Kirk Millar continues to play upon the dichotomy of character and the environment in his Spring 2020 collection, using his own life as a source of raw emotional inspiration. His vision centers around a young man who lives a life of privilege, yet is left with untapped desires and artistic potential. Many style cues make reference to the preppy lifestyle often employed by those a part of upper echelons of society—including a deconstructed cricket sweater to reference Ivy League, a collaboration with Breton for a tribute to the classic stripe shirt donned by preps, and many uses of plaid fabrics and vintage sport stripes typically paired with blazers and hoodies.

These designs are used in juxtaposition with film and video games, giving our center character a means to escape from the cold reality of his life. These visuals are inspired by works of Thomas Struth and Tina Barney, whose photography surrounds this familiar familial stiffness. Horses are included as a motif within the pieces of Spring 2020, demonstrating not only the upper-class recreations of polo, dressage, and horse-racing, but also to show the relationship between the two forces in the animal’s life—a wild and free spirit that is tamed by the strict decorum that is enforced by his trainer. By Linder creating this message of expectation intertwined with suffocating actuality, Kirk Millar is able to showcase his own childhood qualms that led him to dive into fashion—something that lots of young men and women could surely relate to today.