CASABLANCA’S NEWEST COLLECTION SERVES AS A PERSONAL ODE TO FRIENDSHIPS
Casablanca unveiled its spring/summer 2022 collection in Paris this weekend as part of Paris Fashion Week: Men’s.
Called ‘Masao San,’ this collection serves as a personal ode to friendships, intimate journeys, and exploration. This collection is dedicated to Masao, a personal friend of Casablanca’s, diving deep into personal memories to relive and embrace cherished moments, preserve them forever, and pay homage to their significance.
Casablanca draws inspiration from founder and creative director Charaf Tajer’s personal journeys through Japan, during years of innovation in the country, where technology was at the forefront and now renowned tech companies excelled, continually breaking new ground. The spring/summer 2022 design combines vibrant colors and waves inspired by the postmodern Memphis Milano art movement with an invitation to join the Casablanca Ping Pong club. Workwear evolves, tailoring is purposefully avant-garde and effervescent, and the Casablanca monogram transforms to show the forceful movement of a ping pong ball.
The set design for the collection’s film is inspired by ‘90s Japanese ads for new technology, in which companies such as Sony, Honda, and Panasonic led the way globally. This film is a recognition of this technology and innovation. A time when the salaryman helped keep the city moving, where clothing had to have both style and functionality, adapting to fast-paced cities and communities.
Shot by videographer Natalie Canguilhem, the film transports viewers back to the ‘90s, formulating this inspiration into a distinctive creative vision that holds precious memories. Back to social ping-pong in an era of senior executives, where Hi-Fi technology was defined, a showcase of minimalist design. Collaborating with Japanese ping-pong brand Butterfly, the table and rackets showcased are Memphis-inspired innovations, wavy and colorful in shape and design, with two professional ping-pong players Quentin Robinot and Quentin Pradelle joining distinguished models such as Alton Mason in the production.
In this film, Casablanca presents menswear and womenswear collections containing color-drenched silks filled with pastel colors, unique rainbow gradient transparent fabrics seen on dresses and ensembles, and Memphis-inspired wavy plackets and hemlines shown throughout tailoring and denim looks. The towering-yet-tranquil Mount Fuji plays a pivotal role in the collection, visible on silks, luxe jewelry as well as in this season’s après sport range, with picturesque hand-painted designs created in-house by half-Japanese painter Gard Diop. Casablanca’s luxury bag range introduces Memphis- pastel gradients across the handbags and introduces the brand’s computer case, a classic style reimagined as a return for an essential accessory.
View the film below.