This season, incubator Fashion East held its runway at Manor Place in south London. Co-founded by Palace Skateboards and Nike, the venue offers a football cage, skatepark, and exhibition space to the public for free.
It was a fitting setting for this year’s designers, Jacek Gleba, Louis Mayhew, and Traiceline Pratt, who all presented collections that explored movement – whether referencing dancewear or hunting for treasure.
Mayhew’s collection explored the latter. The designer’s a scavenger in his own right, jazzing up one top with duct tape and a pair of his own boxer shorts. Every look was attractively haphazard and overflowing with character, like an upcycled V-neck jumper featuring broken bottle tops Mayhew rustled up from the Thames. The mirthful accessories were a standout, like the bindle toted by the closing model or the feathered cap worn by another.
Gleba’s ebullient palette conjured up a similar spirit. Swooshes of pink, burgundy, military green and teal streaked across draped bodysuits, leggings, and capris. A former dancer, Gleba looked to Oscar Wilde’s play “Salome,” and ballet adaptations of it, to inform his latest collection. The femme fatale’s spirit came through slashed cutouts along the hips and shoulders.
Pratt’s brand Goyagoma, a new addition to the Fashion East lineup, closed the show. For his debut, the Bahamian designer took the audience through 12 hours in a day around the neighborhood he grew up in. He started his process by thinking of titles for cheeky outfits to wear for big moments, like “Something to cheat in” and “Something to steal in.” The result was a sleek lineup, with highlights including a suede trench coat embossed with a crocodile print and shearlings in all shapes and sizes.