One of menswear’s knottiest semiotic pressure points arises from perennial tension between the poles of precedent (cool old stuff we love) and progressiveness (the modernity we wish to exemplify). This thoughtful collection from Luke Derrick massaged that tenderest of masculine wardrobe zones by articulating both urges in subtle synchrony.
Halfway through the show I wrote “sartech” as a cheesy portmanteau of the fossilized sartorial details and the old school fabrics—microcord, velveteen, wool flannel, wool twill—that Derrick blended with elements derived primarily from sportswear, alongside workwear and influences beyond the customary Europe-originating canon. There were unstructured double-breasted jackets in knit jersey with hoods rising from the gorge line; near-collarless single-breasted jackets in gray wool edged with faintly reflective piping; fine-gauge knit shirts with raglan shoulders and rolled funnel necks; and tailored trousers in brown, olive and gray wool cut with a workwear double-knee.
Backstage, the designer confessed his fear this season of the C-word: conservative. He said: “What has been perhaps a bit scary was just trying to go more traditional. I find the word ‘heritage’ in this country is a protective word… that prevents innovation. So it was about having the confidence to look backwards. There are a lot of legacy fabrics in there but there is also a lot of iridescence going on because I wanted this sense of things being captured under streetlights.”
The streetlights Derrick typically evokes are those of his manor along Bethnal Green Road, a zone where you can happily graze between the pie and mash ‘old’ London traditionalism of E Pellicci and the (highly recommended), more recently established chapli canon of Afghan Kitchen. Similarly Derrick’s diverse inspiration snacked on the “guys wearing knee-length djellaba with Air Max” to conjure knits sectioned at and below the waist to evoke lengthening and layering. Jerkin jackets in piled velveteen sometimes caught the runway spotlights at their shoulder seam to create a mirage-like shimmer. Derrick added: “Old London/New London, tech, heritage… it’s not about fusion.”
There was an opening prelude where the entire cast strode back and forth in front of us with the lights down, casting only their silhouettes through the gloom of phone-glow. This was staged to grab attention, a reasonable gambit: however these looked like garments that could be most powerfully engaged with by being worn. Derrick conceded they were designed primarily to be “experiential,” adding: “Everything is postured for the wearer to have an ease. But rather than it being James Bond having a martini, its more, if the city has expectations of elegance you can still be you, and protect your self against them.” Derrick’s evolving menswear idiom is perceptive, polished and particular. This collection was distinguished and distinctive: you could see it becoming habitual for many men who don’t want to agonize about menswear but only wish to feel good in it.