![]() The collection sees Wales Bonner revive ‘60s jerseys to make each piece feel lived in, exaggerating the collars on plum-coloured tracksuits and printing anoraks and t-shirts with a special motif that reads ‘Wales Bonner adidas Originals Literary Academy’. Wales Bonner is able to reference 70’s adidas wear that falls in line with her own practice and the garments as a result work in isolation or as part of her collections,” he says. “It’s up there with my favourite collaborations of the past few years. It gives the brand life and makes it relatable.”Īs Bowstead points out, “the Wales Bonner adidas collaboration picks up on ‘70s references that are part of the DNA of her label, as well as references to the early ‘80s: decades marking a point at which sporting apparel becomes important to subculture and youth culture.” For designer Sam Nowell, it’s Bonner’s affection for ‘70s styles, that is synonymous with adidas sportswear, that makes the team-up special. For myself, as someone with dual heritage, I’m drawn to these contexts. ![]() Race and identity politics, like it or not, are a dynamic part of modern society and how we perceive and celebrate ourselves. Yet as Sam Cole, Associate Style Editor at Highsnobiety, explains: “Younger buyers are looking for substance in their purchases, and I think the stories at the heart of the brand give it that weight. It could be easy to dismiss adidas Originals by Wales Bonner as another hype-driven collaboration. Maybe what their team kits for a track program might look like.” Speaking to Vogue, the designer said: “I was trying to imagine a fictional university that is a lot more multicultural. Within the collection – dubbed Black Sunlight – Bonner introduced the latest instalment of her adidas Originals collaboration, which has been a smash hit in the fashion world. The designer described the collection as the wardrobe of the “Outsider Intellectual”, writing that these academics represented “a real and radiant community of scholars, poets and artists from the Caribbean, India and West Africa, whose work and writings advanced postcolonial discourse.” Beginning with the Lovers Rock scene of seventies London, the designer moved through to the lasting influence of Jamaican dancehall culture, before landing on the wardrobe of Black British scholars who came from across the world in the 1980s to study at Oxbridge. On the eve of the pandemic, through to January 2021, Wales Bonner produced a triptych of collections which explored the threads between Britain and the Caribbean. “None of that is easy, of course, but she’s managed it.” “She’s stayed true to her core aesthetic and intellectual concerns, and she makes clothes that people want to wear and that feel easy to put together and combine with one’s existing wardrobe,” says Jay McCauley Bowstead, a cultural and historical studies lecturer at London College of Fashion and author of Menswear Revolution. The brand is synonymous with sleek tailoring, served with a dollop of nostalgic sportswear which has seen the designer explore notions of Black identity. A graduate of the esteemed art college Central Saint Martins – a pillar of London’s creative scene, which boasts Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Phoebe Philo as alumni – her collections are beautifully crafted, steeped in cultural codes, and fed by an extensive amount of research that cements her namesake brand as one of the finest luxury labels to operate out of British shores. The 29-year-old has carved herself out to be one of London’s most exciting designers, first with menswear, then womenswear, when she began showing co-ed in 2018. There’s an excitement and prestige around Grace Wales Bonner that places her beyond her years.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |