Tag: shaun-samson

“Is this a fashion show or a funeral?” someone whispered into my ear on the first day of shows. But surprisingly, by the last day of LC:M a new kind of darkness emerged on the runway when designers sent out their own unusual breed of monsters and vampires. Of course there was a twist -Katie Eary's vampires weren’t concealed in black but rather covered in fuchsia flower prints, whilst Shaun Samson's monsters looked as though they had been taken from an American ice hockey team.

“Horror is something I am constantly obsessed with,” screamed Katie Eary backstage as her fang-wearing models walked past her. “I started by looking at eighteenth century paintings of banquets,” she continued. “I was looking at the food actually and then I thought what if there were bodies amongst it – this idea of eighteenth century gore.” This season, her prints did have an almost gore-like quality to them, particularly in the way her images were layered over each other. Flowers and lobsters were digitally manipulated in deep pinks, blacks and blues – translating the painterly quality of the eighteenth century images she referenced. Models appeared wearing gold chocker neck pieces and pointy fangs, allowing Eary to craft her own hybrid of streetwear vampire.

Christopher Kane also paid homage to the icons of horror in his menswear presentation. Dracula and Frankenstein both appeared on printed t-shirts and on velvet slippers, whilst his moody colour palette of midnight blues, blacks and deep purples were an nod to the darkness genre itself. Kane's use of fur took reference from werewolves and appeared on shirt collars and evening jackets.

For Shaun Samson, fur was also used as a reference to monsters in his streetwear-heavy collection. Models entered the runway wearing shabby fur earmuffs and ice hockey jumpers - Samson calling them his own “ice monsters.” Backstage, he claimed another important reference this season was camping - “For some reason, I always think that when you go camping you feel like you're in your pyjamas. There are monsters out in the woods and the only way you can protect yourself from the monsters is to say a prayer to God.”

Although Matthew Miller didn't claim that vampires or monsters were on his mind when designing his autumn / winter 13' collection, there was certainly a moody element this season. On the runway, his models appeared in uniform. Each with two of their fingers painted red, something Miller claimed was “a reference to anarchism,” but could have been taken from a modern horror film. The slogan 'Born to Fail' was printed in red on his garments, his “response to being fucked over by Generation X.”

In the past, Shaun Samson has explored ideas of teenage angst, masochism and loitering on the streets – even branding his models by shaving 'SAMSON' on the back of their heads. However, this season things felt very different. He even toyed with me after his last show, saying this season the Shaun Samson man might grow up. And maybe he did - just a little bit.

Samson's use of fabrics felt more refined than ever. He re-introduced his needle-punch felting technique, something that leaves no seams on the garments and defined his graduate collection from Central St. Martins. This season he used it to blend angora wool with jersey, creating a seamless transition between two tones of red, as featured on trousers and jumpers. Intricate and chunky cable knits also ran through the collection alongside leather striped detailing. Even his box-like silhouettes of past seasons were given new triangular shapes - Samson reaffirming his desire to create street boys who look luxury.

Backstage, Samson cited “monsters, ice hockey, camping and prayers” as references. Revealing themselves in his use of shabby fur details, pyjamas and large blankets that were worn over the models shoulders. Eager to find out more, we asked him to talk us through his thoughts behind the collection...

“There were so many different references. I started by looking at camping. For some reason, I always think that when you go camping you feel like your in your pyjamas. There are monsters out in the woods and the only way you can protect yourself from the monsters is to say a prayer to god. The serenity prayer [which was printed on garments – ed] was a fun little prayer because it is the same prayer that you say in A.A. meetings. I wasn’t sure if people got that. I swear I have never been to an A.A. meeting but I have seen that blanket so many times.

I have experimented with shape before in the past. This season I wanted to make it more relatable to people. I think the ice hockey jersey shape is something that people will recognise and hopefully see themselves in automatically. Rather than people thinking that I am experimenting with the things I have worked with in the past. Even more of the easier pieces like the angora jumpers that felted into a sweatshirt – where I am mixing street culture with luxury knits, I am dressing it down on street cast boys. I think there are enough designers out there who are designing for the mature man. I feel like with me I want to have the mature boy. I think there is a lot of youth that we are trying to chase – is that sad?“