Song for the Mute SS23
Song for the Mute is the brand on everyone’s lips at the moment, and now it follows up on its collaboration with adidas Originals with its Spring/Summer 2023 collection, “1999.” Under the creative helm of Melvin Tanaya and Lyna Ty, SFTM presents its seasonal collection of garms with a sense of uncertainty, translating to clothes that mix-and-match prints, patterns, colours, materials and references as people did when the turn of the new millennium was upon them, not knowing if they were still in the ’90s trend phase or ready to become a Y2K baby. Narratives like new technology and the fear of it taking over the world to conspiracy theories about a fantastical future infiltrate these “1999” beliefs in the SFTM ecosystem, in turn creating clothes that are physical but have a digital touch.
Take the green bouclé knit shirt; its textural finish looks like a static TV screen. A dystopian dream transpires with tote bags coated in film, hexagonal grid patterns in metallic nylon yarns producing swirling structures elevate this undertone. At the same time, frank ideologies like “Intel,” “Nomad”, and “Fiction” are printed across other garments.
A sense of exploration is conveyed through clothing printed with blended colours like a camouflaged rainbow, and perhaps even another ensemble painted in watercolour and decorated with hiking motifs like rope chains. A suit is cut into two halves, one more ’90s and the other leaning towards trends of the 2000s, while distressing crochet knit sweaters conjure a sense of battle as if one has tackled an otherworldly moment in a subverted reality.
Aside from clothing, Song for the Mute seems to have continued its adidas Originals collaboration with a small teaser on the feet of the models, showcasing a new style that is equally old yet new. Here, a grubby gum sole unit is met with sleek but simultaneously technical uppers punctured with metal rivet-style eyelets and tactile components around the silhouette.
Explaining the collection in more depth, the brand notes:
“While 1999 comprises a series of distinct narratives, none are prioritized. Rather, possibilities are explored. By looking to the past, potential futures are envisaged – and, ultimately, prepared for in the here and now. Hanging from jackets, coats and trousers, hand braided ropes — crafted from polychromatic yarns and metal and glass beads – serve as apt tokens of the collection’s central logic.”
Take a look at the Song for the Mute SS23 collection in the lookbook below, and find out more online.
