Dear Shaded Viewers and Diane,
We could blame it on current economies, unemployment and distress, but the influence of workwear, of farmhands and dockers with their humble and earthy attitudes towards lives that used to be, was one of the most consistent and welcomed throughout the course of LC:M, from Lou Dalton to Sibling. One may even say that the winter of 2014 will be, at least in the eyes of London's designers, a highly socialist season. With "WATU NGUVU", however, that is "PEOPLE POWER" in Swahili, Agi & Sam pushed the theme across the continents, all the way to the Masai Territory in Africa that Agi recently visited. In a graceful and unexpected, somewhat postmodern move, the duo borrowed traditions and stereotypes from current tribal workwear and rendered them along the smooth, double-breasted lines of fine British tailoring, with dropped lining to recall the practical and functional layering of rural clothing. Almost entirely in black and white weaves and prints, with a few reflective highlights, oil company logos and felt hats, the collection could easily fit a contemporary reinterpretation of Camus' The Stranger, as well the streets of London or those of Nairobi.
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Photos by: Yuta Fukuda
Later,
Silvia
