AUTUMN '13
MENSWEAR COLLECTION
This menswear collection by Dolce & Gabbana is not only beautiful but also a really great example of how limiting the boundaries of your creativity can actually lead to more interesting things. What I mean by that is that the title of this collection was 'devotion' - a word with limitless possibilities. This should in theory give you great scope - however a brief that is too broad can often lead to a lack of focus and a piece of work that fails to capture anything coherent or really meaningful.
Using D+G as an example, we see them take the word 'devotion' and narrow it right down to study religion in small Sicilian communities. This immediately gave them all the material they needed for colours, shapes, textures and prints. They even cast their models straight from the streets of these communities.
In design, it can be common to get a brief from a client that is too broad but that supposedly offers you many different avenues to explore. You need to take that brief and narrow it down - set your own boundaries, use your own experiences and you will find that the outcome is far more interesting (and rewarding) as a result..
