"COALESCE"

We live in polarized times. The technologies that were meant to connect us have had the reverse effect - they have exponentially increased social dilemmas. With effortless ability we reduce the distance that separates mankind, but somehow, along the way, we forgot that the real power is to coalesce.

For its Fall/Winter 2021 Collection, Isaac Saqib and his team searched nature for evidence of coalescence, factors that could teach mankind cohesion. They found it in the desert, earth’s most abundant demonstration of desperate particles – dust – and simultaneously the most visually coherent. Humans share the same trajectory. Irrespective of race, creed, status or appearance we are all made of tiny, dry particles of earth — dust. What stops us from exhibiting the same coalescence?

Tones of beige, sky blues, reds and oranges against long, carelessly open silhouettes, unfinished seams and natural fibers like leather, cotton and wool is reminiscent of the desert’s soft coherence. All the while, this collection was shot on green screens in Brooklyn and virtually transported around the world with effortless technology. Mercy x Mankind explores the strength of coherence that can transcend both virtual and physical space.

The verb to “coalesce” means to come together to form one mass or whole. Mankind can only come together when we understand our individual selves and then each other; by accepting our differences we reveal our similarities. This collection is a reminder that the very things that separate us will most likely be the ones that unify us.