Inside the Asylum Chapel in Peckham, John Alexander Skelton unveiled his latest collection through a performance that felt more like a ritual quietly unfolding. In a deconsecrated chapel heavy with history, Skelton established an immediate sense of intimacy and unease, priming the audience for a show rooted in myth, symbolism and the liminal.
In true Skelton fashion, the expected procession of models sweeping through the space never materialised. What initially appeared to be decorative scarecrow motifs were instead revealed as the very essence of the collection. An otherworldly, masked maestro emerged to guide the evening, acting as a mediator between realms. Within a circle of white-robed scarecrow figures, eerily still and anonymous, the audience watched as a second performer, Ryan Skelton, the designer’s younger brother, moved deliberately from figure to figure. One by one, the scarecrows were unveiled as mannequins, the garments surfacing slowly from beneath their shrouds as though summoned.
The pacing was hypnotic. Moving around the circle beneath a roaming spotlight, the performance was lit almost entirely by candlelight and accompanied by a spoken poetry piece that felt suitably magical and unsettling. The effect was quietly sinister, a considered performance that transformed a presentation into a ceremony.
Skelton’s interest in Celtic mythology and Neolithic Britain formed the conceptual backbone of the collection, particularly the idea of a horned deity acting as a bridge between the civilised and the wild, the living and the dead. This sense of mediation was echoed not only in the performance but in the clothes themselves. Scarecrows, human yet not, became the perfect vessels through which to blur boundaries between the familiar and the uncanny.
The garments carried a roughly hewn, earthy sensibility. Heavy tweeds, undyed wools and linens were layered and fastened with bronze details that recalled ancient brooches and talismans. Colours referenced natural dyes, deep blues, bruised purples and muted bronzes, softened by moments of raw, untouched fabric. The collection translated historical cues into emotional textures, prioritising mood and character over literal reference. Garments fastened with an excess of buttons continued a recurring signature seen throughout Skelton’s previous seasons.
Projected onto the chapel walls were screenings of the collection set against raging bonfires and dense greenery, the models masked and anonymous, extending the performance beyond the physical space. The evening felt meticulously considered and deeply personal. Skelton’s artistic range was evident not only in the clothes but in the way they were revealed, reverently and with restraint. It was a show that trusted atmosphere and stood as a testament to the community Skelton has built around his practice, one that continues to celebrate and uplift his original and thought-provoking work.
