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19.

GARETH PUGH SS18

Gareth Pugh

Nick Knight

Olivier de Sagazan

Wayne McGregor

Roly Porter

Younji Ku

Britt Lloyd

#gareth pugh #ss18 #gareth pugh ss18

18.

COPENHAGEN TRIP / GUIDE - AUGUST 2017.

Copenhagen was the destination for a short getaway and we used my 24th birthday as an excuse (or distraction). An absolutely beautiful city, full of some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

Smaller than I initially imagined, Copenhagen was the perfect size for our 4 days there. It was just right, as we were able to walk the entire way round it and visit everywhere that we wanted to. Hopping on a 15 minute bus from directly outside our little Airbnb, we’d often get off down by the Tivoli Gardens and walk / work our way up towards the hub of the city centre. We’d use a CityPass, setting us back 200DKr / £25 for a 72hr ticket and this allowed us to use the metro and the bus as many times as we pleased. They simply text you the confirmation, and you can show it accordingly (however, due to the general mentality of the place, nobody actually even checked ours - they appeared to assume and trust that we had the according passes without even asking!)

Even after having gotten up at 3am that day and arriving in Copenhagen at about midday, we still felt that we had enough energy to go exploring due to the short flight of about an hour and a half from Stanstead Airport - which was a bonus. We jumped on the first bus that came along after checking into our wonderful little flat, and got off when Google Maps told us we were in what looked like the city centre! After a short wander, we found the Tivoli Gardens. An absolutely beautiful little spot, an amusement / entertainment park in the city centre which boasted a rich history after originally coming about in 1843 and being cared for, updated, and looked after well since then. Full of rides, restaurants, bars, and gardens dotted throughout, a lot was packed into the small space. It was certainly enough to keep us entertained for the entire afternoon, and thanks to the incredibly helpful and welcoming service from everyone there, we were made to feel right at home immediately.

Our second day was dedicated to more exploring and learning. We first visited the Botanical Gardens in the city centre. A lovely, huge space with little walkways, winding paths, and greenhouses throughout. The weather treated us so well on our time away - I’d read that it can often be a tad sporadic due to the location of the city, but it was hot and sunny throughout, meaning that the time in the gardens was perfect. We then headed towards the Design Museum Denmark, towards the north of the city centre. The museum was set in a really nice space, a square layout for the building itself with a large green in the centre - originally, it was built as a hospital back in the 1800′s. A quick stop off at the cafe and we were good to go! The museum showcased a variety of work, starting with old Asian designs (which was very interesting, to learn about how much of an impact it had on Danish design at the time). It then went through the ages up until current time, showing all kinds of design, until finally showcasing more up to date, 20th century, specifically Danish, design. Furniture, print, graphics, architecture, drawings, and models was on display through the whole museum and it was very impressive. The museum itself has special exhibitions which change every now and then, and without realising it, they had a haute couture exhib showcasing the work of Erik Mortensen, the Danish fashion designer, and specifically his lead up and time at Balmain from 1982-1990 as head of design. Entitled “I Am Black Velvet, it showcased about 70 pieces from his time there, as well as videos and sketches of his alongside the garments. A very inspiring experience, with some stunning pieces from Mortensen’s time there. A lovely surprise that we didn’t realise was currently being shown until we looked! After the museum, we headed over towards Christiana, the freetown, and more specifically the waterfronts that surround it. Going to the “Copenhagen Street Food” venue, a huge warehouse space on the waters edge, full of hundreds of food and drinks vendors - quirky little stalls were dotted throughout with loads on offer, national foods and drinks were everywhere and there was almost too much to choose from! Would definitely recommend, there was such a lovely buzz, grabbing food of your choosing and sitting out on the benches shoulder to shoulder with total strangers as the sun began to set over the water. Next door to the Street Food venue was Copenhagen Contemporary, a second gallery space that we then went into. There was an event by Yoko Ono, as well as work from Sarah Sze on display, but by far the one that I enjoyed experiencing most was the work from Christian Marclay. It showed his 2010 piece called “The Clock” which was a 24-hour straight montage showing a variety of clips, in their thousands, that completely synchronised the time in the film clips with the time of the viewer’s world. In most clips, the actual time itself was physically displayed, or referenced, but if not, Marclay cleverly discovered the time of the clip through knowledge of the film in question. It was incredibly interesting, the fact that the short and contrasting clips were taken out of context and put next to eachother, while being totally in time with our real world, but completely endless as a whole, 24hr, looping video - we honestly could have sat there all day, in fact even though we were there for an hour, it totally flew by! After this, we strolled back into the city and pulled up a pew on the waters front at the colourful Nyhavn for a few drinks as the sun set on us. Definitely my favourite place in the city, it had a hustle and bustle all evening long, but nothing felt rushed, everyone was having a great time, there were people working on their boats while hundreds of people walked past just meters away. The colourful buildings had restaurants all the way down, and infront of these were a whole load of separate little bars, one of which we sat at. Would definitely put this on the to-do list for anyone going over there!

