In her runway debut at Ports 1961, designer Natasa Cagali seemed to be exploring the concepts of movement and containment.
Going with a minimalistic approach, she broke up her outsized garments by leaving panels of fabric that could only be fastened down via long hanging ties free to fly about the body. Alternatively this idea of attachment would be telegraphed via impotent straps that lined the outside length of pant legs or boxy coats held together with industrial-size side snaps.
A sense of liberty was beautifully expressed in the way Cagali let a crisp white shirt spill forth from behind the front panel of a double-breasted jacket that she had purposefully left unfinished, or how she attached an unlined trench to the back of ensembles which could not be perceived from the front so that the wearer looked unburdened by the need to carry her coat.
The deconstructed style of the collection had kinship to the work of Martin Margiela in his heyday. It’s an comparison that should be taken as a compliment. He was a innovative artist and Cagali too looks to have that same cutting edge spirit.