E-Boys: Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s Response to TikTok and the Global Pandemic
As the world quarantined over the summer, one particular app blew up: TikTok. With it came the e-boys, a newly accepted culture of boys outside the traditional stereotypes such as nerds or jocks. Characterised by their painted nails, appreciation for jewellery, and alternative-meets-skater style, they represent a modern trend of men being more in touch with their feminine sides and existing out of society’s standards.
Paris-based designer Ludovic de Saint Sernin has taken e-boy culture as the inspiration for his Spring/Summer 2021 collection. Runner-up of the 2018 LVMH Prize, de Saint Sernin founded his own label in 2017 after working under Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing. Despite having initially studied and worked in womenswear, his individual label focuses more on unisex clothing, though mostly modeled on male models. In an interview with Vogue in 2017, he cites “pop culture, art and sex” as his three inspirations, building on his sexuality as a gay man to create artisanal-yet-sensual pieces.
When de Saint Sernin’s retailers started cancelling orders as the coronavirus pandemic came into effect, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He set up his website with the returned stock and started shooting his collections on his phone with his boyfriend at home. He has been controlling the process of exhibiting his new collection this way; slow updates on social media heighten the sensuality and digital-age inspired outfits.
The eyelets! The cropped pieces! The halters! The mesh! Everything that’s part of an e-boy closet has made its way into de Saint Sernin’s pieces. The first look he released features a bandeau and leather pants, in signature e-boy black.
Among other pieces in his collection are crop tops, jeans with eyelet details and cross-laced flys, and Swarovski crystal shirts. Not just restricting himself to a simple black and white colour palette, though, this collection also features a lot of monochromatic looks and even some rainbow pieces. de Saint Sernin has worked his signature clothing themes into this collection. It’s barely-there, it’s sensational, and what Vogue calls “young-body dressing” that he’s consistently kept up with over the past three years as an independent designer.
It’s only fitting that de Saint Sernin created and released his collection as he has: in the midst of a digital revolution, the creation of new subcultures, and a global pandemic, he’s appealing to his fans in the most appropriate way possible. This collection stands as an example of how younger designers are adjusting to the shifts the fashion industry has seen. Staying true to his style yet adapting with the times, this collection marks a new age of de Saint Sernin’s artistic vision.
Feature image via.
