For London-based menswear maven Bianca Saunders, tapping into her Caribbean roots has often been a source of inspiration for her collections. Yet her SS22 offering could be her most personal yet. In her first outing since bagging the ANDAM award, a prize previously won by the likes of Martin Margiela, Anthony Vaccarello and Marine Serre, Saunders was drawn to a series of photographs her mother took on a trip to Jamaica when she was 18. The designer was particularly fascinated by the way casual wear and tailoring became morphed into one handsome look, where vibrant hues of green and blue punctuated through the film camera grain.
In response, she adapted her traditional twisted shapes and silhouettes. Gone are crinkled office shirts and ruched trousers, making way for pullover jackets and polo shirts that can be put on with one swift movement. This season the brand works in viscose, lightweight cotton and upcycled indigo denim courtesy of an ongoing collaboration with ISKO, also working alongside Farah to create a wardrobe that can be worn all summer long.
Saunders turned her eye to muscle men, too, crafting distorted prints which look as if they’ve been stretched across chiselled pecs, and cutting arms in a curved motion like they would circle muscly biceps. It’s another solid collection from Saunders, who is cementing herself as one of London’s brightest names. And with a more personal turn, with a collection modelled here by her own brother and cousin, we’re getting a clearer view into the world Saunders desires to create. What a wonderful place to be.
Photography by Djiby Kebe.
