Words: Mix Cacho-Negrete

I can officially write a sentence I thought I never would… during London Fashion Week, I attended a Pokémon-themed fashion show… and I loved it.

Jimmy Paul is known for his out-of-the-box, hyper-colourful garments. This London Fashion Week, he perhaps gave himself his biggest creative challenge yet, partnering with Pokémon to create over fifteen looks inspired by Pokémon characters, symbolised through clothing.

The show began with three Pikachu-inspired looks. The first was a faux-fur electric yellow cropped jacket, complete with Pikachu’s signature black zig-zag. Paul paired the jacket with a pair of crinkled leather trousers and platform shoes, finished with bright yellow see-through glasses. The second look was similar, another Pikachu coat, this time styled with a black mini skirt. To finish the introduction to the show, Paul presented a more street-style-focused outfit, a floor-length Pikachu-coloured button-up shirt with a black cropped jacket layered over it, along with those yellow glasses again and a yellow hat featuring a Pikachu graphic.

From there, Paul combined the worlds of the beloved Japanese anime and fashion. Some standouts included his “Suicune” look, a Pokémon character that can purify water and is blue, purple, and white. Paul created a two-piece multi-coloured knit set in those tones. I thought the colours, though all statement-making, worked perfectly together, and the silhouette of the look was incredibly wearable.

A more avant-garde look, one I could imagine on someone wanting to make a statement on the VMAs red carpet, was his “Togepi” design. Togepi is a Pokémon that symbolises good luck and is depicted emerging from an egg. Paul recreated that idea in the mini dress he designed. The dress was multi-coloured, in Togepi’s colours of course, yellow, red, blue, and white. It featured two tube-like embellishments, making it look as though the dress itself was hatching. Was there a lot going on? Absolutely. Did I find it really fun and creative? Also absolutely.

I encourage you to look more closely at the show and at Paul’s ability to merge these two unlikely universes. My final reflection is a compliment to Paul’s sewing and garment construction. It was fantastic. The lines were clean, all embellishments looked consistent across the collection, and the clothes genuinely looked great on the runway.

Congratulations to Paul on creativity done well, this has inspired me to explore the Pokémon universe more.