Visits: 47
Sunday started with more fashion films – Central Saint Martins MA fashion students submitted an 11 minute video ranging from collages of sketches, to time lapse videos of pieces of clothing being stitched together and a mix of abstract imagery, all produced ”at a distance”.
Menswear brand 8ON8 launched a sustainable “headdress” collection through a video titled Crown of Ruins.
8 on8
A still from 8ON8’s video
Its designer Li Gong created nine hats – made from materials from previous collections or charity shop finds, and presented these through a video shot with a 360 camera.
Womenswear brand Rixo took up the British Fashion Council’s offer to show during what would have traditionally been menswear show dates.
The brand’s clip ran just under two minutes long and took viewers behind the scenes of its resort 2021 lookbook shoot, titled Flora [main image above] – which took place in the back garden of co-founder Henrietta Rix’s family home.
Founders Rix and Orlagh McCloskey are Drapers 30 under 30 alumni, and their latest collection features the brand’s signature ditsy floral prints and flowing hemlines, interspersed with larger, graphic florals.
Rixo launched their resort 2021 collection during London Fashion Week
Rixo launched their resort 2021 collection during London Fashion Week
Genderless brand Natasha Zinko x Duo, comprising deadstock and upcylced fabrics, was launched in 2019 by the Ukrainian designer and her son Ivan, aged 13. They released the brand’s SS21 collection, called Sober, through a film showing models wearing the Americana themed looks in a sun drenched field – soundtracked to Chuck Berry’s C’est La Vie.
Natasha Zinko X Duo Ltd SS21
The 3D display seen on The Webster’s website
The designer cited Hunter S. Thompson’s 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as an inspiration, and the collection played with “a nostalgic celebration of the land of the free, which is a stark contrast to the painful and harrowing imagery that has emerged from the US in recent weeks.”
In an interesting use of technology befitting to the digital LFW, the presentation then led to a virtual store on US retailer The Webster’s website, where 3D renderings of the looks were displayed in a setting designed to reflect its Miami and L.A stores.
Natasha Zinko and son Ivan
Natasha Zinko and son Ivan
The last time Drapers saw menswear brand Jordan Luca, it was opening the AW20 shows at east London’s Shoreditch Town Hall.
What a difference one season makes – the brand offered a glimpse into its SS21 collection through abstract film Manifest – where viewers could just about catch glimpses of upcoming product including floral shirts and checkered trousers.
The Drapers verdict of day three of LFW
The theme of this year’s London Fashion Week was “reset” – and the event certainly reset the format of fashion week and persevered through lockdown conditions.
The majority of designers involved chose to focus on creative, film-based presentations – which were interesting to watch, but didn’t offer much new product.
The brands that did have new product to offer, such as Rixo and Natasha Zinko, managed to showcase it comprehensively. Others, such as Jordan Luca, focused on imagery and film rather than actually showcasing product.
This is the first of the digital fashion weeks, and was used mainly to keep brands in the consumers’ eye, rather than showcase new product to the industry.
Sustainability emerged as a key theme throughout the new collections, as designers used surplus fabrics during Covid-19 – it would be a good lesson for the industry to take away and carry into future seasons.
