September 17, 2022 |
Edward Crutchley isn’t one for blending in. His audacious designs have been adored by the fashion pack since his debut and for SS23, he further fed our desire to be served with his particularly striking sexy silhouettes.
The show was set in a subterranean car park, the quiet hum of the vast industrial space situated three floors below the city streets, being disrupted by the larger than life figures emerged: think pompous layered ball gowns, gauzy semi-transparent sets and deep-sea blue taffeta trousers that all lacked gender-specificity. But it wasn’t all puffed-up; Crutchley’s signature skin-tight sex appeal was part of the mix too. There were holey body-clinging knit dresses that came paired with holographic platform sandals by Roker. Ashley Reese also returned to the runway wearing only a cupless bra encrusted with aurora borealis waves and a crystaled thong, his famed bubble butt on display for all to feast their eyes.
It was the ancient Greek sea-god Proteus that informed the collection, appearing as mother of pearl-like materials that shimmered like fish scales, iridescent under the sea. But, beside the ocean-y fabrics and sequin adornments, it was the fluidity and elusiveness of Proteus that really edified the designs – like the liminal being, Crutchley’s savoir faire is always slipping through our fingers.
Shimmering, sheepy, lustrous: everything came with an aquatic glimmer. The two-time Woolmark Prize winner created this shine using lurex or aluminium cloqué and crinkle organza in a display of his innovative prowess.
Against the rising tide of conservative values and pseudo-mediaeval points of view, Crutchley somehow translated protean sea tropes into a glamorous yet whimsical, modern collection.
Photography courtesy of Edward Crutchley.
