If we don’t start changing the way we consume and deal with clothes, paradise will be lost,” Matthew Miller told us backstage after his Spring/ Summer 2019 show. He was explaining the sense of alarm pounding from the collection that he’d just sent down the catwalk. Stylised safety vests, a multitude of buckles and lots of black accented with heavy neon and metallics- the sense of danger awareness was here to create a sort of environmental intervention for the fashion industry. The type of revolution Matthew encourages, however, is not about fists in the air and shouting from a megaphone – it comes with a sense of creativity. In collaboration with American athletics brand K-Swiss, Matthew took old band merch and upcycled it into safety camera boxes that took the role of everyday luggage – clutches and handbags for girls, backpacks and holdalls for boys. And then there was the sound… With beats of Berlin techno blasting from the speakers (yes, we were fully dancing in our seats), it wasn’t the music that made most noise. The clothes were loud thanks to the foil-like fabrications and punchy colours, the accessories click-clacking against each other. Somewhere between streetwear and tailoring, Matthew Miller hit a sweet spot for all the crowd at London Fashion Week Men’s and successfully engaged in a dialogue about sustainability that Men’s fashion particularly only rarely dares to tackle. A rebel with a cause, he is the kind of designer that enables conversation through clothes – and this conversation both looked and sounded great.
