Following the death of the Queen, various runway shows, and events were cancelled in London Fashion Week S/S 2023 due to national morning restrictions. As such, many designers and labels have chosen to reschedule their much anticipated défilé to Frieze week, which features a number of shows, events, and happenings (imagine it as a sort of fashion week mark five situation). The British Fashion Council’s big-ticket events, which are officially dubbed “Celebrating London Fashion Week,” include runway presentations by Alexander McQueen, Roksanda, and Raf Simons—the latter two of whom were originally scheduled to appear on the official London Fashion Week schedule last month.

Roksanda Ilincic

Roksanda Ilincic’s bold sculptural garments were displayed in Hyde Park’s Serpentine Gallery. In showing a collection during Frieze week, Roksanda Ilincic feels natural; she has had strong ties to the art world throughout her career, both as a collector and as a collaborator (last season, she collaborated with Eva Rothschild on the show’s geometrically coloured set).

An ode to art seemed to be the theme of this show, from inspiring the vivid outfits to the setting of the show. Roksanda displayed her collection inside Theaster Gates’ ‘Black Chapel’, an art installation, that was unveiled earlier this year. The Black Chapel is known as a place of contemplation and conviviality, a perfect setting for Roksanda’s own journey – choosing this location was a conscious decision by Ilincic because it invoked the unexpected yet meaningful emotions of death.

The collection featured voluminous, cascading gowns with 3D details that resembled abstract roses blooming, the silhouettes included exaggerated sleeves and flowing dresses that moved swiftly as the model strutted on the catwalk. It’s almost like each model served as a canvas with a variety of artistic techniques being incorporated into this collection. From swirling patterns that looked like diaphanous paintings on satin and silk to garments with black and yellow abstract lines that hinted at oriental influences.

There was an emphasis on showcasing Roksanda’s diversity with tailored pantsuits, swaggering full-length coats, and slim draped dresses among the show-stopping garments of this collection. 

^{Images Courtesy of Roksanda}

Alexander McQueen

As Sarah Burton unveiled her new collection for Alexander McQueen on the banks of the Thames, Greenwich, under a huge plastic bubble dome.

With images of Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch woven into her body-conscious and sleek tailored collection, Burton paid homage to the late designer she worked with for years. McQueen apparently enjoyed Bosch’s restlessly imaginative works, which often depicted religious scenes and flourishing natural worlds teeming with human violence.

This is not the first time that the artist has served as a muse for the house of Alexander McQueen. In McQueen’s ‘Angels & Demons’ collection for Autumn-Winter 2010-11, paintings from the late 15th and early 16th centuries were woven into the designs- the collection was the final one designed by McQueen himself.

Burton, however, took a different approach this time. Hers was a vibrant, collaged print used for cut-out catsuits, a bodysuit with a half skirt attached, and a sculptural, strapless gown. The way that she approached the silhouettes was also different from previously seen collections, she says “it’s always about a woman dressing for a woman. It’s not a male gaze.”

It was titled ‘First Sight’, and it was centred on the concept of ‘searching for humanity’. Burton recalls the collection to be “a symbol of that humanity, a register of emotion, an expression– the human eye”. The motif of the human eye recurred throughout the collection, whether it was embroidered in shimmering sequins or crystals across a catsuit.

The collection was laden with seductive outfits. The gowns featured cut-outs that revealed whole legs, jackets with backless or slashed inlets that revealed pelvic muscles, and ultra-low-rise trousers played off of McQueen’s original ‘bumster’ designs (the extremely low-rise trousers, first shown for SS94).

Burton also aimed to empower wearers with clothes that were stripped back, dissected and focused on cut, drape, and silhouette, bringing together sliced-away tailoring and low-waist trousers – the show was reaping with influences from Lee McQueen’s previous shows and also made homage to the designers structured denim two-sets and armour-like leather bustiers.

Adding a final touch to the show was an evocation of Hieronymus Bosch’s works.

^{Images Courtesy of Alexander McQueen}

Raf Simons

The Raf Simons fashion/rave party experience finally arrived in London.

The designer presented both his Spring/Summer 2023 collection at London’s Printworks nightclub and continued the night with a built-in afterparty during Frieze, the art fair Simons is actually a patron of.

For SS23, Raf Simons presented an edgy and sensual collection fit for a night at Printworks. “I think it’s actually the barest, most minimal collection I’ve ever done,” the designer said in an ES interview.

The collection may have been minimal, but the atmosphere was quite the opposite. The nightclub, an old newspaper printing factory that had been transformed into a bar, had almost 1,000 people crammed inside.