Our third and final full day lent itself to shopping and checking out more of the city centre. Starting off in Indre By, Downtown Copenhagen, we headed straight for Illum, a huge department store with a nice selection of designer pieces including SLP, Acne, Wang, throughout, as well as a lovely rooftop coffee shop. In the surrounding area was such other places as HAY House, Urban Outfitters, Weekday, and so on. We headed a little further out towards OSV, which is almost Grailed in shop form - second hand designer fashion sold on behalf of clients by the shop. A really nice idea that worked well! Just round the corner of this was Henrik Vibskov, a little boutique with some of the best designer bits I saw in my whole time there. Stocking CDG, Raf, a couple of bits of Rick, and of course Henrik’s work, the tiny space fitted an awful lot in and had a really nice vibe to it. We then headed over to the Acne stores (which there were a couple of not too far from one another) as well as STORM, which was also really nice, would recommend. To top it all off, we popped over to the Acne Archives - a bit of a walk away, but definitely worth the trip for the beautiful pieces they had on offer there, and then stopped in to California Kitchen nearby - definitely pop in if you’re in the area, they call themselves a “fast-casual lifestyle restaurant”, serving a variety of convenient and healthy bowl-based dishes loosely based around different traditional dishes from around the world. Heading back to the apartment, we were able to spend hours as the day drew to a close with a bottle of wine on the balcony, chatting and watching the world go by. Absolutely spot on.

Overall, it was great. Flights and travel are easy and accessible, and it’s such a lovely city full of wonderful people. While it didn’t always have things going on that jumped out or took your breath away, it was relaxed, easy to navigate and always felt very safe. It was also incredibly clean! People there couldn’t have been more helpful, service was always great too. There were almost too many places to eat or drink to choose from! Personally, I felt that the shopping side of things left a little to be desired - simply due to what was on offer, but the shops themselves were unique, quirky, and plentiful. If you’re after your clean-cut, Scandinavian design - think COS, Acne, etc - you’re in for a treat! While it’s not a complaint, the prices for food and drink over there was a surprise too - definitely more than expected - a couple of pints and two vodka cokes came to roughly £30 or so - but the setting, quality of service and experience meant it was totally worth it! General exhibitions, museums, galleries and events were always well curated, chosen and presented. All in all, I would highly recommend! It wasn’t too stressful as an experience, and it was super easy to get around and get to where we needed to be. Will hopefully go back one day for sure!

#copenhagen

17.

ABLOH / OFF-WHITE x NIKE: “THE TEN” ANNOUNCEMENT.

Nike has just officially announced on their website, and across social media - alongside many other pages, groups, and blogs which have just heard the news - that the group of long-teased, leaked, and highly anticipated collab with the Creative Director of OFF-WHITE, Virgil Abloh.

The release has received more and more exposure over the past few months, as close friends of Abloh’s, such as Luka Sabbat or Ian Connor and other celebrities, have been scoped with these out and about.

