The Central St. Martins grad Marcel Ostertag is fresh with a new collection at NYFW, “Freedom”.
Last Wednesday at the Skylight Clarkson Square, German designer Marcel Ostertag returned for his fourth season as part of New York Fashion Week (NYFW) debuting his Spring/Summer 2018 line. Naming the collection ‘Freedom’, Ostertag drew his inspiration from the dayfly which only lives for 24 hours. At the start of the design process, Ostertag asked himself “what would you do if you lived the day of a fly and only had 24 hours’ time?” His answer? “Celebrate the togetherness and not the singular, like so many of us have been living for years.” The season’s trademark insect prints were interwoven throughout the collection representing themes of eternity, life and the constant flow of change.
The trench coat, one of Ostertag’s signature pieces and staple thread throughout his collection, was cut and remodeled into skirt and in another a cocktail dress. Knitwear, which continues to be amongst Ostertag’s favorites, were updated with new and innovative patterns and knit types. Every piece to the collection ‘made in Germany.’
Marcel Ostertag other collaboration, “Marcel Ostertag x Tamaris” footwear which walked the runway last month in Berlin arrived in stores on August 25th, 2017 and is now available in 28 countries.
The brand’s styling team included makeup artistry by NYX and hair looks created by REDKEN. Other noteworthy collaborations on this show include SEAT Automobiles and sunglasses created with IC Berlin, but none were more important than the musical collaboration with the designer’s brother, Johann Ostertag, who created the track for the runway show.
Backstage, we caught up with Marcel, who was feeling confident and refreshed. I asked him what was essential in every garment: “The most important thing is: is it wearable on the street? I think its important you can wear it. It’s not a Lady Gaga video dress, it’s for a normal woman.”