The powerhouse is back again with a triumvirate of talented designers ready to show LCM what they’ve got.  We saw Rory Parnell Mooney, Luke Stevens, and James Theseus Buck and Luke Brooks to see what they had in store for us.

 

Rory Parnell Mooney

In the zen setting of Mooney’s presentation in Fitzrovia, the CSM graduate hit us with flaming hot hoodies. Yes, the red-hot colour ran throughout his eight-piece collection – it was on fire. Black and white checked shirts with elongated sleeves and pussy bows ran through the collection pairing itself with wide leg trousers and all over frayed joggers. Did you think aprons were just for the kitchen? You’re wrong, Mooney’s given us the new style trend – apron dresses. Hooray for those that like something easy to wear. “Schön von hinten” was embedded onto the hoodies, it means “beautiful from behind” and as the models turned their exposed backs on us, it really was beautiful from behind.

Hair was slicked down to the crown and left to frizz at the ends, giving that idgaf look and kind of reminding us of our school days, especially with the checked shirts and belt-to-pocket key chains. Mooney comes as yet another designer bending the rules of gender by putting females in the presentation, because why not. The posters at the back saying “When Gods were women” and “Spiritual” added to the well-loved ecclesiastical themes that run in the DNA of Rory Parnell Mooney.

 

 

Luke Stevens

Taking us to an intergalactic universe, Luke Stevens dazzled us with plenty of reflective silver on the walls as well as the clothes. Greeted with a model lying on his back on the floor (don’t we all feel like we need a rest during LCM) he stared at the ceiling and in a truly extraterrestrial way, it was as if he had just been abducted by aliens and awaiting an examination. Challenging the dominance of existing seasonal models, he opted to use hangers and floor space to display the rest of his looks. White mesh shirts with flared sleeves and silver foiled trousers with elasticated cuffs weighted his futuristic narrative. Stevens took a whole new approach to silhouettes with the main focus on the stomach, resourcefully layering a mix of seemingly industrial materials on the waist. Keeping the white mesh as a staple undershirt, he added silver foiled western jackets and high-shine overshirts. Taking us on a high-tech journey, the crowd could take a trip to the silver vault sound room to sit on a single red chair and listen to what the designer picked out for us. The silver foil nicely reflected Steven’s unconventional universe that beamed before us.

 

 

James Theseus Buck and Luke Brooks – Rottingdean Bazaar

 

Merging the worlds of fashion and arts, the CSM duo James Theseus Buck and Luke Brooks are showcasing Rottingdean Bazaar – eventually this will me their online shop. They make badges, but on a whole different level to the badge making sets that we had as children – balloon badges, bottle top badges, ketchup sachet badges… the lot. In fact, they really make use of our everyday items by badging up thongs, condoms and plasters. Definitely NSFW. Their clothes used standard styles of plain white jumpers, t-shirts and dresses but what really caught the eye were the 3D creations – a beige bra was appliquéd onto a jumper, as were briefs and nylon tights. This contrasted nicely with their use of real/natural flowers being pressed, dried, and then sealed onto the clothing. Sets of jumpers were embossed with flip-flops and briefs, as well as a polo with light up nipples for a little bit of understated mischief. For their home section, six simple clocks hung on the wall and under closer inspection, the numbers were replaced with real smoked cigarettes. The clocks were next to a no smoking poster, a hint of irony was nicely slotted in by the boys we see.

 

 

Words: Lizzie Griffin