Many of Namesake creative director Steve Hsieh's collections have explored the idea of the passage of time – check out last season's ticking clock soundtrack (and this season's 45-minute late start certainly felt aged). He revisited that theme for the fall, exploring the melancholy of moving forward.
“Once you get older, it becomes harder to move and leave all your baggage behind and have newfound confidence. There are more things you want to protect and you want to keep while you try to find solace in a new place,” she said. Hsieh, based in Taipei, said he is contemplating moving, at least part-time, to the United States or Shanghai.
He drew from plenty of inspirations: sculptor Robert Morris, designer Ross Lovegrove, Dieter Rams furniture, as well as David Beckham, former NBA player Kevin Garnett and “a friendly competition” with the Pet-Tree-Kor brand , based in Shanghai. .
What emerged was a strong, sporty collection as Hsieh continues to distill his style from his basketball roots. It included double-breasted pants that only hinted at a tracksuit origin, with others slit above an elasticated ankle, adding extra air and volume; fuzzy faux fur hoodies and softly rounded puffer jackets whose curved seams recalled basketball grips.
There were plenty of t-shirts and sports references, but where Hsieh is breaking new ground is in his work with textiles, like reweaving strips of stiff canvas to create a giant, shredded waffle weave; hand embroidered on cotton for a faux quilted look, or sports uniform coated in nylon to look like suede.
These treatments worked well, especially on a structural trench coat, as well as a shorts and cargo vest combo over a soft knit fabric. Textured play improved his game.
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