There were rows of guests seated on the elevated stage, close enough to see every detail of Simons’ fabrics. This collection brought back memories of McQueen’s FW97 collection “It’s a Jungle Out There,” which saw people sit or stand on the floor of a warehouse, a ‘ravey’ and nostalgic experience.

The collection itself was one of Simons’ most diverse to date. Under the ambient lighting of a techno nightclub, the SS23 collection mixed rave influences with ’80s punk references and subverted tailoring.

Hot pants and polka dot prints adorned the arms and legs of the co-ed collection, along with neon hues and skin-tight leggings. Additionally, some Berghain leather influences were evident in the runway boots, while the belted playsuits and technical details accentuated the submissive sense of design that he learned from Prada.

In a preppy trend, we saw tiny knitted tops transform into romper suits. Bringing back the underground elements were fishnets (used in over-the-shoulder bags and skimpy tops) and leather oversized biker jackets that reflected punk and glam rock styles.

The collection continued to surprise the audience, as shorts were pleated on the side to reveal slits filled with contrasting fabrics. A sense of innocence was once again provided by tanks made from thin, raw-edged cotton, while now-signature details like the skeleton cuff or bold use of alpaca wool added more punk undertones.

_{Images Courtesy of Raf Simons}

Words By Chanelle Jassim

^{Graphics By Arundhati Das}

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The location of the video was a celebration of Italian summers, Italy’s stunning locations and a love for nature. The red tunnel installed inside Fondazione Prada in Milan, became the portal to an idyllic sandy beach with crystal clear water in Sardinia.

Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, both extremely passionate about their job, have made it their priority to infuse their collection with simplicity, joy and the magical sensation of the human touch.

Their spring 2022 collection has an effortless, an exuberant spirit, and it felt authentic to the brand whilst still pushing their creative designs in an edgy, quirky way that only Prada can master.

“The world is so complicated — so overcomplicated — we can lose the essence of human life,” Prada said in the notes sent to reviewers after the show. “This is an idea I have been interested in for a number of seasons, and which we have been exploring in different ways. We come from previous collections that were all about technicality, machines, that reflect the necessity of technology. Now, we are thinking of the opposite. Human, real. Our interest in technology came from its place as a communication tool for humanity. But this expression is much more direct.”

Miuccia noted how the collection was all about capturing the joy of the everyday life: “The notion that living your life can be a euphoric experience,” she continued. “Much joy can come out of something so simple: when times are complicated, we are searching for simple, direct joys. An innocence.”

She made a take on “innocence” by bringing to high fashion items such as the romper, shown with rolled-up cuffs and displayed in different variations, from monochromatic options to more extravagant printed patterns, also including stripes.

“The show represents a transition — between a tunnel, an urban space and the sea. We don’t feel it should be complicated — the story is pure, direct. A move from indoors to outdoors. After constriction, the power of that feeling of infinity, an endless horizon. It gives you the feeling of freedom again. It’s human nature,” Simons said. “What we are interested in is: How can these two moments, these two environments, fuse together? A contrast between the system of the fashion industry — the runway — and nature. We started in the previous fall show to introduce these moments of different behavior from the cast, and here, you see the models in another context, another environment, a different reality. You see them be totally free, in reality. It’s natural.”

The collection fits in between a fashion utopia and the experience of the daily life. Simple silhouettes were repeated across the collection, in accordance to their environment. The clothes took an an almost shape shifting approach to fashion: the romper became a uniform in a dark navy colour styled with brogues, or displayed an effortless, yet elegant vibe when executed in white with printed with sea motifs and anchor details, layered under boat-neck sweaters with crisscross details.

The collection included crop tops with squared necklines, matched with relaxed pants or short pants, and hoodies in surfer prints. Prada and Simons have made the brand a staple for hype beasts. Outerwear felt extremely minimal in the collection: simple trenches and car coats dominate the show with their exuberant colours. Then the collection spins aesthetics all the way to an edgier, more lived-in vintage Prada appeal with their leather jackets.

The shorts are so short that can pass as miniskirts, the bucket hats with the triangle pouch on the back brim are every streetwear dream, and the striped knits were a genius selling point of the collection whilst maintaining a creative approach. 

Words by Tommaso Donati

The post Utopia Of Normality By Prada: Off To The Sardinian Beaches With The Latest SS22 Menswear Collection appeared first on Voir Fashion.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Rejina Pyos, the Mary-Kate and Ashleys, the Raf Simons, who continue to fan the flames of the cult of minimalism. Whether it’s a result of our desire for practical simplicity in the form of clean lines and monochromatic palettes that are driving the fervour for minimalism, or a renewed focus on perennial favourites and timeless investment pieces in response to the conversation around sustainability, the minimalist approach to style has become the sartorial zeitgeist of today. In many ways, it was Phoebe Philo’s arrival at Céline back in 2008 that heralded a new pervasive appreciation for practicalism, one that has left her a legacy as one of the most influential designers of recent decades after her departure from the brand in 2018, but it was in the ‘90s that a troupe of designers first triumphantly ushered in a wave of minimalism. Before Philo, before The Row, before Yeezy, there was Martin Margiela, Calvin Klein, Jil Sander.

