LCM: THE HEAVENS OPEN AT TOPMAN’S AW2014 SHOW!

Dark. Dank. Devoid of sound.

Booooom!!!

The edgy power of John Cooper Clarke cuts through the ether…His weighty words, doused in a Lancashire accent, darting rhythmically about like vocal strobes.

The spoken word hits a crescendo, his last line held in the air, embraced by nothingness.

Within seconds, action ensues, as mist-for-lighting announces the dawn in Topman’s LCM showspace. An industrial location is revealed, with a concrete catwalk, dressed, intermittently, in pools of water and as deep, electronica replaces the solo, the first model, with already-drenched hair, turns the corner into this brick-clad world of ‘Wuthering Heights’, breaking the modern-day barrenness with an opening AW14 look.

Black literally set the tone, represented by substantial, single-breasted, over-sized, overcoats, such as the duffel, with a popular toggle-fastening and their double-breasted counterparts in waist-hitting jackets. PVC bonded to ‘notch’-lapels, patch-pockets and block-hems, added textural impact to the round-shouldered silhouettes, which skulked the pass. ‘Wet-look’ variations-on-the-theme would be presented in high-shine, lacquered-leather separates, impressively accentuating apparel in shape, form and line, whilst also defining details through such simple, yet effective, techniques as piping. Within this section, the colour propostions mirrored the autumnal palettes of moss-meadow green and mushroom, with red-based plaid shirts and tassled jackets (echoing the cowboy-themed SS14 motif), acting as the flash of sunlight, breaking free upon the moorland.  Knitwear was rugged. At times, no-nonsense, with exaggerated, chin-cupping roll-necks, in open, cable and honeycomb weaves, resembling stylised fishing-nets…At others, given lozenge-beading and bouclé, to revisit pops-of-colour and to add surface characteristics.

Yet stronger spectral statements flooded onto sumptuous, full-length coats, in blazing orange, with matching, ‘jazzed-up’, ‘zoot-suit-style’ pants, voluminous and billowing against the strength-of-momentum with which the models strode through the venue. The pieces were also to be reprised in baby-blue pastel, a further homage to the tonal story, which has played a starring role in the sartorial spring/summer repertoire of many a design-house. The next seasonal trend-transition to be encapsulated, was the see-through mac, of long and short dimensions. Layered alongside these key advents into eye-catching shades, they complemented the story, with a revealing twist. Signature tailoring, for which the brand has become so higly-recognised and revered, featured in juxtaposed fashion to the drop-shouldered, full-pant ensembles, instead shown as straight-lined, straight-legged, suiting, in shipyard-slate and charcoal-greys, ever-echoing the ‘working-men’ of the past.

With the last look of black roll-neck, oversized, three-quarter length, matt, PVC coat and glistening liquid-look trousers, the Topman AW14 Collection had brought us to the end of our tour-of-the moors….or so it seemed…The last hurrah was an indoor downpour of rain, which fell upon the models as they walked the finale! It was an other-worldly end to a show which was typical of a collaboration, headed by the ebullient Gordon Richardson, and backed by an amazing design-team who know exactly who their ‘man’ is. To me, he’s a powerful, passionate, hardworking, salt-of-the-earth, modern-day Heathcliff and he wants his clothing to express that!

In the inimitable words of John Cooper Clark, ‘There’s apparel, Jim, but not as we know it!’* and when this distinctive collection hits the stores, you’ll see exactly what he means!

  http://www.londoncollections.co.uk/ ~ http://www.topman.com/

*Excerpt from ‘TOP MAN’ by John Cooper Clark

©AFROW2014-2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

‘SPOTLIGHT ON: THE WALKING-WORKS-OF-ART OF ‘KWEKU CLOTHING’!’

…So, by now, you might have detected that I am, somewhat of, a voracious Creative-Arts-lover…and that I am especially passionate about using my own platform to promote the excting results of multidisciplinary cross-fertilisation.

Well, fresh from my EC1 and 2 jaunts and the social-media coverage, thereof, I have noticed that I am being ‘followed’…. by a steady stream of funky, new designers on the fashion-block! The most recent label to become a member of the fashion-fabulous Afrow-Family, is that of ‘Kweku (pronounced Kwayku!) Clothing’. The eponymous clothing-line of Ghanaian-born, London-raised, Goldsmith’s graduate, Kweku Quagraine, this is a brand which majors on making purse-friendly, wallet-welcoming pieces of boldly artistic sartorial statements, yet, without the merest mention of a word! So, naturally, yours truly has seized-the-day and taken up the mantle to spread it for him!

At first glance, his menswear and womenswear pieces are striking! Heavy with symbolism, Quagraine thrives on incorporating his Socio-Political scholastic background into his craft and excels in channelling these influences through the joint-conduits of art and fashion-design. For example, the ‘Trigon’ signature, is a triangular motif, in reference to the map of Africa and in deference to his native roots, whilst ‘The Krypt’ is an intriguing metaphor alluding to the differing perspectives, regarding regional identities. His distinctive flair for originality also comes to the fore in the ‘Tribal’ print, in which heritage-patterns from the Ghanaian Ashanti and Ancient Mayan traditions are beautifully-balanced to produce a new KC hallmark. The geometric ‘Colour’ graphic displays a fearless and insistent use of the spectrum, which draws inspiration from unity-in-diversity, as manifested in the London Olympics of 2012. However, Quagraine finds the Natural World as much of a catalyst as that of the Human, evidenced in ‘The Hive’ honeycomb-logo, itself, a nod to such solidarity and unity, in bees.

