You need to see Bianca Saunders’ designs in motion to truly appreciate their brilliance. Since studying for her MA at Royal College of Art, her designs have been informed by movement; how garments twist, crease and warp across the male form. Her fashion films through the pandemic have been great – one of which premiered as part of the inaugural Gucci Fest – but seeing her profound pattern-cutting ability in the flesh again was pure joy.
Before Covid, Saunders showcased her collections via intimate presentations in her home city. This season, the ANDAM Award-winner graduated to her very first catwalk show, making her Paris Fashion Week debut inside Palais de Tokyo. Showing in the fashion capital is a right of passage for London designers looking to take their business up a notch, and Saunders’ subversive tailoring is a cherished idea in a season where menswear’s heavy hitters have projected the rapid evolution of contemporary formalwear.
Louche suiting fashioned from citrus yellow leather sat alongside swollen trousers and puffers that are held in place as if caught in motion. For Saunders, the truth is in the details, and notched necklines, warped 3D checkered prints and her now-signature, accentuated shoulder represent years cutting finesse. “I want the collection to be timeless,” the designer said, carving a handsome uniform for the everyday bloke. “It could be now, it could be the past, it could be the future. It’s not just about one person – I want everyone to see a part of themselves in it.”
Photography courtesy of Bianca Saunders.
