Front row for GFC @ London Fashion Week

It’s Feb and Fashion Week (F/W 26 edition) is upon us once again! On this season’s roster, Ben (designated photographer) and I (designated journalist) had a show in Shoreditch lined up, featuring a quartet of international designers: Alex S. Yu and Dunne Cliff from Canada, SAYF from France and Olena Adam from Ukraine, under the name Global Fashion Collective. 

My pre-show lunch consisted of a danish pastry, with a side of oat latte, while Ben opted for a classic smoked salmon cream cheese bagel. Soon after, we turned the corner to Protein Studios where fashion was being served piping hot. 

I took my seat in front row and began chatting to those around me, pressing ‘add contact’ and exchanging a follow for a follow with some really cool publications and creatives in the industry. I took my seat next to Kim Grahame and her partner - the editors of @just.newsinternational, and got talking about what it’s like to write for a student-run publication (their daughter went to York!) Meanwhile, Ben was busy in the photographer’s pit befriending and sharing jokes with the cameramen - he even pulled up a selfie of them on the train home (how wholesome). 

Onto the show…four very distinct collections, each with their own identifying mark:

1. Rabbit Ears 

2. A beat

3. ‘Bucket’

4. Silky smooth

So yes, starting off strong with Alex S. Yu’s A Flicker of Murmur: I was a huge fan of the hood moment in this collection and how it served bunny ears - reminiscent of Charles Jeffery’s Loverboy. During my conversation with the designer, he mentioned how his memories of moving to Canada as a child informed this design choice, and how inventing imaginary characters eased the process of moving away from home. Therefore, it becomes ‘Contemporary womenswear for the everyday dreamer’ and reminds us to tap into those childhood influences when curating our wardrobe. I loved how chic the overall look was: contrast stitching on a denim maxi skirt with some burnt orange, velvet boots - who said a hoodie moment can’t be classy? I love how fragmented Yu’s approach is - bits of fabric are copied and pasted onto each outfit, composing an overall design language. I’m talking an ensemble of check patterns, red chiffon and orange velour - they become the vowels, consonants and syllables of Yu’s A Flicker of Murmur. To further tap into the overarching theme of ‘reclaiming one's childhood’, daisies are stitched onto collared, blue blouses in the font of frilly, black chiffon and we get bows (on high heels and denim belts). These feminine echoes add a girlishness and playfulness to the collection - one is taken back to the days of flower-picking and wearing ribbon. 

Onto the SAYF menswear collection: an eclectic blend of a loafer/white sock moment with the downplayed, baggy cargo look - cool, preppy and put together! I love it when a catwalk gets your foot tapping, and the Middle Eastern infused sound system provided an authentic beat that pulsed beneath a palette of other cultural motifs i.e headscarf worn underneath a Yankees baseball cap and African beads. The brand’s logo was so cool (black background with SAYF written in a forest green serif font) and I loved how this had a stamp on the set of looks; green popped in all different shades: khaki, camo and moss, and black gave the collection that classic, timeless appeal. There are no limits to this collection, caps cross the boundaries of cultural headwear, creating that ‘never seen before’ look. It's full of hidden gems, as I look over the pictures I notice new details, like a pair of fingerless, knitted mittens poking out of the sleeves of a beige blazer. Seasons clash but in the best way possible - it's made for the desert but also fits a spring weekday in London scene with its connotations of business wear. You can choose when/where you wear it and although its colours are muted, you’ll be sure to stand out!

Dunne Cliff was my winner! What stood out? Silhouettes. I loved the shape of the clothes and how they flared out, draped asymmetrically and cinched at the waist. I’m always looking for new takes in fashion and Cliff presented the ‘medieval snug boot’. It was so yeti core and was always the first thing my eyes were drawn to out of the overall composition. Choose your yeti: they come in bright yellow (brown-laced), sand (fluorescent yellow-laced) and then an option that mixes both. The shoe was effortlessly ‘iron age’, something I haven’t seen on the ‘what’s trending page’ in the fashion market as of yet. I also think her models were the most charismatic as they performed the Celtic part and interacted with other materials on their journey down the runway. So this wasn’t just a fashion show, it was theatre, we were being invited as audience members to partake in their game of ‘what is going in the bucket’. The metal pail became the centrepiece and I asked Cliff “how does one interpret it?”. Well it’s all about the passing off of technology. The first model fills it with water, and then we consistently see wired accessories being thrown in. While headphones are being drowned and destroyed, the clothes represent the beauty found in chaos. We can find this beauty by taking the steps towards purification; we’re supposed to take notes and reevaluate our fashion decisions as citizens of an exploitative and high-consumer nation. Cliff correctly shouts NO at fast fashion and opts for yarn spun by hand and garments regrounded in local production. She cites a textile artist in Vancouver Island and screams YES at garments grown on a local level! The cool people wear Dunne Cliff. I vividly remember wanting the knitted, cream cardi styled with an unapologetically big brown button on the right breast and a hood (worn up of course) for my own wardrobe - plus, the low-waisted patterned wide leg pants stitched with a zip going down the back. The montage at the beginning gave us a preview of the looks among sandy beach, shells and sea. It was kinda blurred like digi cam quality, like a fashion ad - pure aestheticism. Dunne Cliff even comes with its own trailer, everything about it screams spectacle. 

And then to close the show: Olena Adam. This presentation was so culturally rich, garments that are 100% handmade. The Ukrainian designer also spoke to me about how creating in a warscape has shaped her collection by showcasing the women who labour in times of disaster. It’s a female-centric narrative, one that also emphasises how comfortable clothes are the key to making a woman feel more powerful and independent. Everything is silk and perfect Ukrainian quality and the show speaks the language of robes. Every single one, whether it be coral with white-laced sleeves, vibrant green accessorised with a matching neckscarf, or candy pink, was equally as tantalising - all I wanted to do was wrap myself up in one after a hot bath! My favourite looked like a Japanese painting, adorned with motifs of breaking waves, blossom flowers and red clouds. It came out last, a real show-stealer, and the model’s 60s glamour make-up with her smoky eye and red lip reinforced the themes of Hollywood glamour. A favourite question of mine after the show to my fellow audience friends was ‘what was your favourite’ and I have to say, Olena Adam was a recurring response. 

Written by Scarlet Somerville and photography by Ben Liang.