Brick by brick
As part of Agi & Sam’s 2015 autumn/winter show, shown at London Collections: Men earlier this month, models walked the runway with Lego pieces on their faces. British designers Agi Mdumulla and Sam Cotton commissioned makeup artist and i-D magazine beauty editor Isamaya Ffrench to create the unusual masks to complement the collection, which takes inspiration from children’s perception of clothes. The colorful coverings resembled outgrowths partially adorning or at times concealing a model’s entire face.
While it was clever, using these brightly hued Danish-made building blocks to add a layer of whimsy to a serious designer presentation isn’t new. In autumn 2007, Pierre Hardy and Balenciaga came out with a Lego-inspired heel, an archetype of the vogue then for extremely overdesigned women’s footwear.
CHILDHOOD CLASSIC
In spring 2008, during New York Fashion Week, Marc by Marc Jacobs featured belt buckles and hair accessories made out of the beloved toy. The trend carried on to spring 2009, when Jean Charles de Castelbajac fashioned dresses, bags, and hats out of Lego-printed fabric. Karl Lagerfeld’s Lego clutch bag for Chanel first came out as part of the French fashion house’s spring/summer 2013 collection. The quirky accessory, made of plexiglass and lined with lambskin, has been such a hit that it continued to last year.
In print, Vogue Russia showed its love for the childhood classic by including it on its June 2008 cover with Maryna Linchuk wearing a Lego garland. Lanvin went a step further in 2009, paying tribute through an advertising campaign lensed by the Paris-based creative agency Hartland Villa.
RETRO AND FUTURISTIC
High fashion’s fascination with Lego may stem, in part, from its Piet Mondrian-like colors — punchy yet clean even when all mixed together. I’d like to wager, however, that designers turn to it for what it evokes. Those of us who grew up with it often look back on those days of innocence, playfulness and boundless creativity with both joy and a tinge of nostalgia. Lego is the only toy that can be retro and futuristic at the same time.
Gluing actual Lego pieces onto one’s face à la Agi & Sam is something best left to the runway, but little touches shouldn’t hurt. Kanye West wore a Lego heart badge in 2008, made by New Yorkers Dee and Ricky Jackson, and I think the look is still clever without being obnoxious. If you want something even subtler, try hunting online for the set of Donatella Versace, Alber Elbaz, Marc Jacobs, and Karl Lagerfeld figurines Lego produced exclusively for Harper’s Bazaar last year in honor of The Lego Movie. If not, the sequel will be out in 2018 so expect Lego to still be in fashion — even more so — then.
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