LFW SS19 Day 3

28-11-2023

MARRKNULL – Minki – STEVE O SMITH – steventai

MARRKNULL’s collection initially seems to be a humorous take on the stereotypical “Chinese tourist” as we see models wearing hiking boots and baseball caps carrying bejewelled phones and selfie sticks. With a backdrop of various Chinese landmarks, it’s easy to see where this inspiration could have come from. Upon further reflection, however, we realise that this season’s clothing is actually a celebration and exploration of Chinese culture.

Both traditional and contemporary aspects of the Chinese social landscape are included- we see gold dragon motifs on a mesh top, lucky red in sports jackets, and my personal favourite, a qipao-inspired black denim dress. The base colours of the collection are muted, perhaps reflecting the geographical landscape of China, and we see greens, greys, and navy’s forming the majority of the colour palette. Spring/Summer comes through, however, in loose ruffled skirts and a light green check.

Most of the looks have a sportswear-meets-tailoring vibe (we see tracksuits and suits equally) as well as a classy-meets-casual vibe (trench coats exist alongside jeans).

A fun side note: the presentation ended with a bright pink bridal look, in which the model’s veil was attached to a sun visor!!

Words by Sophie Lau

Images by Chris Daw

Minki’s SS19 collection was built up around contrary fabrics of humble cotton, seersuckers, canvases, plastics and silk twills. Inspired by Lorenzo Vitturi’s book “Money Must Be Made”, the collection explored a re-imagination of Vitturi’s journey through the Nigerian Balogun Market on Lagos Island. The implementation of the eclectic colour blocking stressed the vibrant colour palette of red, yellow, deep sky blue, white, amaranths, magenta pink and midnight green which popped with the energy of this imaginative land. At the heart of the offering was this notion of ‘randomness’ with was interpreted into the eclectic market-esque set, and evident in the myriad of shapes in the garments themselves.

Words by India Hunnikin

Minki images by Chris Daw

STEVE O SMITH assembled a cast of embodied angels for SS19 to revel in his very own Ascension. Broken up into stages from Earth to the Clouds, to the finish destination of heaven, Smith utilised a varied mix of coloured patent snakeskin, Harris Tweed houndstooth and rich feathers – all with matching boots made by Rokit Atelier. Knots of duchess satin and cloud t-shirts further implemented the luxurious theme, featuring artwork by Kyle Christensen-Knowles. Champagne was rife and on tap (duh, it’s fashion week) and this notion of escapism was wonderfully plentiful; because of course, if you were ever going to ascend to heaven and avoid earth – wouldn’t now be just the right moment?

Words by India Hunnikin

Presentation images by Sophie Lau

Steventai presented a collection set against a myriad of hanging ceiling-to-floor dried flowers, which immediately set the bar high. Casting was diverse (as it should be) with models of varying shape, age, colour and skin tone which only enriched his designs further – these models had some much-needed character. White sheer dresses were gathered subtly at the neck and sleeves; mushroom silken blouses were paired with full-length rose pink skirts and subtle peplums were added to light gold shirtdresses. There was also a distinct utilitarian element with oversized army jackets in thick crepe and draped luminescent matching shirt and shorts – everything was elevated beyond the useful. Make-up was kept visible but ethereal, with hair styled to create natural worn-in waves.

Words by India Hunnikin