These deconstructed, pulled apart, and stitched back together with an industrial twist incorporates much of what Virgil represents in his own work, while showing off the inner-workings and exposing the thought and processes that goes into each of the shoes he chose to re-do. From the labelling of the sole with “AIR” on the Jordans, the exposure of the foam in the tongue by slicing it open, or the almost clinical or factory-feel addition of a cable tie to each shoe - they are eye catching and take a very interesting look at how far a collab between designers and companies can be pushed.

The collection also includes a re-worked version of the Converse Chuck Taylor. Not for me, personally.

Overall, I do appreciate the work from this collab. While my appreciation for some of OFF-WHITE’s offerings isn’t always that huge, I respect Virgil and do like a lot of what he puts out. His contemporary and multi-discipline approach to his work and what he creates is impressive - I just feel that in this collab, it may have gone a bit too far. The 10 different designs, while being nice in their own way and following a strong theme, feels a little too much, a little stretched out. I feel if it’d been 3-5 pairs, the final releases would have united in a more strong and impactful way, with the shoes being more unique within the group as a whole. Added to this, they have a broad and general release later this year - a pre-release across major cities in September, and then available for NikeLab and retailers as of November. Again, I feel that a more limited release, adding to the exclusivity of these, would have helped in their success as a hyped collaboration. But that’s just me.

The full Nike release article can be found here:

http://news.nike.com/news/virgil-abloh-nike-the-10

16.

GRAILED DRY CLEANING: A CLOSER LOOK: MACHUS.

I found out about Machus and have been following their online presence for a couple of years now, thanks to Jacob Keller - https://www.instagram.com/jacobjkeller/?hl=en, whom I have been following for a long time now, way back in 2011/2012 days with Always Fresh Apparel YouTube channel. He’s come a long way and I have found myself now following him from a distance, but every time I revisit to see what’s new he’s always come along massively. His personal style is something I find to be creative, unique and playful, mixing a lot of different designs and characteristics for nicely experimental, but often not over the top, looks.

Through him, I found out about Machus, as he began working there a while ago. It’s a beautiful store that really stands out from everything else that Portland has to offer, and like Jacob’s personal style, the boutique offers a range of products, from Rick Owens to Stone Island and John Elliot, but they also take risks by buying into up-and-comers that aren’t as renown or recognised as many of the other options they have on display - often helping push them to a bigger audience and bigger success simply by stocking their garments at all.

https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/machus-shop-visit

#machus #jacobjkeller #grailed

15.

NOTABLE ARTICLES FROM THE PAST COUPLE WEEKS:

R.I.P RO X ADIDAS: https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/history-of-rick-owens-adidas-collaboration

HOW RAF SIMONS CAPTURED THE CALVIN KLEIN EMPIRE:https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/07/raf-simons-calvin-klein

THE SELLING POWER OF GUCCI'S RELENTLESS GUCCINESS:https://fashionista.com/2017/08/gucci-selling-power-alessandro-michele

PUNK’S NEW PRODIGY: MIDNIGHT STUDIOS’ SHANE GONZALES OFFERS UP DECADES’ WORTH OF INSPIRATION: https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/shane-gonzales-interview-sale

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR OWN FASHION LABEL: http://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/article/what-you-need-to-know-before-starting-your-own-fashion-label

MENSWHERE?: http://www.10magazine.com/menswear/from-the-issue-menswhere-by-alexander-fury

14.

“Start copying what you love. Copy copy copy copy. At the end of the copy you will find yourself.” - Yohji Yamamoto

13.

V&A BALENCIAGA: SHAPING FASHION EVENT.

22/7/17 - We went down to London for a day and V&A was hosting an exhibition based around their collection of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s work. Over 100 pieces were on show, portraying everything from his first to last pieces, sketches, patterns, fabric work, and documentaries about his very private and formal seasonal shows. The top floor of the exhib contained contemporary work from designers that had been influenced and borrowed from Balenciaga’s legacy (as shown towards the bottom of the imagery below).

It was absolutely awe-inspiring throughout, and given I’d never properly looked into the history of Balenciaga’s legacy, I felt humbled, yet inspired, to learn about such a rich and beautiful history that his story and work contained. I would highly encourage anybody to pay a visit to this exhibition if you are able to make it down there.

