DDP streetwear label in collaboration with Neith Nyer in Paris: A clashing of universes or a cohesive love affair?

The French streetwear label DDP's new AW2020 collection was conceived with the collaboration of Neith Nyer,  and unveiled at Paris Fashion Week in February.

Described as "a brutal car crash with tender lovemaking",  the inaugural collaboration was designed with the intensity of a clashing of patterns, layering of various proportions, marked by floral prints and madras checks,  fleece, knits and leather, oversized sportswear shapes, puffa jackets, along with drawstring detailing taken from active sports.   The collection carries this spirit of accumulation, searching for cohesion between clashing universes.  

The new collection isn’t just about two brands working together, it is an attempt to create an aesthetic that blurs the lines between the new and the old, luxury and streetwear, a genre that Neith Nyer creative director Francisco Terra does very well, working closely with DDP Founder Laurent Caillet and their shared obsession with flea markets have influenced their ideas. "We thought of a digger," explains Francisco. "She's a girl who obsessively bargains, she runs from the club early morning to get the best deals at the garage sales."

The creative process guiding this collection reflects the same dynamics: through their research, the designers excavated hundreds of DDP archive pieces, some of them dating from the mid 90s. (DDP was launched in 1995 by LAURENT CAILLET with partner DIDIER MAUROUX.)

Individually, the pieces are commercial and adaptable.  It's in the use of fabrics in an unconventional, almost perverted way that provokes.  Fleece is treated to look moth-eaten, then employed to craft byzantine corsets and bizarre flowers. Padded nylon is the base of mini skirts while knitted jackets are spray painted.

The cartoonesque shoes were done in collaboration with Naomi Hille, while Florence Tetier designed this seasons jewelry, a cosmic assembly of iridescent bubbles.

The collection is under the auspices of the iconic figure of the eggman, one of the most memorable visual elements of DDP, whose face is burned on jersey and hand-sewn on hoodies. This character, revived for the collection, serves as the symbol of « Neith Nyer and DDP », a brand that stands for playfulness and inclusiveness.