the PIPELINE: Style on Tap

• June 12, 2008 12:23 PM
• On The Verge

Boho Bisexual: Marios-Identity Kit Goes Both Ways

By Johnathan Lawhorne

For him? For her? As long as the cut is right, it doesn't really matter. Italian import, Marios-Identity Kit—the product of Milan-based duo of Marios Loisou and Leszek Chmielewski—has been operating under this theory for a few seasons now. While the gender stance of their "poli-functional" line, Identity Kit, may be neutral, its firm position on deconstructed outerwear, relaxed silhouettes, offbeat uses of color, and sportswear-inspired pieces have garnered them a small, fervent following.

Not to get too philosophical, but the fact that Identity Kit successfully exists outside of traditional gender constructs (in wo-man's land perhaps?) transforms the off-kilter designs into conceptual pieces, capable of being molded and tweaked to accommodate the wearer, no matter their sex. Inside Mario's mixed bag, shoppers will find origami-embellished sweats, T-shirts emblazoned with all-seeing eyes, and cinched dresses that double as men's tops. Although reminiscent of fellow unconventionalists like Jeremy Scott and Henrik Vibskov, Identity Kit's particular grade of crazy registers more as a lifestyle statement than a form of showmanship (sorry, showpersonship), one that eschews traditional orthodoxies where labels aren't used to define people, but only to report sizes.

Marios-Identity Kit is available in New York at Oak, 28 Bond Street, 212-677-1293; and Woodley & Bunny, 490 Driggs Avenue, Brooklyn, 718-218-6588. For more information, go to www.marioslefttanker.com.

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