August 8, 2017 |
For his AW17 autumn campaign, Neil Barrett takes is back to his ‘golden college years’. Wondering what Neil’s college years look like? We assume they didn’t involve huddling around an old Playstation, drinking Buckfast from a dirty mug and combing the back of the sofa for anything that vaguely resembles a lump of hash. No, sir! This was the 1980s, there were trade unions to picket, gender norms to subvert, and importantly for Barrett, the emergence of street style, courtesy of Ray Petri’s iconic vision and his Buffalo collective.
Shot by Brett Lloyd, the campaign pays homage to this turbulent period that pre-dated the existence of stylists, and fused haute couture with sportswear, Caribbean street style with punk and traditional African garb. It was a celebration of diversity in its truest sense and something Barrett wanted to echo in this new campaign. Shot on the streets of Hackney, the monochrome images have a reportage style that cleverly echo an important and immensely creative time in British fashion. Very nice.
