London Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2020
Patrick Michael Hughes
A tired conversation at London Fashion Week Men’s one may have to endure each season is, ‘Its not what it used to be so much smaller’… ‘There aren’t any big labels’ and the age-old ‘remember when’… or ‘is this the last time they are going to do this’. Tedious tales filled with no information and rumor.
London Fashion Week Men’s is diverse, vibrant and highly energetic. The energy in London palatable; I chatted with a major luxury American fashion director at one of the venues, who attends many of the new talent and first-time shows of the new crop of designers. I happily stated, ‘There are no New Yorkers here’, smiling he replied,’ that is what gives us the edge’.
The spring 2020 collections are the 14th Edition of the men’s shows and the second season of in the new location, Shoreditch Truman Brewery, Ely’s Yard, Hanbury Street in London’s East End. This was in the same area of famed Spitalfields Silk Industry, Jack the Ripper, the Blitz and the backdrop of cockney flower markets in the famous musical film ‘My Fair Lady’. Today, gentrification has transported high-end boutiques, enterprising historic home renovators, and open-air markets alongside the layers of in-your-face artistic political graffiti. The grit and some of the post-WWII soot is still there within a thriving community of immigrant businesses and a young working-class population.
Underground Nightlife Shapes Spring 2020
Seeing the grit and fragments of buildings adds to the spring 2020 muse for a period of nightlife with underground laser filled parties, alternative industrial music and the alter ego of the rebellious youth from the 1980’s. IRK men’s fashion has been tracking this creative nostalgia for sometime. ‘Underground’s Digital Natives’ highlighted the work of New York designer Brian Swift in an interview looking at the new generation tapping into underground with connections to New York’s Limelight legendary ‘Disco 2000’ club kid parties during the late nineties. The images were inspired by candid recollections form the dance floor and beyond in an editorial in October 2018.
Three millennium London fashion brands for spring 2020 have also tapped into the same message looking to the dance floor, the underground and after-hours gatherings from the past and the current political climate for inspiration.
JORDANLUCA – ‘MALEDETTA PRIMAVERA’ SPRING 2020
“The JORDANLUCA muse walks, runs and dances in the darkness of an early morning or a laser-beamed basement of a nighttime rave, embracing the promise of light to come. The crisp air that cuts into a mood and strokes cloth exposed skin comforting the courageous” Princess Julia
This was the quotation leading the JORDANLUCA spring 2020 collection. The rugged and dark venue on Brick Lane was the ideal choice for this season’s runway debut at LFWM. The label’s founders Jordan Bowen and Luca Marchetto hoped ‘to challenge the norms of menswear’ and, with this collection, also to look at fashion responsibility.
What was striking about this debut was the collection’s movement toward sustainability and a carbon-neutral footprint. The tracksuits and other pieces showed this approach through their choice of materials, which were more environmentally friendly.
Streetwear-Inspired Details
The details in the streetwear-inspired collection that are new were the twisting, gathering and slashing in the silhouettes see at the sleeves, shoulders and hems. The look was achieved through elastic bungee cording and skillful craft. The printed shirts in cotton jersey featured a large rat population, something one might see if walking late at night through dark streets searching for the next rave venue or after-hours party. Transformation was a bit of a noted element in snapped pants exposing skin, and further enhancing pockets were reminiscent of skater chic with full-cut early nineties stove pipe utility shapes
The collection brought variety to its outerwear, including a shiny red wax-coated jacket whose material also appeared in a pair of shorts. Sculptures strapped to several models with nylon cords added an unexpected touch to this fresh, accessible collection and made for a strong runway debut. The surprise was the use of sculptures attached to a few of the models with nylon straps like industrial wire parachutes. This was an excellent collection and a very solid runway debut.
JOHNLAWRENCESULIVAN SPRING 2020
‘DEEPER THAN NIGHT’ was the title of the John Lawrence Sullivan spring 2020 collection. Industrial music and synth-punk were the metaphoric anchors for this collection featuring a live performance by Dicepeople a dark elctro band from London, with vocals by Zmora and music by Matt Brock.
Dark wave post punk eighties as long been an interest of the the designer of the fashion label, Arashi Yanagawa. This brand is to be admired this season for its growth and remaining true to it’s framework. Indeed John Lawrence Sullivan admires muses of counterculture and underground.
