In current fashion as well as current news, it’s hard to see the wood for the trees, such is the onslaught of information. All the tweets. All the liveblogs. All the leaking and the jousting. But just as beneath the rubble of truth and spin in news there is hope, beneath fashion there is plywood.
It started, of course, in a freezing warehouse in Paris, where the set at Raf Simons’ autumn/winter 2016 was fashioned almost entirely from ply (insider term) and gaffer tape. At his first solo show since leaving the helm at Dior, we stood in bemusement as teenage boys in super-sized varsity-wear wandered through an unvarnished plywood maze. Angelo Badalamenti played something creepy while the boys, guided by the black taping, slipped around each corner. At Acne, steps and flooring were fashioned from plywood panels, while at Prada, a combination of chipboard and plywood formed the foundation of the seating and the catwalk. Ultra norm, pedestrian and minimal to a fault.
The overall effect at each was modern, minimal and real. Because that’s the thing with plywood. It looks cheap because it is cheap, which is why in a post-Eames world (in the 1940s, the designers used moulded plywood to make some of their most iconic chairs) it’s the democratic wood of choice. Its presence in a catwalk show is nothing short of political. Affordable backdrops, less than affordable fashion.
Cost-saving might spring to mind given its cost, of course, but at Cos, the Swedish hauteur sister to H&M, it’s the look and feel that lends itself to its shop staging. “We like to use plywood for its lightness and tactile tone,” says Karin Gustafsson, creative director of Cos. “The material complements our collection and projects a modern, functional and easy feel.” The Scandinavian aesthetic, in its most basic imported form, is often built around wood (each season, with no exception, you’ll find a wood-based accessory), but this is the first time plywood has taken more of a starring role – see the May shoot of Denmark Elle , The New Chic, that was shot by Sigurd Grunberger almost entirely in front of a flat plywood door.
Plywood is sliced sheets of wood layered together in a series of boards, the grain laid in different directions to create new layers: ugly, busy, but strong. Popular culture, of course, loves wood. Parquet had a moment (JW Anderson is pushing it into next spring), just as Adobe flats (sort of wooden decking, made famous by Animal Collective’s parodying track, My Girls) were the go-to outdoor flooring of Maryland’s hipsters. Chipboard, all grit and charm, is another catwalk perennial. Still, plywood is 2016’s wood of choice – because there is method in using an excellently bland backdrop if, like Raf, you want to showcase your debut collection (and perhaps save cash).
