My Interplanetary Mission to Planet Bond: Karina Bond’s SS26 Show

Two immersive worlds. One city - London. The Fashion Week portals have opened, hauling my Desigual shoulder bag and black knee high boots from the edgy streets of busy Dalston to the City of Westminster, where the extraterrestrial kingdom of Karina Bond lies.

My day began in the grungy basement setting of Dalston’s Earth Hall, where the LED ceiling lights set aglitter the mini, knitted skirts in Mark Fast’s SS26 show. Then by dusk I was carried towards the alternate universe of the emerging British designer Karina Bond within the grounds of The Vestibules, Freemasons Hall. 

This runway was reserved for the extraordinary creatures of Planet Bond who seemed to resemble flowering plants; one look featured red, sea anemone-like filaments sprouting from a 3D constructed garment made of interconnected hexagonal cells. Karina’s looks are architectural components, not your usual piece of fabric wrapped around the body.

Each model is undulant and elastic, using her limbs gracefully as she enters the catwalk territory. From my front row seat, pad on my lap pen in hand, I scribbled ‘performative’ as I hadn’t yet encountered such a lyrical, free and slow-paced approach when it comes to walking the runway. Perhaps the biggest extraterrestrial component of the design language was the use of incredibly long, tapered square nails. The elaborate 3D effect created the illusion of these fashion nails being their own life form, as if they had algae growing out of them - a testament to the idea that Karina’s collection manifests alternate worlds which are bursting with their own creations.

The model pictured above wears an asymmetrically cut, 3D constructed dress which features a hollowed out bodice exposing her bare skin. Texture might as well be Karina’s middle name as she constantly wows us with her three dimensional structures, which are unlike any manmade composition seen before. She uses flat, golden discs the colour and shape of a potato crisp  (think pringles) which almost mimic a planetary surface - this is Midnight Sun after all! 

That is what this catwalk felt like, an interplanetary mission, an escape from Earth. I could bask in the appreciation of futuristic, never seen before fashion and come back to Earth to report back to humankind about my extraordinary sightings. Pictured below is my favourite look from the collection: I like to think of it as a girly variant of the alien in Ridley Scott’s sci fi franchise as both share the carapace dome, elongated head. But Karina’s creation is a lot sexier; it features a strapless bodice in deep fuchsia with long, slender, stamen-like stalks protruding from its core - a floral prodigy. The skirt is scaly black and forms a train, similar to how loose ribbon curls out of an old cassette tape. We also see the motif of long nails, but this time they come in hot pink.

Overall this was an unreal experience, not just a fashion show but a trip to the Design Museum where one can marvel at a collection of sculptures. It transcended the usual expectations of runway and went the extra mile! Karina Bond is revolutionary and has disclosed to us a radical vision for the future of fashion where otherworldly meets elegance.