Yanagawa has developed as a designer with a stronger more skilled eye focused on details and clear concepts. The strength is in the follow through in his design.
Before founding his brand in 2003, he trained as a professional boxer rather than a designer. He named the label after the legendary early twentieth-century boxer known as the “Boston Strong Boy.”
A Cohesive Collection
For Spring 2020, he mixed natural fibers with new synthetics. Shoulder zippers, panels that transformed the backs of overcoats, and classic biker jackets gave the collection its edge. Slashes cut through several looks, particularly the beautiful cotton knits. Thick, stomping boots completed every outfit.
Layers drove the “Deeper Than Night” collection. Washed-out fabrics met shaggy cotton, while houndstooth and jacquard added contrast. Shiny black and purple dominated the palette, with accents of red, yellow and brown.
Above all, the collection felt cohesive. The close fit of the shorts recalled eighties cycling shorts, while wrist-length gloves sharpened the styling. LA-based photographer Coley Brown designed the T-shirt prints, drawing on his explorations of the natural world.
The location was ideal! Actually, it was the second time he showed in the very tunnel-like space under a bridge on Old Street. It was filled with fog clouds and lasers.
MARTINE ROSE SPRING 2020
“For 2020 Martine Rose turns her attention to the energy of early 1980’s British subcultures. Rebellious,sincere, expressive, pent up angst and experimental. The collection channels the new romantic football hooligan, the skinhead and the proto-raver.”
Rose’s concept was to explore what is not as it seamed, the life and fashion alter ego. One of the looks bringing this concept to light along with the current political climate in Britain. It was a reversible fleece with ‘Promising Britain’ on the front. It also featured a picture of a clown encircled with the stars of the European Union. The strange world where everything is a bit off. The collection is a comment on current British politics.
Americana, Club Culture and the Art of Styling
Americana was also a wonderful surprise in this collection or not upon reflection of Rose’s vibe and well-developed, witty fashion characterizations. A fringe western look made an appearance paired with Chinoiserie jacard trousers as well as varsity knits and chinos. Textiles in this collection were also key to the development of the muses and concepts. Checks and bold stripes pay homage to the 1980s as well as large shoulder pads. The nineties club culture also got a nod in belts with ‘Sex and Martine’ written on them. There was a special emphasis on ‘E’.
Above all, the styling stood out. The team used eighties-inspired wigs and even a B-52’s beehive that recalled the sixties. This was IRK’s first time attending a Martine Rose show, at the urging of two fashion editors from major publications. I was glad to meet Rose and enjoyed her wit and intelligence. She is a designer to watch.
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Patrick Michael Hughes is a fashion and decorative arts historian. He writes about fashion culture past and present making connections to New York, London and Copenhagen's fashion weeks with an eye toward men's fashion. He joined IRK Magazine as a fashion men's editor during winter of 2017.
He is often cited as a historical source for numerous pieces appearing in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, LVMH, Conde Nast, Highsnobiety and others. His fashion career includes years as a fashion reporter/producer of branded content for the New York local news in the hyper digital sector. Patrick's love of travel and terrain enabled him to becoming an experienced cross-country equestrian intensively riding in a number of locations in South America Scandinavia,The United Kingdom and Germany. However, he is not currently riding, but rather speaking internationally to designers, product development teams, marketing teams and ascending designers in the US, Europe and China.
Following his BA in the History of Art from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York he later completed graduate studios in exhibition design in New York. it was with the nudge and a conversation in regard to a design assignment interviewing Richard Martin curator of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art he was encouraged to consider shifting his focus to the decorative arts with a concentration in fashion history and curation.
Patrick completed graduate studies 17th and 18th century French Royal interiors and decoration and 18th century French fashion culture at Musée Les Arts Decoratifs-Musée de Louvre in Paris. Upon his return to New York along with other classes and independent studies in American fashion he earned his MA in the History of Decorative Arts and Design from the Parsons/Cooper Hewitt Design Museum program in New York. His final specialist focus was in 19th century English fashion and interiors with distinction in 20th century American fashion history and design.
Currently, he is an Associate Teaching Professor at Parsons School of Design leading fashion history lecture-studios within the School of Art and Design History and Theory,
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