But it was one designer in particular, Helmut Lang, whose mastery of pared-back experimentalism and foray into subversive power dressing in a post-80s era of established opulence first appealed to the anti-fashion crowd. Celebrated for popularising unconventional minimalism through utilitarian, structured designs and clever manipulations of fabrics, Lang first showed in Paris in 1986, and in the early ‘90s started bringing underground references onto the catwalk, blurring the once clear-cut lines between the streets and the runway.

His pioneering Spring/Summer 1992 collection was populated with fleets of inky black wet-look leathers and latex, translucent tights and loose, sheer-T shirts that grazed models’ bare breasts, playing on sexuality and offering a sharp contrast to the overstated silhouettes and excess of the time. It was in 1998 that Lang crossed the Atlantic to stage his first New York show – a move quickly followed suit by a generous handful of other designers and which permanently placed New York – which traditionally followed Milan, London and Paris – at the front of the fashion week calendar, a shift testament to his immeasurable influence on the industry at the time. For his Autumn/Winter 1999 show, his signature urban uniform that wedded minimalism and streetwear was punctuated with punchy hits of silver and tangerine orange in a masterful balance of colour and understated neutrals.

A vision marked by an anti-trend attitude and a pursuit of simplicity, Lang’s fascination with deconstructionism and urbanism manifested itself in a marriage of minimalistic staples with stripped-down streetwear and industrial-feeling silhouettes – timeless yet fiercely individual and woven with a rawness and authenticity. His juxtaposition of innovative synthetic fabrics – plastic-coated garments, laminated leathers, metal-blending textures – with wearable styling established an aesthetic that was at once forward-thinking and accessible.

Subverting traditional notions of luxury and glamour, Lang succeeded in creating a brand that was truly ahead of its time. One of the first designers to release co-ed collections, his clothes exuded androgyny and were imbued with a sense of rebellion and restraint in equal measures, an experimentalist courage that took the form of a sexy yet subdued allure. He shied away from decadence or ornaments, did without unnecessary embellishments and on several occasions nodded to BDSM in the form of latex, bondage straps and harnesses.

What made Lang’s brand so cool was a certain anonymity that his collections emitted. They were scrubbed clean and unadorned, giving them a longevity that allows his design signatures from two or three decades ago to fit with ease into a modern-day urban wardrobe – the iconic low-cut jean, the military bomber jacket, utility parkas, cargo pants – and explains why traces of his influence can be seen across the fashion landscape today. Balmain’s slashed biker jeans, Yeezy’s purist bodysuits and stockings in myriad flesh tones, The Row’s elevated power dressing, Alexander Wang’s grungy cargo pants, are all reminiscent of Lang’s groundbreaking minimalist approach that made him one of the most influential visionaries of his time.

Words by Ruby McAuliffe

Graphics by Katie Janes

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Co-creative director, after much speculation this is the post assumed by Raf Simons in Prada. Although this is the first time the Prada brand has had a creative director outside the family the relationship between Simons and Prada is not one out of the blues. Raf Simons was once the former creative director of Jill sander from 2005- 2012, a brand previously owned by the Prada Group and later sold to a London private equity firm.

Raf Simons rose to become one of the world’s most influential designers known for working in luxury fashion houses like Dior, Jill Sander and Calvin Klein. The concept designer from Belgium famous for his non-binary and storytelling style has always managed to present shows with aspects of escapism. The Belgian born designer storytelling abilities have always translated to relevant current societal topics.

Jill Sander SS09, Jill Sander AW07, Jill Sander AW06, Jill Sander campaign AW10 and Jill Sander campaign AW07

During his time at Jill Sander, Raf Simmons introduced a sense of sexuality in the brand while still remaining to his minimalist roots. This is seen from the series of fringe dresses draped to shape the body, that was worn by Miranda Kerr to the 2009 Met gala.

My Calvin’s 2018 campaign, Calvin Klein 205W39NYC AW18, and Calvin Klein 205W39NYC SS18

Although Simons time in Calvin Klein was short due to creative and commercial differences with the brand CEO, his influence on the brand was unmatched. The designer transformed the brand. His appointment met with praise from his loyal menswear supporters from Jill Sander and Dior. In the first season alone, the designer grew the doors selling 205W39NYC from 30 to 300. Raf Simons commanded international attention for the brand with his creative interpretation of modern American heritage seen as he puts the Kardashians as the face of Calvin Klein in a campaign featuring other artists like Solange and Asap rocky.

