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ARIES and FILA has teamed up for an exclusive collection, titled “Vela Nera”, or Black Sail, paying homage to the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur and a nod to the sailing jacket FILA famously created for Giovanni Soldini in 1996. The color black dominates the outerwear technical pieces of the collection: representing the dark times when the Minotaur returned home victorious, and Theseus forgot to put on the white flag. His father, the king, believing he was dead, committed suicide, throwing himself off a cliff.
The extensive collection is a hybrid of unisex, sailing-inpired sportswear, consisting of loose fit tailoring, nylon tracksuits, windcheater pants, sneakers and bodycon womenswear like elastic bandage swimwear and seamless engineered base layers. The streamlined and sparse design is transfigured, as typical of Aries, through graphics that homage the original Greek mythology as well as referencing sailing codes such as semaphore flags. Black and white tie dye prints are reminiscent of Grecian marble. The colour palette blends black with Fila’s iconic white, red and rich tones of gold and cream. The play-off of ancient and modern, luxury and technical is signature Aries.
The visual output, developed in collaboration with David Sims, further augments the mythological references, using the eerie backdrop of Alberto Burri’s Grande cretto in Gibellina (Sicily) as a scene that transports a classical tale into today’s world.
The ARIES x FILA “Vela Nera” collection, is available now, on the ARIES and FILA websites.
Photos: ARIES / FILA / David Sims