“It is the fabric that decides.” - C. Balenciaga.

#v&a museum #v&a #balenciaga #cristobal balenciaga

suckadick2014-deactivated201403

Rick Owens collection names

The book spans only 10 years so here are the rest

AW 2008 STAG SS 2009 STRUTTER AW 2009 CRUST SS 2010 RELEASE AW 2010 GLEAM SS 2011 ANTHEM AW 2011 LIMO SS 2012 NASKA AW 2012 MOUNTAIN SS 2013 ISLAND AW 2013 PLINTH

12.

It’s interesting to see the archive pieces used from the guys at Grailed in this music video, as well as the homage to Rafs iconic and unforgettable AW2001/2002 Riot Riot Riot collection at the very start. Much debate across the net as this video only came out a few hours ago at the time of writing this, some love it and some hate it, as of course, this kind of exposure invites more of those “not in the know” to start flooding the internet with dumb questions, trying to buy pieces without a clue of what they’re buying into or any respect for it, or even relying on fakes to full fill the need they develop from the exposure and hype developed from this video. However, everyone has to start somewhere. I think that it’s a decent and intriguing collection of visuals and appropriate for the song in question, and props to the Grailed lot for showcasing their collection, even if the whole thing is a little meme-worthy.

#raf simons #a$ap mob #a$ap rocky

11.

LOUIS VUITTON x SUPREME COLLAB.

When the LV x Supreme Collaboration was initially starting to leak, some, including myself, thought it to be potentially fake, some kind of trolling, or joke. But as rumours began to come to fruition, and eventually given an official announcement, many rejoiced while many were in dismay.

From a marketing perspective, it makes perfect sense, and was a very bold but clever move from LV. For Supreme, ever-the-risk-takers, something like this wasn’t going to be their most risque venture so far - infact, there was an occasion back in 2000 where LV filed a court case against Supreme due to Supreme stealing the classic LV floral monogram and turning it into their own, and all items had to be recalled by (see below, fig. 1). Other controversial items include t-shirts, hoodies, and a pillow printed with graphic hentai imagery in the Toshio Maeda collab, Nov 2015. or their typically ridiculous accessories that they release year in, year out, such as air horns, crow bars, or more recently, a $40 ‘Preme brick.

The collaboration was a move by LV to show that, for a fashion house of their status, rich in history and their set LV way of doing things, they were forward thinking and it was a bold way of sticking a flag in the ground and saying “we’re ahead of the curve, we appeal to youth culture, and we’re still with the times.”

Initial leaks that started the rumours was a photo from Kim Jones (LV art director) at a casting, showing off an off-white sweater with the monogram print and a ‘Preme logo emblazened across the front. As well as an Instagram post from Cruz Beckham showing off a brown and gold hoodie, again with an LV print and typical ‘Preme BOGO embroidered onto the front.

The drop itself came about on Friday 30th June 2017, but rather than the usual way of ‘Preme doing things (Thursday at each store), it was a select few pop-up locations from LV that items ended up being sold at. At the time of writing this, there was meant to be a second drop on 14th July, but this has since been delayed - the latest we’ve heard from LV is that "the collection will no longer be sold in any stores or online”, but we are waiting to see if they say anything further.

Infact, it did seem that LV had much greater control than Sup over the entire ordeal, the hoodies and tees certainly seemed to be LV-made, and of course the leather goods and trunks were always going to be. It was the LV quality and level of manufacture, then paired with a hearty dose of classic, bright and bold Supreme design work.

The collab was first properly shown back in January at LV’s FW17 show in Paris. The unveiling was notably accessory-heavy, with many of the items being paired with other LV designs (coats, trousers etc) from their FW17 lineup, as well as the few pieces that came from this collab. This accessory-heavy show made sense, as eventually that was the bulk of the offering from the work between the two heavyweights.

