LEFT
Jacket, $595, rash
tank, $230, and pants,
$695, all by EX Infinitas;
sneakers, $590, by EX
Infinitas x Livo Evijärvi.
ABOVE
Jacket, $1250, shirt,
$590, shorts, $415,
and bag, $290,
all by EX Infinitas.
RIGHT
Shirt, $575, T-shirt,
$290, pants, $560, board
shorts (worn under pants),
$415, and hat, $230, all
by EX Infinitas; sneakers,
$590, by EX Infinitas
x Livo Evijärvi.
Grooming Ramona
Eschbach at Total
World using Oribe.
Casting Svea Greichgauer
at AM Casting.
Model Elias de Poot at
Rebel Management.uxury is not a word typically associated with
surf. But for a brand whose muse founder Lukas
Vincent describes as the combination of “a
young Kelly Slater and Salvador Dali”, it didn’t
take long for EX Infinitas to start making waves
in the fashion world. Not least of all, thanks to the support of
heavy-hitting international retailers Browns and Farfetch,
which both took a chance on the young designer, stocking a
curated selection of the brand amid their stable of established
high-end labels.
EX Infinitas’ aesthetic blends the lyricism of ’70s Australia
with refined but functional tailoring, which filters through
the brand’s collection of men’s ready-to-wear clothing,
accessories, and footwear. Vincent’s early years were spent
on the surf coast of Victoria, and the bare landscape in which
he grew up was the primary source of inspiration for the
brand. Even so, Vincent clearly has his finger on the pulse
of the normcore aesthetic that’s dominating the world’s
major fashion capitals right now.
Between factory visits, press appointments and relocating to
Paris, he sat down with GQ to share his thoughts on style, surf
and all things Australiana.
L
AUSTRALIAN STYLE “I’ve always
been fascinated with the iconic image
of the Australian beach that’s
embedded into our cultural
imaginations, and how this has
directly and indirectly informed
Australian fashion and style over the
generations. There are few
metropolitan cities around the world
exposed to the beach in such a way,
where we are compelled to integrate
it into our everyday style. You can
always identify Australian style,
thanks to its equally modern
and nonchalant appeal.”NAMING THE LABEL “In the current
cultural climate – one that in my
opinion, could be considered quite
vapid – I knew a Latin name would
possess weight. Its meaning, ‘the nexus
of intersecting periods between pastand future’, would form the
conceptual framework; I could
employ elements of a more
traditional nature and that of a
futurist – from overall creative
direction, to fabric choices or
print artwork and iconography.
A considered combination of past
and future, for the now – with
a reference to the youth of today
that is constant.”BRAND DNA “The brand
concept was an intuitive
response to the opportunity
I saw in Australian menswear
at the time. I asked myself a few
simple questions around what
would be appealing in a relevant
Australian menswear export –
and from that, what would
define the core DNA and
overall brand ethos. I knew
the history of Australian beach
culture and the transgressive
underpinnings of surfer
lifestyle would be the first
components. This way the
brand would have a clear
identity in an oversaturated
global market, and in this
international market, consumers
could easily identify its origins as
Australian. But it was the addition
of fine tailoring and luxury
fabrications that would challenge
the traditional notion of a ‘surf
brand’, and together, this would
become the brand’s idiosyncratic
signature – sartorial surf or
‘ready-to-surf’ wear.”THE BEST SELLER “The ‘Pocket’ robe
we bring back every season in new
luxury fabrications. Its minimal design
is ideal for layering under a tailored
blazer, or with a classic T-shirt. To
complete the look, our tailored board
pant in its various incarnations, is
a carefully engineered hybrid of an
original ’70s Quiksilver short and a
fully tailored classic-fit pant featuring
a neon ‘I thought the future would
be cooler’ print on the back leg.” nMEN OF THE YEAR 2017 GQ.COM.AU 143