It might be premature to call out proportion play as a theme of the fall 2023 season, but that was certainly the case at Our Legacy, where Christopher Nying was focused on the actual fit of some pretty rad ’fits.
A father to two young daughters, Nying looked at their clothes as well as the childrenswear he’s amassed over the years. (One of the inspiration items for the collection, a pink-and-white striped onesie, appears as a showpiece that Nying described as “an internal smile.”) He also considered how his younger self dressed and his overall aesthetic: “I’m kind of grungy,” the designer admitted. But if his new collection is personal, it is also a technical one that involves ingenious problem-solving.
Take look six, for example. It’s based on the designer’s daughter’s jacket, a vintage N-3B parka that Nying brought to the office and played around with. “We changed the proportions on the width only and made it into a top.” Leather sleeves were added, with kid’s art pencils stuffed in the pocket to elicit another smile.
“I like the idea that in this collection we actually wash and dye a lot in the sense of getting this proper patina, like the shrink. The mistakes are there,” Nying said. Also present are many wonderful details: Twine of the kind used on toggle closures is repurposed as raw ties on undervests; a chain knit updates the classic cable; the Cure gets a shout-out via a Robert Smith T-shirt; corduroy is oriented horizontally; and some pants and jackets have zip, rather than button, finishings.
One longish cardigan, noted Nying, has the same fit as when he puts his own cardigan on his daughter. Note too the way that the shoulder is set into shrunken blazers. Pants are sharp or full; Nying’s vision is generous and allows for variety. At the same time, he has certain touchstones—a military kit is one of them. In addition to the American N-3B jacket, Nying reworked a classic Swedish army topper (look eight). There are bomber and waxed outdoor jackets, as well as duffle and teddy coats that read as classics despite their adjusted shapes. At OL it’s not just what you wear but how you wear it that counts, which is what personal style is all about.
“This is a very personal styling for me,” explained Nying on a call. Swipe through the collection, and you’ll see double skirts, pants over pants, sweaters over jackets, knits over leather, knits on knits, gaiters over pants, and plaids on plaids. “I’m not super into layering normally, but with this collection, because you have big and small proportions, it’s very easy to layer. It’s like a mixtape—you take what you have and just put it on you, in a way. It’s a kind of bad styling, but I like it when you do it because it’s comfortable, it keeps you warm.”
What Nying is talking about is not just a look and a function but a natural, offhand gesture of someone more concerned with where they are going than how they will look when they get there—the anti-fashion stance, essentially. Of course, this collection and its styling are conscious, but the OL magic is to create clothes that are familiar yet off in an alluring way that draws you in—and keeps you coming back for more.