Everything from backpacks, weekend bags, bum bags, cross-body man-bags, I.D lanyards, iPad and laptop cases, wallets, and the iconic LV trunk (all in black and red, some in a drab camo) was shown off (fig. 2). Included in the collab were trainers, scarves, denim shirts, and even a skateboard with another, smaller version of the iconic trunk as a case (fig. 3).

The final offering that made its way onto the Supreme website (visit here: http://www.supremenewyork.com/collections/louisvuitton) ended up with roughly 50~ different designs and iterations. Added to what was seen in Paris was all-over print bombers, 5-panels, typical ‘Preme BOGO hoodies and t-shirts, trousers, track pants, pyjamas, overalls, sunglasses, slippers, phone cases, gloves, and even a few classic Sup accessories such as swiss army knives, pillows, and bottle openers.

With the lowest prices cropping up at about €200 for bag charms and bandanas, through to shirts at €700, pyjama bottoms at €1,200, and the main malle trunk at a whopping €50,000, many of the initially excited, die-hard Supreme fans, have avoided the collection entirely. Controversy has come about with the designs themselves - some are loving it and some are hating it.

My personal feelings towards the collection is thus: the designs and creative potential suffered negatively due to the hype and weight that the collaboration between the two big names carried. In essence, all they had to do was put both their names together and the excitement and media flurry would do the rest. I can’t lie, the creations themselves aren’t necessarily bad by any means - there are a couple of questionable bits here and there of course (I’m looking at the Sport Sneaker, 5 panel and blue denim jeans here) - but some of the bags and leather goods are nice, and I am personally rather fond of the camp cap, denim shirts, and jackets too. It was an interesting experiment, with admittedly some quality pieces, and led to some good conversations, debates and opinions on the current couture vs streetwear state of fashion, but overall, it ended up in the output of what everyone expected, and nothing hugely creative.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

#supreme #louis vuitton #louis vuitton x supreme

10.

TOURNE DE TRANSMISSION.

Graeme Gaughan’s SS18 collection, “The Lies That Bind” for Tourne De Transmission (literally meaning rotating transmission) carried forward his style beautifully. His multidisciplinary background is shown through his collections - and this one was no different. Gaughan’s conceptual and forward thinking designs meant there were some absolutely killer pieces in his show this year, backed by and projecting his social and political viewpoint. The message for this SS18 show was looking at how we choose how much, how little, or even what we show at all to those around us - the masks we wear and ways that we try to hide things.

Muted beige, creams and whites made to represent the blank canvas that we all are at times, with bursts of fluorescent orange throughout showing what we choose to put out into the world to represent ourselves. This self expression continued with “tattoos” that bare-armed models took down the runway, with the collections name of “The Lies That Bind” on their inner arm, playing yet again with the idea of exposure and the transparency of the protective wrapping showing and being a window for what we want the world to see.

The garments themselves remained traditional enough, varying from casual to some more formal pieces - but with some awesome cuts, leaning heavily towards the more boxy and oversized. Gaughan’s heavy inspiration from eastern fashion shone through, particularly with the flowy, high-waisted smart trousers, boxy oversized school shirts and the pairing of some looks with sandals as the footwear. The graphics and layout / typographically-heavy prints added another nice layer to the whole show, and was another oppourtunity for the message of the collection to be projected.

Out of all the looks, my personal favourite was the trench coat and shirt paired with the incredible trousers (see below), I just feel the whole look worked so well especially with the flare of orange from the belt bringing it all together. Piece-wise, it would have to be the strapped black sweater (also below).

COTTWEILER FT. REEBOK

COTTWEILER (Ben Cottrell and Matthew Dainty, two fashion designers and film makers) brought a tidy offering, as part of a collaborative effort with Reebok, to LFWM 2017. The collaboration was a collision of old and new - technical and futuristic fabrics mixed with heavy woven pieces - tribal prints, tattoos and accessories, stood boldly next to loud, NASA-like boots and outwear. The whole collection felt as though an indigenous and cut off society, behind on the times and out of touch, had pushed the “fast forward” button by a few hundred years. Typically and true to form from Cottweiler, the collection certainly carried their vision on from what they have done in the past, as they describe themselves as “Concept led designers who respond instinctively to their social environment”.

