This Week #6 | CAMIEL FORTGENS Simple Jacket & Big Long Coat
Heavenly Herringbone Heaviness
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Let’s start this hymn to CAMIEL FORTGENS by putting things in perspective. It may seem strange to once again sing the praises of a 10-year-old brand that’s stocked by 50+ stores across the globe, that’s worn by major artists and influencers, that’s been featured in the New York Times Magazine and Grind, and regularly appears on the year-end lists of the Highsnobiety’s of this world. But still...
When CAMIEL FORTGENS won the prestigious Fashion Stipend 2024 prize of the Dutch Culture Fund (‘Cultuurfonds’) earlier this month, it came somewhat as a surprise — even to themselves. The jury praised the brand’s “raw and unpolished designs,” their “experiments with shapes, fabrics and unfinished details,” and the way in which they “redefine fashion” by breaking with “traditional constructions and silhouettes.” No one could argue with that, nor with the fact that the prize is entirely well-deserved. The fact, however, is that CAMIEL FORTGENS is still relatively unknown here in the Netherlands, where they have only two stockists (Cris and Afura, not counting their own in-studio store in Amsterdam). And the brand surely differs significantly from previous laureates, including haute couture names like Iris van Herpen and Jan Taminiau.
Back home, the Design Academy-trained Fortgens — as a Dutch online fashion magazine had it — is a “hidden name.” Indeed, “it was a big surprise,” Fortgens himself said in one of several interviews following the award of the prize: “I hadn’t even thought of the possibility, mostly because we have such an international focus. But it’s nice and special to receive recognition in the Netherlands.”
So, when you’re hymning to CAMIEL FORTGENS, it matters where you are singing from. Let me get to it, then — from my own perspective.
I won’t try to capture the brand’s essence, if there is one. I’d have to say something about how they master the art of perfect imperfections — or, that is, of perfecting imperfection. (And explain why I feel imperfect perfection is perhaps even more accurate.) I’d have to reflect on why their clothes are non-clothes, standing to fashion as non-art stands to art: using deconstruction to explore conventions and, thereby, push the boundaries of what fashionable clothing is and could be. And I’d also have to insist that, more than anything else, the brand is simply about being human. Everything there is to their unfinished-looking pieces, from the raw hems to the exposed seams, reflects one fundamental insight: no one is perfect, so why should our clothes be? For them, I imagine, it’s about clothes being like the people that wear them — imperfect, slightly odd, sometimes monstrous — rather than people having to become like the clothes they wear.
But all that’s not for now. Maybe some other time...
Instead, let’s look at CAMIEL FORTGENS’ recently launched AW24 collection, which is hitting some of the best stores (Sportivo, Graphlayer and Neighbour) as we speak. I attended the launch party last week. This allowed me to browse all fifty styles — and hundred items in total. I can say from first-hand experience that it’s one of their strongest to date. Some CF staples have been re-imagined, like the ‘Zip Hoodie’, ‘Frankenstein V-Neck’ and ‘Big Tee LS’. The ‘Quilted Shirt White’ is an object of radiant beauty and craftsmanship. The ‘Fleece Anorak’ and ‘Zip Up Knit’ will feature on your fall-winter wish list as soon as you’ve seen them. And the ‘Quilted Suit Jacket’ + ‘Quilted Suitpants’ + ‘Quilted Scarf’ set-up cleverly integrates CF’s signature raw edges and irregular stitching into the garment.
That’s all dandy and fine, as 2003 Pete Doherty would have it. But the highlight of CAMIEL FORTGENS’ AW24 collection — for me, at any rate — is the herringbone heavy wool they’ve used for two key pieces: the ‘Simple Jacket’ and the ‘Big Long Coat’.
Both pieces are made in Ukraine, at a factory with which the brand has worked for about eight years now. (Recently, the people at CF organized fundraisers to help keep it in business in the midst of the war, helping make sure employees did not lose their jobs.) The material composition is 76% herringbone heavy wool sourced from Italy and 24% linen, combined with an off-white cotton canvas lining. And here ‘heavy’ really means heavy: the ‘Big Long Coat’ is a tank of a piece that weighs close to 3 kilograms! There’s a similar model in the brand’s archive — the AW18 ‘Long Coat’ in herringbone wool — but this is the first time the brand has used this particular Italian fabric.
The ‘Simple Jacket’ and ‘Big Long Coat’ each come in a rich brown color, featuring two side pockets, one inside pocket, raw details at the front and edges as well as Buffalo Horn buttons made in Italy. The ‘Simple Jacket’ has a flat collar, zip closure, and angled side zip pockets. The ‘Big Long Coat’ has a single back split, and is meant to fall over the knee, almost hitting the calfs.
The price of one ‘Big Long Coat’ (or two ‘Simple Jackets’) equals roughly a month’s rent. But then again: if you decide to buy an autumn-winter piece this year, make sure it’s one you can live in!