Earlier in the year, I made my way to the Ann Demeulemeester show “Road to Never”. Since being appointed the new designer at the iconic Belgian house two years ago, designer Stefano Gallici has demonstrated a strong vision, drawing us into his creative world with a forward-looking perspective that resonates not with certain ages or demographics, but with a certain spirit. I know that first hand, that spirit captured me unconsciously, because throughout the show, while trying to capture my favourite frayed shearlings, I kept trying to get my Shazam to find me the show soundtrack. With a bit of patience, I finally got my hands on the soundtrack, “C.O.T.A.” by The Cult, physically, made up of Side A with the original version of the song and Side B with the extended runway version. Like the collection, the soundtrack is both strong and fragile, and I would use the same words to describe the beauty of vinyl as an object, and the needle on the record player or in the hand of a tailor.
“In my teenage years, the Cult wasn’t just a band, it became a language, a code, a sanctuary,” Gallici noted. “Their music gave me a sense of self: dangerous, poetic, and free”.
Gallici has since built a long-standing friendship to go with his admiration for legendary vocalist Ian Astbury, whose work has greatly influenced the designer’s artistic vision. The British band formed in the 80s, and continues to possess a raw energy and timeless rebellious spirit that draws people in, especially now, as many of us search for authenticity in the digital age. As a teenager, music and fashion were where I experimented with identity and belonging, but the truth is, it is always something evolving; every day, I’m still discovering who I am.
The legacy of The Cult and Ann Demeulemeester is that they continue to inspire us to discover who we are. That is something that I have grown to appreciate, especially when algorithms like to tell us who we are and what we will like, and somehow, in this digital world, it never occurred to them who I was and what I was interested in before this digital era. It’s about spirit, the human spirit.
