Poetry In Photos: Ann Demeulemeester's KIDS in Los Angeles

No one knows the naivety of youth better than Patti Smith. After all, ‘Who can know the heart of youth but youth itself?’ The artist noted in Just Kids, her 320-page memoir published in 2010 that not only reflects on her own experience of adolescence but also that of her part-time muse, full-time lover, life-long friend Robert Mapplethorpe. Truth be told, the rock and roll icon has left a trail of fanatics in her creative wake including a young Ann Demeulemeester, who - through her own creative path - eventually made Smith not only her muse (see the designer’s S/S 97 collection soundtracked to Smith’s 1975 album Horses) but also dear friend, inviting Smith to write the introduction to her eponymous Rizzoli publication in 2014. Fast forward to 2025 and a shared youthful rebellious attitude continues to connect their work to this day; proven by Ann Demeulemeester creative director Stefano Gallici’s latest iteration of the brand’s appropriately named ‘KIDS’ project, acting as ‘A radiant exploration of Los Angeles’ creative undercurrent’.

Ever toeing the line between the industry-favoured traditional campaign and what Ann Demeulemeester refers to as ‘cultural projects’, KIDS, now in its third iteration, doubles up as Gallici’s own visual diary of inspirations behind his collections for the house. However, this S/S 25 chapter is more than a footnote in the collection’s story, it’s a love letter to LA and to four young multi-hyphenate artists sinking their teeth (and hearts) into the city’s burgeoning creative scene, a place that also resonates with Gallici on a spiritual level. ‘Los Angeles is starting to feel like a new home for me’, the creative director noted in a statement to press. ‘It’s a place where I feel deeply connected to my creative process…the city’s energy flows naturally, and everything comes intuitively. It has become a space for constant exploration, where I meet new people, form meaningful connections, and build on the ideas that seamlessly integrate into KIDS.’

As for the ideas ever present in the latest chapter, Gallici's cast of characters are nothing more than a heavenly extension of the Patti Smith-loving, Ann Demeulemeester-wearing man and woman. ‘Los Angeles has always been at the heart of music, film, and fashion, and it felt completely natural to bring these people into KIDS’ noted Gallici of the musicians, actors and poets (what could be more pertinent?) including Sophie Thatcher, Chris Greatti, Dove Armitage, Bella Scaffidi, and Nico Geyer that are captured by longtime collaborator Jason Renaud with Mapplethrope-like simplicity on the streets and in their homes on gritty Super8 film. The images themselves are as beautiful as the stars that sit centre frame - exuding youthful innocence, untainted introspection and a carefree rebellious attitude. Think William Blake (a well-documented influence on Smith) in photographic form - where the divinity of youth is celebrated, and that to be young is to be uncorrupted and free. This romantic view of adolescence Smith also magpied and reshaped – combining her experiences of New York street life with sublime lyricism - just as Demeulemeester herself looked at her own work as a coalescence of the austere every day with the fantastical, poetically anthropomorphising her youthful runway models with pigeon and cock feathers. Gallici is next in line to take these ideas and imbue them with new meaning.

In her nearly three decades as creative director at her eponymous label (1985 - 2013) Demeulemeester avoided traditional campaign imagery in favour of letting the clothes speak for themselves. Aside from runway imagery, there aren’t many photos from her tenure, save a few spontaneous shots of friend and musician PJ Harvey by her husband and brand co-founder Patrick Robyn, and of course, Patti Smith, who wears her designs daily, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything else. Honouring this wonderfully unique approach to a design ethos that has shaped fashion lovers the world over, Gallici’s KIDS couldn’t be of more relevance today. By tapping into the brand’s collaborative spirit that has borrowed from music and poetry since being founded by Ann Demeulemeester herself 40 years ago - KIDS reaffirms the house’s storied dedication to the poetic power of transformation.