It is this effortless meandering through parallel universes, which sets Kweku Clothing apart from many others of its emerging counterparts. Will you find such on-trend silhouettes as the ‘body-con’ dress in midi/maxi-lengths? Undoubtedly. Is there a broad choice of sweatshirts, t-shirts, crop tops and vest-tops? Absolutely! But you’d be hard-pressed to find the same capability for siphoning so many global topics into the fashion-world, in such modern, affordable and accessible ways and furthermore, to do so with such a Fine-Art sensibility!

For all of theses reasons and more, am I championing Kweku Quagraine and urging you to WAKE-UP TO ‘KWEKU CLOTHING’….STANDARD!

www.kwekuclothing.com ~ www.facebook.com/KwekuClothing

©AFROW 2013-2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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TWITTER-TESTIMONIAL FROM KWEKU CLOTHING (@KwekuClothing)!

‘…Thanks very much for such an eloquent and flattering write-up!!’

MFW: I’M READY-TO-WEAR ‘ERMANNO SCERVINO’!

Picture it…

…Backstage, models sit calmly, hair being tailcomb-teased, face being made exquisitely, Terry Barber-ready, whilst front-of-house, conversations clatter like talking-typewriters! Suddenly, a cry of ‘EHH-OHH!‘, loosely-translated as ‘SILENCE!‘, splits the air into pin-drop reverence…

 Now, imagine a host of supermodels, amongst them Alek Wek and Karolina Kurkova, leading a runway of risng-stars, with the aplomb of their 90’s predecessors and you’ll understand the significance of the Scervino brand. If you even dared to blink, you would have missed an almost endless-string of timeless looks, worthy of their own reference encyclopaedia! Whilst we had seen the ‘Pastel/ Metallic/ Midi-Maxi Length/ Column-Hourglass/ Embellishment’ stories, favoured in the vestments of fellow MFW designers, Scervino interpretations seemed to renew them.

For example, skirts took on ice-skater-like proportions, pleats were more than couture-concertinas, reframed as flitting-gaudets… and embellishments, whilst beaded and embroidered, were off-set in position and oriental in theme. Metallics were not simply silver, but gunmetal and gave a more experimental edge when used in conjunction with the traditional silhouettes. Yes, lemon, taupe, mint, black and white all featured, however, peacock added strength to blues and something in the way that peach was colour-blocked, gave it the power of a full-on-primary. Fabrics perused PVC, took a departure into denim, suede injected a new joie-de-vivre to the vestments and silk-taffetta was accompanied by satin-trim, which was a signpost, not only  to the superb eye-for-detail on display, but also an attention-to-distinctive-detail.

It is with this in mind, that I take you on a whistle-stop tour of the most unique moments.

PVC won my ‘Return-of-the-mac’ prize for being a funky piece of outerwear, printed in lemon-hued houndstooth! The award for ‘Best Use of Embellishment’ was a split decision between a taupe, tailored-jacket with cluster-beading, set on the inner-edge of the tuxedo-collar (which, incidentally, did win ‘Best Placement of Embellishment’), and a stunning gun-metal-coloured sweater, with a silver-bead-encrusted accent around the crew-neck.

The ‘Prize-for-Prettiest-Pleating’ had to go to an amazing, chalk-white, column-dress, gathered from shoulder-to-waistline, with its pleating gathering pace to the hem…all cunningly-accompanied by a thigh-high split, for epic Grecian glamour! Coming in a close second, was a black, hour-glass gown with crystal-embellished gaudets at the tail.

‘Best Floral Motif’ was shared (I know, I know, there should only be one winner..but, my made-up competition, my rules!)…. The two stand-out creations were an oriental spray-of-orchids, perfectly-placed upon a strapless peach dress, in a diagonal formation, from empire-to-hemline and a peacock-blue, fitted, scoop-necked, mini-dress, with florals, off-set, on either side of the bodice, spilling into the skirt. ‘Best New Silhouette’ was a shoe-in, for a black, lace, nehru-collared cape with asymetric-opening and credit for ‘Best New Fabric’ could only go to……DENIM!!! The ink-blue offerings of v-necked crop-top, short-pant and denim-lined, white jacket were utterly irresistible!

We’re nearly there now, so, drum-roll please… because it’s time for ‘Best-In-Fashion-Show’…….which was…wait for it……the glorious  Jackie-O-inspired, midi-length, silk dress and collarless-overcoat ensemble, both in that lightning white, effortlessly worn by the magnificent Alek Wek!!!! Congratulations!!!

So, there you have it, fashion-friends….A  whirlwind tour of a tour-de-force collection, which gave us a collation of attire, reprising the traditional with a directional twist.

It’s safe to say that I absolutely adored what I saw…and if you want to reconnect with looks of vintage-modernity, then the designs of Ermanno Scervino are a great place to start!

©AFROW2013-2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED