Rajo Laurel trips on sci-fi safari

First it was insects, now it’s Africa.

Say what you will about Rajo Laurel but credit him with diverse references. The designer debuted his latest collection at the Moroso showroom, juxtaposing his graphic black-and-white pieces against the colorful furniture.

With a sly mix of out-of-this world elements and earthy influences, his latest pieces are a nod to the future. “Sci-fi Africa is a collection based on paradox and fantasy,” Rajo says. “Imagine a woman from Africa teleported to a hundred years from now. I wanted to find out how she would utilize her aesthetic in a very modern environment. I tried to combine disparate ideologies such as the refined and the raw, the high tech with the low tech, the slow with the fast. It is these paradoxes that fuel the collection.”

Rajo’s current collection owes a heavy debt to his previous insect-themed series with its heavy use of bold black and white splices of fabric. “As a designer, I generally like to work with a constant evolution of ideas and this particular collection is a continuation of that particular idea,” he says of the insect influence. “I was inspired by African textiles from various African countries such as the kente cloth of Ghana; the baul’e man’s cloth of Nigeria; even the way the Sakalava men wear the lamba mela. All of these particular elements contributed to the evolution of this collection.”

His vigorous application of panels in graphic color blocking is typical of his earlier work. “I started experimenting with this beginning with my 2001 collection called Optical Illusion,” he says. Obsessed with artist Victor Vasarely who pioneered Optical Art, he’s spent the past decade refining opticals, reworking color blocks to reflect whatever’s floating in his subconscious — whether it’s extra-terrestrial tribal art or homely quadrupeds.

Slinky dresses with textured panels in pailletes or sheer fabric make up the majority of the collection, but the hero is clearly the pantsuit. Reinvented with crisp pleats in rayon viscose with a loose silhouette — cinched at the waist and extending in a wider cut without a hint of a bell — the pantsuit makes the stronger statement.

Paired with a cropped jacket, he’s invested the piece with an airy lightness that’s missing in some of the dresses. Particularly interesting is the jumpsuit worn by Jasmine Maierhoffer. A white blazer, with black panels embellishing wide lapels, over a black one-piece makes a strong case for the pantsuit. It’s got modern woman written all over it.

Though I have to argue that there’s nothing super futuristic about the ensemble. In fact, it’s oh-so-very now.