The Sprayground DEBUT @ London Fashion Week

New York City, 2010 founded brand Sprayground debuted its first London Fashion Week at the SS26 season, transforming the London scene into new Sprayground cult believers. Sprayground is based on an individuality ethos and limited edition collections that truly cultivate an audience that has freedom of expression and choice - a standout concept in this fast paced time. 

Sat in the captivating architecture of the Freemasons Hall in London, HARD Magazine sat amongst guests and press anticipating the show’s start in the dimly lit room. From the queue outside to the buzzing Sprayground x LFW graffiti backdrop, everything about the experience and the outfits of the attendees promised a night of unseen, exciting, urban pieces for the first night of London Fashion Week. 

Before the show started, Scarlet Somerville and I managed to speak to TV personality Princess Andre who sat front row with Love Islander Liberty Poole anticipating their first London Fashion Week show. Scarlet asked Princess about her new makeup launch to which she did not want to reveal too much. She went on to tell us she really loves the brands Charlotte Tilbury and Fenty Beauty. Sensing the show was about to start, Scarlet and I took our seats and watched as a stream of performers came in. 

The runway lit up with contemporary dance directed by Katya Bourvis that set up an upbeat atmosphere for the looks to come. The first model stepped out, it was Creative Director - Sandflower Dyson, wearing a blue and white, geometric patterned dress resembling a comic strip. The dress was matched with tights that covered her heeled shoes, making it seem like a second skin. It truly set the tone for the show - high fashion, colour and boldness. 

The looks that followed were puffy, textured, colourful and bizarrely beautiful. The most significant traits of looks on the runway was the embedment of the Sprayground character in them - looks that instantly made you recognise the brand. These looks often featured oversized puffer jackets and trousers, embossed in the original, black/brown checkered Sprayground pattern often including fabric, cartoon looking money and teddy bears. For womenswear the Sprayground brand was tailored into matching sets and sleek styles while keeping the puffer jacket, urban qualities. There was also the iconic outfit fashioned completely out of mini Sprayground bags that took the meaning of multipurpose to a new level. 

Another trend across the Sprayground runway, which was my personal favourite, were the sculptural, 3D balloon-esque pieces that came in exaggerated forms of dresses and suit attachments. The playfulness they brought to the runway created a very fun atmosphere, introducing a different aesthetic without breaking the Sprayground charm. The most standout piece from this style was the full blue, puffed out suit that was covered in Sprayground related graffiti writing - an ode to NYC streetwear.

Another spectacle of the Sprayground show were the grungey, sculptural, sexy looks that brought in that sharp contrast to the colourful runway. These outfits often consisted of different textures, including a lot of exaggerated spikes and ornamental attachments to a colour palette of whites, blacks and greys that felt chic and intriguing. It definitely brought in a more serious tone but still kept this theme of exaggerated shapes and contrasting textures that helped the transitions feel natural. Despite the very futuristic, apocalyptic atmosphere they brought, they definitely seemed most in touch with a lot of current streetwear trends in terms of texture and colours, with leather, silver and overall layering bringing this to life. 

Scarlet’s favourite piece was a hot and baby pink crochet set, accessorized with lots of little charms all

over the skirt and a matching crochet bonnet. It felt very different for a Sprayground piece as it brought in a new texture and colour palette that strayed away from the streetstyle and brought in a girlish, dress up vibe. Nonetheless, it was refreshing to see and continued the theme of playfulness that was so appreciated in a well crafted and cool way. It can be hard to pull a full crochet look off without it feeling outdated, but Sprayground pulled it off in a modern and trendy way that added a sense of relatability to the runway. 

The rest of the show included a performance by Sandflower and an accompanying choir as we saw the final walk out of all the models. David BenDavid walked out at the end as the venue exploded with confetti and it truly felt like a celebration of Sprayground in its 15 years of glory. For its first time at LFW, Sprayground delivered an amazing show that felt captivating, performative and full of creative looks and brought a whole community of people together who appreciated the experience to the fullest. 

After the show we got the chance to see some of the impressive looks up close and it was amazing to see the dedication across all art forms of fashion, hair and makeup to come together to really pull out not just a look but a lifestyle. Sprayground was bold to say the least, inspiring us to perhaps live a little more and be who you want - i.e. you only live once. It was beautiful to see the New York identity being brought to London and marks not only new cultural ties but the sense that the fashion industry is truly becoming more culturally intertwined than we are aware of. 

Sprayground thank you for having us and we hope to see you again soon. 

All images from Kalypso Isaidou and Scarlet Somerville.