YoIf ever there was a subset of fashion that embodied tradition and sophistication, it is formal wear. You know, the kind that keeps a CEO at work or the typical office drone running. Of course, suits, shirts, ties and everything “smart” are ripe for subversion. Just like the hedge fund manager who doesn't sleep well towards the end, they too can snap and fall apart at the slightest change. And so, under the pressure of surviving in a fashion industry as fraught as London's, it's no surprise that tailoring has gotten a little hot.
In fact, the 40th anniversary of London Fashion Week feels more like a sigh of relief than a celebration. If it weren't for Burberry dragging the US and mainland press into the big smoke, it could have been a desperate situation. Still, we're here and, in true British style, ready to turn something serious into a big, sexy knee. Just as rules and professionalism go out the window at office drinks, giving Jenny and Mike from HR carte blanche to get weird on top of the photocopier, the catwalk's recent predilection for Savile Row cuts and understated elegance has become much more exciting. Forget the tedium of quiet luxury – this season is drab and dirty.
Hot on the heels of New York, where the penchant for NSFW office attire first appeared (think Luar's massive double-breasted leather suits, Tory Burch's sheer raincoats, or Thom Browne's literally bursting boardroom blazers ), London designers have doubled down on the kinky corporate core. trend. Edward Crutchley, the beloved Londoner known for his high-lady brocade silks and tongue-in-cheek obscenity, was a case in point: he took your run-of-the-mill jacquard coat and dyed it with a strange, nature-inspired animal print. African dogs. On top, he was topped off with a cowboy hat designed by Stephen Jones with the same animal pattern. Traveler with something that likes jeans? Maybe.
Elsewhere, Crutchley offered a simpler tailored coat, with dropped, cartoonish shoulders and designed by the ever-cheeky Julian Ganio, who decided to ditch the shirt underneath. This London exhibitionist in question gestured with a cigarette as she walked, oozing postcoital indifference. At first glance, she read like an effortlessly cool French girl; However, behind her appearance was a custom-made fiberglass structure. “She wanted to widen the shoulder width as much as possible without adding stiffness or more structure to the garment,” Crutchley explained. “So instead of incorporating it into the coat, we did it into the body.” Sensual things!
At Sinéad O'Dwyer, her high-level workforce arrived with a bias of lace and heavy lingerie, explicitly referencing workplace dress codes before fully tying them together. As such, her signature lattice jumpsuits were patchworked with cotton shirts on chests and paired with silly Ecco derbies, while halterneck dresses transposed the lexicon of dress shirts and inspired knotted ties. in Japanese bondage. Bodices came with strict pleats, typical of an unironed Charles Tyrwhitt, and royal shirts with double-button collars extended down the front, outlining the pectorals. Some even came with ties or stretch corset knits incorporated into the design itself.
“I love menswear, shirts and tailoring, and I was thinking about how things feel a bit hostile in London at the moment. It's really difficult right now,” O'Dwyer explained backstage. “In some ways, that kind of day-to-day monotony seemed like an interesting reference, but then we broke into this fantasy of what's not corporate.” Pleated skirts in salmon or beige were turned up at the top, revealing buckles that recalled suspenders or loose trouser garters, and turtleneck fabrics were cut for a chest contour that was at once concealed but distinguished. Once again, this duality of sexual restraint and liberation, not so much juxtaposed as perfectly transformed side by side through stretchy Swarovski-encrusted garments.
Sinéad O'Dwyer's signature lattice jumpsuits
(Sinéad O'Dwyer)
Possibly the most daring outing of the day, the Fashion East show was less a stuttering version of the JP Morganites and more an all-out office orgy. This multi-designer show began with Johanna Parv, whose usual penchant for cycling-inspired clothing took a dressier turn. Here, she replaced turned-up collars with invisible zippers that crossed the shoulders, extended for a slouchy effect. These hyper-technological garments were joined by office skirts covered with cycling shorts, or blazers with darkened lapels and micro-micro skirt combinations. Sexy secretaries who bike to work? Why not!
The show was followed by Olly Shinder's fetish fashion bonanza, replete with patent leather fisherman pants, stretch gauntlets and smartly tailored workwear. Here, the icing on the cake was the office-friendly steel glasses that adorned each model, and the shirt with a twisted tie that extended down the front for a fragile and strange take on the tedium of modern corporate style. Imagine meeting his co-workers in a dark room in Berlin. That was the vibe.
And so it seems that carefully crafted, job-appropriate sleaze is London's response to expulsion. As the cost-of-living crisis eats away at designers' budgets – or worse, forces a return to conservative dressing – there remains an inherent London desire to twist it with a wink and a nod. Professional class attire has never been exciting, but it's a uniform, and what's sexier than that?
