AGI & SAM
Agi & Sam have been the darlings of British menswear for a while now, and as the winners of Emerging Talent: Menswear award at the BFAs last year, the pressure was on to maintain their stella reputation. So did they manage to awe their audience once again? Yes. More than ever before.
Agi & Sam have matured since their TFL-inspired SS14 collection, abandoning the rambling story lines of collections past, AW14 had a key theme: Africa. Inspired by Mdumulla’s travels through sub-Sahara, in particular the Masai territory, the collection was entitled ‘Watu Nguvu’, meaning ‘People Power’ in Swahili, and dealt with the issue of the colossal disparity of wealth in Africa.
Gone were the heady brights colours we associate with the design duo, and instead this collection was almost exclusively monochrome with the occasional injection of green, blue or red used to represent logos of foreign oil companies exploiting the continent. African tribal workwear was married with tailored western suiting. Checks, stripes and woven prints were applied to tunics, voluminous coats and cropped trousers and jackets. Padding and panels were added to coats, and reflective materials featured on cuffs and hems in a nod to western influence.
The model cast was all black and wore a uniform of traditional felt hats by Yashkathor, turtle neck style collars and slippers by UGG. The soundtrack was performed by live percussion band.
OLIVER SPENCER
As I’m sure you’ve seen all over social media, Oliver Spencer’s show opened with a bang, or should I say a burst. As we were seated ready for the show to begin, a pipe full of hot water burst and soaked the whole of Block C, incidentally only a few metres from the front row attendees.
Only 20 minutes late or so, Oliver Spencer’s show opened with a model cast that was dotted with celebrity faces such as Alex James and Gary Kemp. The soundtrack to the show was provided by a rather different type of live drumming from Agi & Sam, but also performed on the catwalk. The colour palette was distinctly autunmal, consisting of navy, charcoal, forest green, caramel and rusted tones. Fabrications had been reworked with new weaving techniques, updating classic herringbone, as well as giving a contemporary edge to plaids and tweeds. Patterns and prints featured heavily, and lightweight nylon and performance fabrics gave the urban aesthetic a functional edge.
Like YMC, John Smedley and Nicole Farhi, Oliver Spencer’s AW14 collection will be the kind of clothing its loyal client base will love, and promises the wearer comfort and durability with non-fussy fashionability.
KATIE EARY
If we had been startled by silver ‘O’ shaped mouths at Bobby Abley earlier in the week, we were gleefully shocked at Katie Eary’s army of models clad in ghoulish Mickey Mouse plastic heads, fully equipped with garishly coloured mohawks. Entitled ‘Bipolar’, the collection explored the conflicting ideas behind our childhood heroes, providing us with a far darker side to the Disney fables we used to love.
Strait jackets had been reworked on Savile Rowe, Flasher-inspired bonded coats had been created in collaboration with straight-laced Scottish brand Hancock, and backpacks had been created in collaboration with a technical outdoor manufacturer, reinforcing Eary’s ability to rework the ‘safe’ into something stark and appealingly vicious.
Parachute skirts, t-shirts, shirts and tailored frock coats came in Eary’s signature acidic palette of pinks, reds and blue. S&M zips and bondage inspired harnesses interrupted rough tartans and vibrant leopard prints. Leather, satin, rubber and gold were all applied to reimagine the Punk look of the legendary ‘Seditionaries’.
BURBERRY PRORSUM
I have a confession to make. I have twice watched the Burberry Prorsum womenswear and menswear shows at the brand’s in-store live streaming event, and both times I have cried like a baby. Christopher Bailey, in my eyes, can do no wrong.
Entitled ‘A Painterly Journey’, the brands AW14 collection was inspired by the travels and explorations of iconic contemporary artists such as Lucien Freud, Christopher Wood and Ben Nicholson. Relaxed tailored trousers in charcoal and grey, oxblood brogues and light string vests were the constants in a collection of billowing silk shirts, cropped leather Navajo jackets, the fashion house’s signature trench, wool outerwear, shearling aviator jackets and a breathtakingly beautiful suede paisley print coat.
New to the label for AW14 was the introduction of knitwear and scarves which featured heavily. Silk scarves were loosely tied around necks, in an almost feminine fashion, and bore complex city road maps that were mirrored on shirts. Far weightier shawls were draped across models shoulders in a regal fashion and were adorned with a cubist prints or autumnal foliage. Other notable accessories included oversized carpet bags in vibrant prints and hand-painted leather bags adorned with the London skyline. Burnt oranges, mustards and dark tangerines stood out in a palette of navy blues, and deep greens. This was a season appropriate collection, that felt quintessentially English whilst journeying us around the world.
*Burberry images courtesy of Hero Magazine.
CHRISTOPHER SHANNON
Last season Christopher Shannon delighted the LCM crowd with a journey through a rebellious youth of rubber clad rave-culture alight with glitter. Although AW14 too, transported us to the 80’s, the mood was a marriage of melancholy with vibrancy, and set during the early years of Thatcherism. Siting a footballer’s walk home in the rain via the newsagent as his influence, Shannon’s models paired dripping wet hair with a uniform of tracksuits and puffer jackets. Thick jerseys in typical PE lesson colours, classic kagouls in vivd leather, skirt like panels and scooped leg running shorts were paired with tracksuit tops. Vibrant floral patterns and swirls were applied to streamlined tracksuits juxtaposed by exaggerated puffer jackets that were pulled tightly at the waist. Cropped jackets were worn over high neck knits with Shannon’s ‘Good Time’ fag label’s logo covering them, and split front shirts with oversized collars were paired with Judy Blame’s cash themed jewellery.
BAARTMANS & SIEGEL
Baartmans & Siegel’s AW14 presentation, tucked away behind Shaftesbury Avenue, concluded my LCM AW14 experience. Like Christopher Raeburn, the London-based duo drew inspiration from the challenging conditions of the Arctic and its landscape. The focus of the collection was on purposeful pursuit, with a uniform of durable, confident pieces that would stand the test of any journey, but with no compromising on masculine elegance.
Outerwear has become a defining characteristic of Baartmans & Siegel, and so the three-piece collection of performance coats created with specialists Penfield was fitting for the brand. Down insulation, soft-shell outer layers and rubber hardwear provided functional and durable pieces that were aesthetically updated with fur trims. Luxurious details such as concealed seams, pockets and zippers, made this the outerwear uniform for the self-assured gentleman. Tonal navy and blues were highlighted by overhead blue lighting giving the presentation a chilling mood. Reversible wool suit cut puffa jackets, a sheered mink trench, handknit mohair fisherman sweaters and embroidered casualwear were paired with the seasons luxury jogging bottoms.
Keep up to date on Bloglovin | Follow me on Instagram | Like me on Facebook
