A  dormitory.  Awakening  time.  Soldiers  on  permanent  leave,  going  back  home.  The  day  after  the  truce – final, definitive, liberating – rules blow up, in a faultless tailored mash.up.  With  his  F/W  12/13  collection,  Umit  Benan  creates  a  new  army  of  characters  –  multi.ethnical,   composite, inhabitants of a changing world, global, with no frontiers . He dresses them up his own  way:  reinventing  shapes,  cuts  and  proportions  with  an  easy.going  precision.  The  choice  of  the  dormitory  is  the  message:  a  place  where  social  differences,  race  and  status  do  not  exist.  Umit  Benan appreciates and explores this aspect of the military culture: the moment of unification and  aggregation,  with  no  barriers.  A  moment  of  suspension  that  the  utopia  of  the  style  can  make  permanent. Benan confirms his verve of composed instigator: he works on archetype shapes and  iconographies, reinventing new silhouettes through masterly balance. He twists and distorts with  inexorable  subtlety.  He  is  the  undercover  agent  who  reverses  plans.  He  turns  everything  into  a  party, a game, never allowing chaos to supervene. His vision is both rough and sophisticated. It’s a  matter  of    manners,  attitude,  point  of  view.  The  culture  of  dressing  well  sublimates  in  suits  of  concrete elegance, made to be worn intensely, perfect in extreme situations.   Umit  Benan  works  on  codes:  hybridizing  them,  side.slipping  them,  altering  them.  He  never  falls  into literal quotation: no camouflage but an abstract Chevron; no metal buttons. Everything starts  from volumes: exaggerated, generous; or on the contrary, compact and slim. The silhouette is the  synthesis  of  contrary  shapes:  over  exaggeratingly  over,  like  the  double  breasted  “countryside  in  winter”  coat  worn  over  slim  cut  pants  in  yarn.dyed  technical  cotton;  or  vice  versa,  out.bursting  tops    complete  voluminous  cargo  pants.  Civilian  and  military  gear    swap  role  using  the  symbolic  suggestive power of  colors: the tailored suit adopts the military green hue while the officer jacket  and  the  tank  man  pants  –  cut  just  above  the  ankle  –  are  made  of  pale  grey  flannel.  Unexpected  citations get here and there: the knitted leisurewear recalls the underwear of the past, suggesting  a  domestic  yet  body.conscious  comfort;  quilted  jackets  and  nylon  blousons  are  performance  oriented.  Accessories  include  sturdy  boots,  caps  and  berets.  The  whole  idea  expresses  a  nonchalant put.together: rules are broken, with a masculine consciousness.   Fabrics  are  close.woven,  rough  and  precious:  wool,  Shetland,  cashmere  cloth,  yarn.dyed  cotton,   dry  cotton.nylon.  Chromatics  are  concentrated:  hues  of  green,  saffron  yellow,  pale  grey  and  intense black form a color palette that subtly undermines the martial aplomb.   Umit Benan’s army celebrates peace. It marches free of any patterns, even if it knows them well.