Tim Coppens


It’s New York Fashion Week and seasoned 
Interview photographers Shawn Brackbill, Christopher Gabello, Kate Owen, and Frank Sun are backstage and front row at our favorite shows. Check in daily and follow Shawn, Chris, Kate, and Frank on Interview’s TwitterInstagram, and Facebook for the latest updates.

Belgian-born designer Tim Coppens has been recognized for his sporty-slick menswear line, receiving nods from the CFDA and Swarovski, and competing as a finalist in the inaugural LVMH Young Fashion Designer Prize. He has, however, slowly added womenswear to his line-up, adding in a few looks at a time in his past collections. His Spring/Summer 2015 line, which showed yesterday afternoon at Milk Studios, saw the most looks to date, which will be sold wholesale to buyers, i.e., readily attainable for those women eager to add Tim Coppens to the mix in their closets.

Pre-show, neon red projections streaked across the wall and, by the time the first model emerged, with drenched, wet-look hair to a pounding, synth-heavy soundtrack, it established a heady, humid urban jungle environment. Blacks, grays, and navys in protective anoraks and bomber jackets preceded color-blocked sweatshirts and shorts, plus dresses with zip  and drawstring detailing for the ladies, and army jackets in olive drab, mesh separates, and shorts for the guys. “I wanted to keep Spring lighter, so it’s more a move from last Spring than last season,” Coppens explained backstage. “We used lighter fabric, like silk nylons, and for the girls edition, it was important not to overpower it. Even the bomber jacket was super light leather, with a fluffy knit. The bomber jacket was almost like a cardigan.”

The real excitement happened mid-show, with a shift in tone (and print). The painterly, abstracted riffs on camo—rendered in electric blues, greens, and oranges and incorporated on overcoats, bombers, shorts, tees, and amazingly airy, knife-pleated tail-like inserts on dresses on tops—pushed the collection into futuristic, tech-y overdrive. Coppens named The Stone Roses, a picture of a parrot, and “a jungle, the sun coming up with burning colors,” as the circling influences that gave rise to it. Coppens’ mention of the jungle is incredibly on-point—he’s created some clothes that New York’s young warriors will want to wear in their natural habitat.

For more from New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015, click here.