16 September 2024 |
It was bumper Fashion East experience this season. A healer cleansed the energy in the room for footwear designer Kitty Shukman’s Positive Energy Flows Again presentation, set in an alternate universe. Models, some wearing wings or Crucifix augmentations embossed onto their skin, posed in her innovative 3D printed footwear – slides which cool around the foot in an infinity pattern no beginning end, front or back.
Upstairs models posed in Sos Skyn – a collaboration between artist Samara Scott and curator Tayah Leigh Barrs. They apply dense, colourful textures to upcycled materials and modify existing garments (old jeans and joggers, baseball caps, leather jackets) to joyful, energetic effect.
Then, cocktails in the Bistrotheque bar, got everyone in the mood for the show. First up, Olly Shinder and his parade sexy male archetypes – scouts, soldiers, runners – fantasies made real, their uniforms subverted and camped-up. He also debuted his first womenswear collection – a series of equally butch uniform looks.
Next up Nuba, by Jebi Labembika and Cameron Williams, comprised of sophisticated and sensual draped pieces mixed with sweeping coats and tailoring that went beyond the binary. Shown on male models, the looks had elegance and charisma.
That was followed by Loutre, designed by Pia Schiele, an artful up-cycler, who collaged vintage and found pieces – often with a British heritage flavour, such as shooting jackets and trench coats – into something new. The German designer was inspired by her adopted city of London – its melting pot of identities and constant reinvention. The proportions and looks on her runway had an authenticity. This is how people dress in creative postcodes. Her re-fashioned pieces had a raggedy, rebellious romance.
