Jared Nanke
IMPERIUM — the runway

La Maison de Jared Nanke

IMPERIUM

24 Looks

A Study in Authority

Introduction

IMPERIUM is a study of female authority.

Drawing upon empire, military dress, ceremony and monumental architecture, the collection dismantles historical symbols of institutional power and reconstructs them around the female body.

Across twenty-four looks, authority progresses from uniform to command, from command to sovereignty, and ultimately from sovereignty to permanence.

She does not dress for power. Power dresses around her.

Act I

THE REPUBLIC

Looks 01–06

The collection begins with discipline. The silhouettes establish the fundamental grammar of IMPERIUM: black tailoring, controlled proportions, military references, elongated lines, disciplined waists and architectural shoulders. Power still belongs partially to an institution. The woman has entered its architecture and learned its language. The feeling is office, duty, command and order.

01

THE STANDARD

Look 01 — THE STANDARD — Front

Front

Look 01 — THE STANDARD — Rear

Rear

02

Look 02 — Front

Front

Look 02 — Rear

Rear

03

THE PRAETORIAN

Look 03 — THE PRAETORIAN — Front

Front

Look 03 — THE PRAETORIAN — Rear

Rear

04

Look 04 — Front

Front

Look 04 — Rear

Rear

05

Look 05 — Front

Front

Look 05 — Rear

Rear

06

THE LEGATE

Look 06 — THE LEGATE — Front

Front

Look 06 — THE LEGATE — Rear

Rear

Act II

THE EMPIRE

Looks 07–12

The vocabulary becomes richer. Ceremonial references increase. The silhouettes become more commanding. The relationship between military discipline and aristocratic refinement becomes more pronounced. The woman is no longer merely serving the institution. She is beginning to control it.

07

Look 07 — Front

Front

Look 07 — Rear

Rear

08

THE TRIBUNE

Look 08 — THE TRIBUNE — Front

Front

Look 08 — THE TRIBUNE — Rear

Rear

09

Look 09 — Front

Front

Look 09 — Rear

Rear

10

Look 10 — Front

Front

Look 10 — Rear

Rear

11

THE CENTURION

Look 11 — THE CENTURION — Front

Front

Look 11 — THE CENTURION — Rear

Rear

12

Look 12 — Front

Front

Look 12 — Rear

Rear

Act III

THE COURT

Looks 13–18

Power becomes ceremonial. The collection moves away from the battlefield and toward the palace. Fabric, proportion and gesture become increasingly monumental. References to court dress and imperial ceremony appear without becoming historical reproduction. The woman is no longer simply an officer. She has entered the architecture in which power is performed.

13

Look 13 — Front

Front

Look 13 — Rear

Rear

14

Look 14 — Front

Front

Look 14 — Rear

Rear

15

THE AQUILIFER

Look 15 — THE AQUILIFER — Front

Front

Look 15 — THE AQUILIFER — Rear

Rear

16

Look 16 — Front

Front

Look 16 — Rear

Rear

17

Look 17 — Front

Front

Look 17 — Rear

Rear

18

THE IMPERATOR

Look 18 — THE IMPERATOR — Front

Front

Look 18 — THE IMPERATOR — Rear

Rear

Act IV

THE IMPERIUM

Looks 19–24

The final act abandons any remaining ambiguity. These are not clothes about approaching power. They are clothes about possession. Silhouettes can become more ceremonial, monumental and psychologically remote. The distinction between woman, garment and institution begins to collapse.

19

Look 19 — Front

Front

Look 19 — Rear

Rear

20

Look 20 — Rear

Rear

21

Look 21 — Front

Front

Look 21 — Rear

Rear

22

Look 22 — Front

Front

Look 22 — Rear

Rear

23

THE APOTHEOSIS

Look 23 — THE APOTHEOSIS — Front

Front

Look 23 — THE APOTHEOSIS — Rear

Rear

24

AUREA

Look 24 — AUREA — Front

Front

Look 24 — AUREA — Rear

Rear

From the Archive

The origins of IMPERIUM date to 2012.

The collection began as research for a Fall/Winter 2013 body of work exploring military dress, imperial symbolism, historical tailoring and the visual architecture of authority.

More than a decade later, Jared Nanke returned to those ideas through the vocabulary of La Maison de Jared Nanke.

The resulting collection does not reproduce the archive. It completes it.

Authority does not require permission.

La Maison de Jared Nanke

FOR WOMEN. FOR ETERNITY.