Here’s a brief look at EFM Spring/Summer 2018, presented at NYFWM at Skylight Clarkson Square.
Donrad Duncan creates an obsessively clean and hypermodern collection for spring/summer 2018. Though EFM (Engineering For Motion) is a relatively new project, Duncan has a long legacy of creating garments, having started as a tailor in Jamaica. Fast forward 15 years and a number of awards and recognitions later, Duncan emerges with EFM as a melting pot of classic skill and modern technical prowess and innovation. It’s a passion (and legacy) for sportswear paired with truly high quality and sophisticated designs that accent the pleasures of EFM collections.
For Duncan, luxury is comfort, and the spring/summer 2018 collection looks thoroughly comfortable, but it does not feel or look like the sportswear from which the garments are bred. Rather, it’s a truly textural experience, be it a white blazer with contrast piping in a vertical pattern that looks endlessly light and breathable to an apparently neoprene vest over a V-neck tee. A periwinkle and orange grid suit was set off by the diagonal grid for the jacket- not a diamond pattern, but endlessly satisfying for its simple “why didn’t I think of that?” quality.
Not to forget that comfort extends to access: one model looked downright LA or Miami, marching down the runway with blond hair high, a beautifully tapered jacket and shorts all in white, while staring down at a smartphone. It was hard to place where she was going- for a jog or up to the conference room. Best case, Duncan just styled his ideal consumer right down the catwalk.
It was a charming show and well attended, including Kenneth Faried, recording artist Rotimi, Mack Wilds, Giants wide receiver Dwayne Harris, and more.