The theme was carried through with accessories such as buckets used to carry water for miles, tribal lizard tattoos, and necklaces made of bone, as well as the consistent footwear - a zip-fronted pair of skin moulding boots, giving off the impression of the wearer to be a light-on-the-feet hunter gatherer silently skulking through the brush, as well as a much heaver pair of cobbled together hiking boots, with thick soles and multiple layers of fabric strapped down with quick-release plastic buckles. A typically London street style sports cap was paired with a do-rag to protect from an unforgiving sunlight. Bum-bags clashed with bullet proof vests. These pieces were made for a society and city on the edge of a savanna, technologically advanced, but still having to endure and brave the challenges faced by living in that environment.

The colours really complimented this whole walk, and Cottrell and Dainty picked these well. Dirty off-white and beige, pastel greens and brash oranges pulled everything together nicely. My personal favourite piece was the open camp-collared jacket - the solid black with a nicely patterned, and not too bright, orange stripe running vertically down the front was fantastic - especially when paired with the matching tailored trousers and zip-front boots (see below). Overall, I was really impressed with how well the theme carried through each look, and look forward to seeing what will come from these two in the future.

Below, my favourite look from the show from COTTWEILER FT REEBOK.

#cottweiler #reebok #lfwm17 #londonfashionweek #menswear #mensfashion

D.GNAK

D.GNAK (Kang D’s) walk naturally and immediately jumped out of me from LFWM 2017 - the all black, brave proportions and avant-garde mood really grabbed my attention. A strikingly elegant / aggressive collection in all black was complimented by a few matching outfits and pieces in beautiful mustard yellows, earthy beige, and cocaine white - dotted throughout were some really nicely cut womens tailored shirts - short in the body but long on the arm, and the oversized bombers, while done before, looked as good as any. Juxtapositions of the tailoring, to the suddenly huge bombers and knitwear, provided a pleasing contrast. Some of the more unique and playful themes and cuts clearly showed some of the Korean influence that Kang draws from - top pieces almost “split” in half on the torso or arms, held together by nothing more than a couple of harnesses, while darts and lapels at the hem of the tailored jackets gave them a noticeably cutting edge. The bottom halves really held everything together nicely - subtly so, there was nothing too outrageous - but across both the more formal trousers as well as the baggier, more relaxed cuts - the designs seemed to be a slightly more exaggerated version of what influenced them originally - legs lengthened on the joggers to match the flowing and draping oversized bomber-on-steroids, the cropped smart trousers with the red lace stitching running up the leg, or the cargo trousers with “one too many” straps added to them - it all fitted together perfectly.

n.b: footwear - clear R.O influence

MATTHEW MILLER.

Millers’ show at London’s St. Sepulchre Church presented a series of pieces that seemed like a clash between satorial post-apocalyptic survival wear and the aftermath of a bondage party. The theme of ragged, greasy-haired and “bruised”-faced models, with jackets and shirts sometimes even hanging off the shoulder as though it had been pulled and tugged at, took to the runway in a variety of military and grungy pieces, amongst more tailored styles and some outerwear. Heavy, coated cotton / chord took president for the long, dark jackets, while the more restrictive tees and vests were nicely layered and colour blocked throughout. A very subtle, but noticeable, black and grey camo carried through many of the pieces - from the vests to jackets, highlighted and broken up nicely by the bright reds from some of the belts that were used to hang accessories off - in most cases, tailored jackets were the accessory which added an interesting flare. Vests were made in the image of military bullet-proof-vests, as well as a particularly striking bomber jacket in a light shimmery silver-bronze, (seemingly) attached to a vest in the same material that lay over it, packed with pockets on pockets, bulging out and full to the brim - Miller played with the traditional MA-1 jacket by moving the exterior arm pockets and tags to the torso, and then multiplying them (see image 2 below). Some very luxurious dresses put together from layers and layers of netting, paired with the more tailored jackets, worked really nicely - all in all, there were a few instances in this show where items that on paper, wouldn’t necessarily work together, but Miller made that possible.

