What Astrid Andersen essentially does is sportswear. Sportswear that at first feels familiar, you’ve seen it somewhere, you’re sure – but on closer inspection it’s filled with details that elevate it far beyond just a tracksuit, or a sports top, to somewhere else entirely. And it’s this idea that was the raison d’etre of this collection – translating the familiar into something that champions a new way of dressing. This season, she looked to the archetypal Safari theme – taking something so off-referenced and making it wholly her own.
There were the colours – dusty green ran throughout – but also the roomy, the tracksuit top here becoming almost-tunic like, the arms dotted with chunky Masai-style jewellery (a collaboration with Monies, a Danish jewellery company) and on the heads, caps had protective veils that fell behind. But there were other references too – Japanese silks were formulated into Kimono jackets, silver lace spoke of tradition and luxury. And luxury ran throughout – velvet, puffs of fur, printed floral silk, the seams bonded rather than sewn. And that’s what Astrid is so good at – taking something so recognisable and creating a fantasy from it. It’s sportswear, but not as you know it.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans
