February 26, 2021 |
AGR is the brand rebelling against traditional knitwear tropes, one technicolour-dream-knit at a time. For its first full collection, the London-based design studio moved away from statement, stand-alone garments and instead unveiled a myriad of sleek, serotonin-inducing knits in a sudden nostalgic resurgence of psychedelic prints. Think nomadic grunge-meets-acid trip-meets-the new nineties cool kid on the block.
Creative director Alicia Robinson worked her kaleidoscopic colours into feather down puffas, gradient bodycon dresses and stripy zip-up jumpers. Many looks were swathed in swirling scarfs, colourful crochet toques and scrappy patchwork hats. There were jersey tracksuits, denim trousers, and brushed mohair or gradient lace dresses. Everything screamed to be stroked, held, or worn.
Like an Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test for the eyes, the look book’s hazy ambience provides for a soulful psychedelic experience from beginning to end. It was all the result of the growth that came from a grand relocation to a larger studio space wherein Robinson felt motivated by Joe Holbrook, an artist she commissioned to create a mural. Robinson worked closely with Holbrook who hand sprayed the knits, and Stephanie Anchowa, who dye-mixed them.
This ingenious collaboration led to a vibrant array of gradient and space-dyed mohair, cotton, and jacquard, cutting-edge knits. The work speaks volumes about rebellion in a future fantasy for the AGR man and woman – a duo unconfined by the margins of what has typically been accepted as the norm. The brand is known for its defiant personality and this AW21 season takes knitwear to explosive new dimensions. Buy a knit and take a trip.
Photography by William Spooner.
