoke both fear and wonder – the collection embodies the collision of past and future, fragility and innovation.
A biology class breathes life into this fashion show, quite literally. Shirts and matching trousers feature intricate prints of bacteriophages and spike proteins, merging scientific imagery with sartorial elegance. Meticulous knitwear showcases a symphony of stitches, each piece a testament to craftsmanship with its varied textures and hues. Blazers receive an avant-garde update with undulating cuts, echoing the unpredictable nature of life itself.
This season's emerging trend harkens back to the '90s – the humble snap fastener. Popularized for its practicality and discretion, Kostadinov elevates this functional element to new aesthetic heights. Strategically placed along darts, adorning shin-high boots, and lining the side seams of shorts, snaps serve as both versatile closures and industrial accents.
The collection's palette is a vibrant exploration of key lime greens, lilacs, magentas, and ceruleans. When combined with interlocking patterns, the result evokes the sensation of an otherworldly vacation – perhaps a sojourn on Mars. This interplay of colors and designs reflects the abstract thought process behind the collection, inspired by medical sanctuaries that demand both intimacy with and protection from the human body.
It's the element of uneasy wonder that truly defines Kostadinov's work. Each piece provokes questions: What purpose does this particular stitch serve? Why is that dart placed there? Is this detail functional or purely aesthetic? These lingering inquiries imbue the collection with an air of mystery and desirability.
As theatres of birth and death, regeneration and degeneration, hospitals and laboratories serve as the conceptual foundation for this collection. Kostadinov masterfully translates these complex themes into wearable art, each unique piece offering myriad styling possibilities. The result is a collection as diverse and intricate as the human experiences that inspired it, promising to uncover new perspectives with each wear.
In Kostadinov's Spring/Summer 2025 collection, fashion becomes a medium for exploring the delicate balance between human vulnerability and technological advancement, creating a wardrobe that is as thought-provoking as it is visually striking.