School’s out. Mains is in.
Last season, we were escorted to the tennis courts, with Mains DNA at the heart of every ensemble, but this season, Skepta had admissions on his mind, working alongside chief designer Mikey Pearce and graphic designer Johnson Orchid to deliver a wardrobe fit for the fantasy collage we all wish we’d attended. Enter: Mains Academy.
Stepping out on the cement floors of the academy’s campus (AKA 80 Vincent Square) came a schoolboy-inspired procession backdropped by sticker-stamped lockers and collegiate flags. Models wore skinny ties – in leopard print, camo, or embroidered Mains Academy motifs – and blazers with oversized lapels atop graphic trousers, leather wrestling short and wide, pleated knee-length shorts. There were American flag knits and academia-style jumpers, accessorised by colour-block bookbags, furry trapper hats and leather gloves with hairy hems. Throughout, silhouettes were perfectly preppy, but were cut with a certain, rebellious edge. A highlight was the double breasted suit that led the charge; a baggy, all-white look printed with grey-scale scans of all the essential school supplies: think scissors, compass protractors, square sets.
Peeking out from beneath Americana classics, a tongue-in-cheek Kickers collab made its debut, with an old-school range of bowler shoes and T-bar flats in red, black, and brown colourways.
A celebration of the ‘academy’ of fellow creatives and “friends that taught me so much, much more than I learnt at school,” according to Skepta, it was back to school, but very, very cool.
Photography by Ben Broomfield.
