On my visit, Alleyne was sporting a pair of the Chuck Taylor Lo knotted with leather tassels. “This season, I’m thinking a lot about comfort and about practicality in the way you actually dress,” he said of the new silhouette, which prioritises ease of movement. “When you’re putting a look together for a night out, the shoes have to be comfortable.”
The lookbook, a static extension of the immersive exhibition, featured the designers’ community and creative circles: editor (and Conner Ives muse) Osman Ahmed lay across piles of material in an asymmetrical dress and a Converse-mule hybrid, while designer Hannah HRH stared into the camera adorned in a royal-blue set held together with safety pins – an Alleyne signature. I also caught movement director, Yagamoto aka Abdourahman Njie in the mix, wearing a spliced top and kaleidoscopically splattered Converse.
As we spoke, Alleyne pointed me to a few pairs in particular. A pair covered in purple fringed jersey peeked out from under a bench. And again, across the room, a pair artfully decorated in electric fuchsia, orange and red paint.
“I have a few pairs of club shoes that are completely disgusting, but they’re so comfortable,” Alleyne told me. “They’re just sneakers, but they can take a beating. I can actually dance in them. I was thinking about the scuffs and dirt that lends to the look in a way, especially with[in] the space of British fashion.”
As well-wishers hankered to speak to Alleyne, ever the life of the party, I decided to peruse the space a bit more. I noticed that his fabrications were heavier than past seasons. The wools, gabardines, denims and renewed emphasis on tailoring spoke to looking cool – while staying warm – on a night out. My mind was plagued with ways in which I could somehow score a pair of the taupe suede iterations Alleyne was wandering about the exhibition in. I didn’t take them directly off his feet, reader. But the need to try them on wouldn’t subside, and a pair in my size happened to be lying around. Almost immediately, I could feel the blood flow restoring to my toes and all felt right in the world again.
Ultimately, Alleyne was right, I thought, as I limped out the exhibition and towards a winding day of shows: If you want to enjoy a party, sensible (and cool) footwear is key. This onus on being present is something Alleyne not only values but lives by. It was evidenced by the community that flocked to see him and his warm embraces with them. We could all stand to take a leaf – and some Chucks – out Alleyne’s book.