Simons will work with equal responsibility and decision making alongside Miuccia Prada who has been the creative director of the brand since its origin into ready to wear from luggage. The designer claims that he has always had an interest in the Prada brand and aims to understand how creativity can evolve in today’s fashion system. The appointment of Raf Simons into the Prada brand will be official on the 1st of April with their first collection in September Spring/Summer 2021.

Words by Precious NjokiGraphics by Katie Janes

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If Paris Fashion Week is anything to go by, 2019 is set to be an exciting year for menswear. Hosted between Tuesday 15th – Sunday 20th January, the spectacle saw runways awash with vibrant colours, patterns, ideas, and pieces that could only be described as art, but in the realm of fashion.

Patterns, prints and stripes are just a few of the elements bringing excitement to a new wave of menswear. Paul Smith showed us how to efficiently clash florals in a way that has only ever been seen in the furnishings of pensioners’ homes. Gucci’s collection looked as if they’d let a hyperactive child loose in a thrift store, with checks and florals, trousers covered in animals, then the most wonderful striped jumper paired with simple floral dungarees. Kenzo supplied us with checked looks that would brighten up even the darkest winter days, and Valentino’s collection was literally out of this world with UFO prints. The message to be taken from this is: adding a little bit of colour to your winter wardrobe will do no one any harm.

Animal Print

Hedi Slimane’s first menswear collection for Celine incorporated animal print in the most classic way, wearing your print as a coat over a well-fitted skinny suit. Raf Simons and Sacai both added a little extra to their animal prints with floral scarves, patterns and square print patches, and JW Anderson took a subtle approach with printed leg/footwear.

Depictions of Art

We all know that depictions of art completely depend on who is viewing them, so it’s really up to you to decided what is art, what is fashion, and what is both. Whether it’s the human form drawings at Loewe, to the graphic prints at Valentino, or the shirts/jumpers at Dior Homme to the doodles at Louis Vuitton, Fashion Week gave us looks worthy of a place at the Louvre.

Bold colour

Bold colour is the new black, according to Paris in 2019. It’s orange and pink that are leading the rainbow revolution, so take your inspiration from Raf Simons and Kenzo in picking one colour and matching it all over as a look. Alternatively, look to Paul Smith, Sacai, and Loewe, go with two or three bold colour choices and clash away.

Whether you choose to pattern it up, clash your way through winter in bold colour choices, or turn your wardrobe into a work of art, Paris Fashion Week Mens has shown that it’s time menswear made its way into the fashion spotlight. Gone are the days of ‘typical’ menswear and in are the days of men re-defining what their wardrobes mean to them. It’s time for a new era.

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Performance was the key to Perry Ellis’ SS18 collection, with designer Michael Maccari marrying function and aesthetic together to create a collection that mixed causal with tailored, and it worked so well. Four way stretch and wicking properties played the technical role whilst the fashion took on the personality with tweeds, synthetics, tartans and mesh providing texture. Colour tones were played around with to create looks that had depth but ones that still channelled causal with a more fashion-forward vision.

Originally from China, Feng Chen Wang has concentrated her collection close to home, looking at China’s manufacturing industry through the eyes of craftsmanship rather than that of mass production. She took the ubiquitous ‘Made In China’ label and made it the focal point instead of hiding it away, something we are not so used to seeing. It was a sportswear-meets-avant garde affair, with rushing details that added unfamiliar dimensions to parkas. Trousers with added drawstring details and aprons and gloves further emphasise the craftsmanship concept of her collection.

Raf Simons took over Chinatown yesterday, creating a dark cinematic atmosphere on the catwalk, surrounding the audience with street sights and smells. The 1980’s film ‘Blade Runner’ was a big inspiration behind Simons’ collection, where cultures collide in an east-meets-west ensemble of reversed trench coats, rain boots, umbrellas that glowed in the dark and balaclavas. The latter was layered to create an exaggerated bulky look, giving the models a very animated appearance. Simons is said to have returned to his beginning days of designing where music, film and culture were major influences. If visuals are anything to go by this collection is a treat, and we have a feeling he will be carrying on this theme into the future.

For his second show at New York Mens Fashion Week, Christopher Bevans, the designer at Dyne has injected this collection with accents of colour along neutrals. He has managed to create a range of garments that help the everyday man (who may not necessarily play sports all the time) go through life with performance and style in mind. Design details helped to lift the garments with components such as inverted zippers adding a real sporty feel. The collection was further authenticated with coloured tape on the models’ bodies bearing the resemblance of muscle tape used for sports injuries.

Take a look at some of our other picks from Day 2 of New York Mens Fashion Week…

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