Hed Mayner has been commuting regularly from his home in Tel Aviv to the factory in Tuscany where  all of his clothes are made. For AW23, this proximity to production has encouraged a new, more objective approach to the oversized proposition that dominated previous collections. It is an objectivity balanced by  the impulse to play directly with the mechanics of the material. 

More direct, more urgent. A little bit bent. 

Mayner’s research started with a child’s tuxedo jacket placed onto an adult body like a second skin  – the effect was the opposite of oversized, yet still very much concerned with scale and proportion.  In bonded jersey, the resulting jacket and its matching trouser have a form dictated by their puffy  texture. Cut with no curves, their elastic textile is bent into a shape distorted in the manner of  Charlie Chaplin, whose quintessential look was informed by his experience of changing fortunes.  The awkward fit of his baggy pants, tight blazer and too-big shoes suggested a movement both  physical and social. Mayner’s clothes here have the feeling that they are borrowed from multiple  generations of fathers, grandfathers and younger brothers.  

The clothes take up their own space. 

There is an intention to go with the body and explore where and how clothes sit on it; high, narrow  armholes feel snug, yet the sleeve opens up to a generous swoop. A trouser in leather or denim sits high on the waist but swings. A super voluminous suit jacket is pressed and crinkled to narrow the shoulders. High turtlenecks brush the jawline. A formal double-breasted coat is sliced into a cropped jacket  and matching wrap skirt. A parka and cargo pant are really like a home – covered in multi pockets, pockets inside pockets. They have their own personae.  

Volume has been examined from the opposite side; it has been shrunk.  

New for this season are a series of pieces made in collaboration with Reebok. The brand’s Classic Leather sneaker is washed and bended into shape to create a flatter toe line; the tongue pinches the soft upper into place. Two tracksuits designed from the aspect of movement are in wrinkled polyester and merge a SS23 blouson shape with iconic Reebok finishes; piping is exaggerated across the back and sleeves. The collar is quilted and raised. It has the understated look of something old that has been rediscovered. The trackpants are made longer too and cut generously to sway and swish around the leg as you move.  

Everything is squeezed inside.  

The look is elegant, of course, but also askew – the proposal is for a look that is worn-in. T he gesture of loved clothes, of sagging pockets on denim jeans and pants pulled down, the back dropped. The magic of a piece found in a wardrobe which you then force onto your body.  A feeling of something going its own way, doing its own thing.