BERTHOLD.

Raimund Berhold was an elegant display of dark blacks contrasted with splashes of some bright colours and beautiful (almost tribal) pattern work and prints. He was his usual true-to-form self, embracing the bold single-colour outfits that he is recognised for. The elegant, almost elite, monotonous all black outfits typical of Berthold gracefully swept along the showroom floor, while pops of strong primary reds, yellows, and blues, made appearances throughout, the all-black switching temporarily to all-yellow for a few of the models also. The beautifully draping black outfits, sometimes with pieces knotted and tied together around the chest or elsewhere, held some form of eastern flavour and inspiration, some even feeling quite military, while the bold yellows with more technical fabrics felt like a display of some sort of forward-thinking workwear of the future.

As a direct quote from his website -

“Raimund Berthold’s SS18 collection is a study of masculinity and conflict. SS18 considers these awkward contrasts. Here, enlarged sleeves designed to be worn rolled-up are left unfurled; exaggerated funnel necks are worn with cropped tunics. Wrap front trousers are left loosened.Berthold explores the crucial transition from boy to man – from the tragedy of radicalisation to the joy of tribal belonging. From the Dinka tribe in South Sudan, the Bashada in Ethiopia and Ndebele and Khoisan in Southern Africa, their majesty and sense of theatre has inspired a collection of bold clothes with certain elegance.The optimism and brightness of youth is suggested in the abstract graphic print in golden yellow, crisp cyan and red which uses shapes from traditional costume. It is printed onto modern crisp technical fabric and rich cottons, yetis underscored with languid ne summer wools and fresh technical cloth in black. Knitwear concentrated on creating pattern through stitch with contrast inlay detail at the neck and cuff; nubby blankets are slung over bag straps worn across the body.”

LIAM HODGES / FILA.

Liam Hodges show immediately drew many in, including myself, due to the messages and expression that came with it. I got the sense that it was almost a uniform designed for an underground, after-school group, it took me back to my youth when we’d be kicking around a football in the local rec (n.b - brylcreem overload and classic Fila tracksuits circa early 2000′s) - not to take away from the designs in the slightest, of course - the proportions, textures, and materials still resonated the feeling of luxury but with Hodges’ twist. The “NOISE” and “FASTER FASTER FASTER” slogans, combined with the screaming bear, ran throughout as themes - a political statement, perhaps, as after the show Hodges was quoted saying “We're making the noise, the youth vote is making itself heard” in regard to recent UK election results in a highly polarised youth vs. the elderly face off.

He brought out some of my favourite work from the whole week, especially the baggy, reminiscently ‘hand me down’ shirts, the camo jackets, and and the outfits that varied from splashes of bold oranges and other colours, some against black - almost as though these few individuals were bearing the colours of their group, contrasted to the utilitarian, full-olive or duller-toned outfits of some other looks. Big, oversized shapes throughout, the detailing, and graphic design interwoven within the looks - this show ticked all of the boxes. Hodges’ method of taking the norm and sculpting it into something beautiful that can walk down LFWM is brilliant.

#liam hodges #lfwm

BLOOD BROTHER - NICHOLAS BIELA AND JAMES WALLER

Blood Brother certainly had an impact at LFWM 2017 with an array of strikingly bold and unique pieces which were shared around incredibly quickly. As soon as their show opened up, the array of posed, seemingly lifeless and uninterested models spread through social media incredibly quickly. The models were either stood individually on personal, 1m x 1m bottom lit stages, or as groups in front of a backdrop of a drab and past it’s time, 90′s-esque, office store rooms and work cubicles, alongside filing cabinets, scanners, and CRT monitors. In both settings in the low-lit basement, the colours, cuts, fabrics and graphics really did have a great impact, and I believe this only helped with the mini-storm that the pieces created. I personally liked the sports-wear style inspiration that Blood Brother draws from, as well as the bold prints used on their pieces also.

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