September 20, 2022 |
After two seasons showing tableau presentations at the Newgen showspace at the Old Selfridges Hotel during London Fashion Week, Feben finally made her runway debut and it was a stunning and subtly sexy spectacle.
In the past, the cross-cultural designer ruminated on the emotional turmoils that have blighted the twenty-first century, but for SS23, it was age-old spirituality that fed into her work. Among other antiquated divination methods, tarot cards and the fact that there is no one singular way to read them, nor the cards dealt to you by life.
Dubbed The Read, certain womenswear garments such as sheer column dresses and biker jackets covered in grommets and studs were printed with clever, hypnotic graphics that echoed specific tarot cards – The Devil, The Chariot and The Tower – implying divine power. Passages of sordid prose from Georges Bataille’s explicit 1928 novella, Story of the Eye, peaked out of the gothic prints. There were also strapless deadstock PVC-coated tweed corsets, architecturally constructed coats and of course, signatures of the cross-cultural designer’s repertoire – her puckered twist dresses were reborn in variegated brushstroke-stripe poplin.
Elsewhere, super-small bandeau tops with matching neckties and extravagant beaded macramé slips in scarlet and emerald green were the product of Feben’s long-standing collaboration with local artisans in Accra, Ghana. Feben included menswear too, and the selection featured spiky vests and shorts counterposed by smooth collared shirts, crossbody shopping bags and sleek double-breasted, belted tailoring. Perhaps providing poplin for men will be the move that casts Feben into the global limelight.
Photography courtesy of Feben.
