Designer Michael Thomas is no stranger to pressure. Even during a newspaper interview, Thomas is multitasking, answering a reporter's questions as he meticulously works at hemming the last garment to go on the rack for the launch of the fifth season of Thomas and first collection of Ruins, the eponymous collaboration between him and shop owner Joshua Reichmann, at Toronto's Ruins boutique.
Although the majority of the Thomas collection was missing from the public eye at the Ruins launch party this past Saturday — held back by customs in Berlin, where the line is produced — the new collection continues Thomas' focus on streamlined and tailored silhouettes, using monochromatic linen and organic cotton-silk blends to create a series of 27 classic pieces ranging from structural jackets with dramatic shoulders to a jacket with jutting lapels that zip up to create a delicate drape at the front.
While maintaining his aesthetic of highly structural garments that are still evocative of his background in sculpture as a former OCAD student, Thomas has shifted away from his usual inspiration, as he is often compared to the collections of such other young Canadian designers as Sid Neigum, Rad Hourani and the fashion label Complex Geometries — all of whom share a similarly high emphasis on androgynous, monochromatic and at times even gothic clothing.
"It's moving a direction where it's men's and women's separates now where blazers are constructed — the same style is constructed differently for men and for women because they have different curves and shapes," says the 27-year-old Thomas, who places a strong emphasis on tailoring and the construction of his garments. "So you can have the same as a man and be a woman but it's just a different way of constructing."
"I never really meant to make clothes that were androgynous I guess I just meant to make clothes that where unisex," the designer says of his previously completely unisex collection. "There's some people that go over the top with androgyny."
Formerly based in Toronto before moving to Berlin in 2011,authenticlouisvuittonhandbag Thomas' fifth collection was designed between both cities, with the latter half heavily drawing on Europe's artistic focus on traditional techniques of tailoring and craftsmanship.
"I'm really happy travelling. That's what kind of does it for me, that's what makes this still exciting. When I left Toronto I was bored and when I got to Berlin it was fresh and it was rejuvenating," says Thomas, whose line is produced in Berlin while he's more of a vagabond, with no permanent residence at the moment and moving in between spaces. "I mean, not even just the city but just going somewhere else and seeing that there's different people so far away. It's incredible!"
With Thomas as a permanent fixture at Ruins alongside the store's collaborative line of basic-yet-conceptual T-shirts,lancelhandbags2012,oakleymenssunglassesstore tanks and jackets, the collaboration between Thomas and Reichmann marks a new chapter for the ever-evolving Ruins boutique.
Undergoing renovations that include a store completely washed in white paint from the walls to the floor, creating a blank canvas for which the clothes become the contrasting sculptures worthy of all the attention. "
It's not just about launching the clothes it's about launching the new space, the new atmosphere of the store so that's why it's important to do it here," Thomas sats.ralphlaurensweater
Both Thomas and Ruins labels have an experimental nature to the clothing and both designers say that both collections are open to evolution and change, with a runway show in Berlin planned in the summer for both labels.canadagooseparkajackets
Although the majority of the Thomas collection was missing from the public eye at the Ruins launch party this past Saturday — held back by customs in Berlin, where the line is produced — the new collection continues Thomas' focus on streamlined and tailored silhouettes, using monochromatic linen and organic cotton-silk blends to create a series of 27 classic pieces ranging from structural jackets with dramatic shoulders to a jacket with jutting lapels that zip up to create a delicate drape at the front.
While maintaining his aesthetic of highly structural garments that are still evocative of his background in sculpture as a former OCAD student, Thomas has shifted away from his usual inspiration, as he is often compared to the collections of such other young Canadian designers as Sid Neigum, Rad Hourani and the fashion label Complex Geometries — all of whom share a similarly high emphasis on androgynous, monochromatic and at times even gothic clothing.
"It's moving a direction where it's men's and women's separates now where blazers are constructed — the same style is constructed differently for men and for women because they have different curves and shapes," says the 27-year-old Thomas, who places a strong emphasis on tailoring and the construction of his garments. "So you can have the same as a man and be a woman but it's just a different way of constructing."
"I never really meant to make clothes that were androgynous I guess I just meant to make clothes that where unisex," the designer says of his previously completely unisex collection. "There's some people that go over the top with androgyny."
Formerly based in Toronto before moving to Berlin in 2011,authenticlouisvuittonhandbag Thomas' fifth collection was designed between both cities, with the latter half heavily drawing on Europe's artistic focus on traditional techniques of tailoring and craftsmanship.
"I'm really happy travelling. That's what kind of does it for me, that's what makes this still exciting. When I left Toronto I was bored and when I got to Berlin it was fresh and it was rejuvenating," says Thomas, whose line is produced in Berlin while he's more of a vagabond, with no permanent residence at the moment and moving in between spaces. "I mean, not even just the city but just going somewhere else and seeing that there's different people so far away. It's incredible!"
With Thomas as a permanent fixture at Ruins alongside the store's collaborative line of basic-yet-conceptual T-shirts,lancelhandbags2012,oakleymenssunglassesstore tanks and jackets, the collaboration between Thomas and Reichmann marks a new chapter for the ever-evolving Ruins boutique.
Undergoing renovations that include a store completely washed in white paint from the walls to the floor, creating a blank canvas for which the clothes become the contrasting sculptures worthy of all the attention. "
It's not just about launching the clothes it's about launching the new space, the new atmosphere of the store so that's why it's important to do it here," Thomas sats.ralphlaurensweater
Both Thomas and Ruins labels have an experimental nature to the clothing and both designers say that both collections are open to evolution and change, with a runway show in Berlin planned in the summer for both labels.canadagooseparkajackets
