The riotous Woodstock '99 festival meets Met Gala formalities for (Di)vision's autumn/winter 2023
For autumn/winter 2023, (Di)vision takes us to a formal gala, complete with white tablecloths and chandeliers. Don’t clutch your pearls just yet – the punky, upcycle-happy brand hasn’t traded in its patchwork denim and split bombers for tuxedos and gowns. Rather, this is gala dressing the (Di)vision way – wine-stained workwear fashioned from those aforementioned tablecloths inclusive.
Guests are seated at a carefully set dinner party in a gorgeous old restaurant, which is, as designer and co-founder Simon Wick puts it, “completely trashed”. Half-eaten french fries, oyster shells, wax-dripping candles and, yes, wine stains. To add a bit of cheekiness, the presentation is set to a live jazz band, jamming out covers of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Avril Lavigne.
It all started when Wick was watching Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99, a Netflix documentary detailing the unbridled chaos – riots, fires, mosh pits – that was the post- grunge followup to the iconic peace and love happening of the '70s. “That era of time was so inspiring to us in so many ways – the culture, the bands, how they dressed and the way they would act,” he says, noting that early '90s skate culture also weaves its way into the designs. “We love working with contrasts and we thought, ‘What’s the complete opposite of of Woodstock ‘99?’” A black tie gala, of course.
This is what a Woodstock ‘99 attendee might wear to the Met Gala (“It would be cool to see this at the Met Gala,” Wick quips). Artfully destroyed t-shirts, workwear trousers and, yes, split zip bombers stomp through the detritus. It may seem haphazard, but a certain thoughtfulness comes through in the careful cuts of the garments. “We do good quality products and we put a lot into the tailoring, even if it’s just a t-shirt,” Wick says. Also, for the very first time, knitwear — distressed, frayed and stripy, an ode to the late great Vivienne Westwood, perhaps. Don’t miss the sneakers — the brand’s wine-stained collab with ASICS, also hanging from the chandelier.
And if that weren’t enough anarchy in the CPH, it was topped of with Wick’s girlfriend, model Sarah Dahl, standing up from the table at which she had been nonchalantly seated, her gown the tablecloth itself, and dragging the glasses and plates along with her. Huppah!
See the full collection below:
(di)vision AW23
