‘It’s almost like a new beginning,’ Dutch designer Lucas Ossendrijver told Wallpaper* in 2023 on the release of his first collaborative collection with New York-based label Theory. Titled 'Theory Project’, it marked a return to fashion after four years out of the spotlight, having exited his role as head of menswear at Lanvin in 2018 after a 14-year tenure at the Parisian house. ‘To do a capsule, and to not do everything, means I don’t have any constraints or even pressure. I feel completely free.’
Today (31 March 2023), the next chapter of the ongoing ‘Theory Project’ is revealed with a spring 2023 collection of men’s and womenswear pieces that once again look towards the brand’s home city for inspiration (Ossendrijver splits his own time between New York and Paris). ‘New York – it’s something about the way people dress,’ he said last year. ‘It’s casual, but at the same time quite sophisticated. It’s this mix of things; I find it interesting looking at the way they style themselves. The boys, in particular, are very aware of how they look, without ever looking too much.’
‘Theory Project’ Spring 2023 by Lucas Ossendrijver
The new collection is an attempt to capture what Ossendrijver describes as the ‘dynamic energy’ of New Yorkers. As such, the various pieces meld function and elegance, a juxtaposition which has long defined his work (at Lanvin, he would elevate quotidian garments through fabric and cut, incorporating the sporting and hiking elements which have since become ubiquitous in fashion). Here, he has done this through an exploration of motion: ‘fluid fabrics, utilitarian details, and joyful custom prints’, he says, are an attempt to capture the feeling of traversing a New York street.
‘There’s a fantasy in design, but ultimately it needs to be functional and purposeful,’ he continues. ‘This collection was designed with a laser focus on the wearer and their lifestyle. Even though Theory Project is a small capsule, it has to serve everybody. That’s why you have options.’
The result is what he calls a ‘modern wardrobe’, pieces which ‘take the stiffness out of tailoring’ and riff on the clean-lined design tropes for which the brand is known (launched by Andrew Rosen and Elie Tahari in 1997, it become synonymous with the era’s sleek minimalism). Highlights include a parka jacket crafted from double-weave technical fabric produced in Prato, Italy, with extra-long drawstrings, diaphanous V-neck georgette dresses in hues of French blue, champagne and classic black, and a slim narrow-waist blazer with stand collar in wool stretch gabardine.
For men, riffs on American sportswear – a nylon coach jacket, a terry-cloth polo sweater – meet a concise offering of minimal tailoring (blazers come in single or three-buttoned styles). A series of trainers, custom-developed for ‘Theory Project’, are made for both men and women, featuring reflective elements and chunky rubberised soles ‘steeped in hues from lilac to cognac’.
‘Theory Project’ Spring 2023 by Lucas Ossendrijver is available in selected stores and at the brand’s website now.
