Fashion forward fast & furious

Author: Trusha Naidoo

Date: 15th June 2017

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Every year, I head to the Central Saint Martins grad fashion show with sky-high expectations. You have to go ready to be blown away by pure catwalk creativity. This year was no exception. The look and feel was more political and bleak than usual but powerful and relevant. That counts for a lot.

 

Menswear really stood out this time. There was more attitude and flesh on show than usual. An African tour de force of body hugging men’s fashion certainly got my heart racing to the hip hop soundtrack. Angry, layers of sportswear gave another standout menswear collection a fierce edge and unsurprisingly, impressed the judges.

 

Deconstructed suits, asymmetry and swathes of flesh featured across quite a few collections.  As ever, wonderful craft skills stood out in knitwear, tailoring and print with some noteworthy takes on the metallic and techno bright trends.

 

A darkly provocative, S & M, heist vibe to one collection shook things up a bit with menacing muscular models in masks. The epic crescendo was a parade featuring Queen Theresa (May) carried in on her throne by “Tory hunks” - that’s what it said on their backs. I kid you not. It was also hard to ignore the Miro-esque sculptural pieces. They could not be called “wearable”, that’s for sure.

 

80’s pop culture, block colour combos and earthy, woodsy collections highlighted the contrasting influences of the creative minds CSM attracts.

 

I still haven’t worked out what it takes to impress the front row fashionistas.

 

In a world that’s in a state of flux, the show felt more plugged into the zeitgeist than ever. I do wonder what Miz Wintour would make of it, though.

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