On June 25, 2022, Toronto-based designer brand Mr. Saturday's Spring/Summer 2023 collection titled "Sex & Politics: Shadow Play At Le Chat Noir" was showcased on the official Paris Fashion Week calendar by the Fdration de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Mr. Saturday is a brand founded by 28-year-old designer & founder Joey Gollish that explores historical events and ephemera, focusing on nightlife and culture-shifting moments and connecting movement and history. Following the runway portion of Mr. Saturday's show, an official after party took place on the grounds of the National Archive Museum in Paris.
This season, Gollish explores the history and lasting global impact of European cabaret, particularly Le Chat Noir, Cabaret Voltaire, and other central figures in European Cabaret. While cabarets are commonly known as a platform for subversiveness and sexual liberation, it was also where political and cultural satire and commentary could freely flourish during the 1880s through the 1920s and was an original safe haven and meeting place for the LGBTQ+ community. The collection explores this corner of culture during this specific era, depicted in the form of cat graphics which plays on the cat & the frog/sex & politics reference. Sex & Politics features 38 ready-to-wear looks across both menswear and womenswear. Gollish mixes core brand styles & silhouettes reimagined for the Spring/Summer 2023 season with new ideas and avant-garde, one-of-one show looks. The brand incorporates the idea of shadowplay throughout the collection, with distinct fabric choices like sheer organza, poplin cotton, and loose merino knits. Shadowplay is also seen more plainly in the graphic artwork, which appears & disappears across select pieces.
Key ready-to-wear pieces include gently oversized, open-knit merino sweater top & bottom sets in checkerboard prints, an extra-sharp white padded leather moto jacket, a boxer skirt silhouette that plays on traditional boxer shorts, a cream wool bomber jacket with Sex and Politics themed cat graphics stitched along the back, silky-to-the-touch Tencel knit shirt and short sets in a range of neutral colorways, an oversized, black sheer organza button down shirt with matching shorts, and a slick, black velvet, double-breasted suit jacket and matching pant. The more avant-garde show looks this season were handsewn or specially created to help storytell around the subversiveness of the inspiration and collection. This includes leather harnesses and chaps, custom boxing gloves, jock straps printed with Mr. Saturdays classic GOOD LUCK slogan, and a camp-driven take on a classic European ballgown with an exposed backside to illustrate the sexual liberation that cabaret culture has come to unabashedly represent. Mr. Saturday also continues to expand their accessories offerings. This season, the brand debuts all new styles across sunglasses and handbags categories. For sunglasses, Mr. Saturday introduced a new style called the Hugo featuring an oversized, rounded eye shape handcrafted with Italian acetate and named after Cabaret Voltaires founder Hugo Ball. New handbag styles were designed in collaboration with Canadian premium lifestyle brand Roots and include a black leather duffle bag with Mr. Saturdays classic GOOD LUCK slogan seen on embroidered patches, a black leather pouch style, a beige weekender bag complete with hand-painted cat graphics by Toronto artist Esther Liang. In addition to the handbags, Mr. Saturday collaborated with Roots on its range of bomber jackets which feature premium leather sleeves.
Designer & founder Joey Gollish
Mr. Saturday also teamed up with social commerce platform Basic.Space to create a range of ready-to-wear apparel and homeware complete with cat graphics & slogans that tie back to the collections themes. Available for guests to purchase at the Sex & Politics Paris afterparty and exclusively on Basic.Spaces website, the collaboration includes a hat, a heavyweight cotton t-shirt, a limited-edition, made-to-order varsity jacket made in collaboration with Roots, and a woven linen show napkin. Mr. Saturday presented its Spring/Summer 2023 collection with an in-person runway presentation at the historic National Archives Museum in Paris. The presentations set design was made to feel like a formal dinner setting at a classic European cabaret featuring a pedestal runway stage with tables set around it. Following the show, the venue transitioned to an after-party, allowing guests to step further into the world of Mr. Saturday with live DJ sets, drinks, collection re-sees, and a gift shop. Notable guests in attendance included athletes, industry VIPs, and tastemakers like Donovan People Jones, Tarik Black, Jerami Grant, and Alexander Rot.