June 27, 2022 |
This wasn’t your average game of cops and robbers. Following a three-year hiatus, Mowalola has made a riotous return to the runway. For her Paris Fashion Week debut, the designer (formerly of Fashion East) presented a SS23 collection entitled Burglarwear, seeking to expose the common deceit that bonds us all.
The mood that occupied the Élysée Montmartre was dark, devious, and entirely relevant. Known for fusing her Nigerian heritage with 1970s punk and youth cultures, the broader ambition of Mowalola’s has always been to communicate sexuality openly and independent of gender. Having worked as design director for Yeezy Gap, pioneering within the industry feels ingrained in Mowalola’s approach: “I’m making way for something I’ve not seen done… so I might not know how to go about things, but I know what I deserve,” said the designer backstage. “Working with someone like Kanye probably made me more confident about myself and taught me not lower my voice for anyone.”
The clothes themselves were fiercely committed to the agenda at play, featuring associated motifs of ‘robbers’ – whether white-collar bankers or supervillains – and immersing them in Mowalola’s realm of hyper-sexuality. Knitted balaclava tops featured midriff cut-outs whilst tailoring took on a low-rise alteration. Fetish was very much on the menu, with the collection considering what it means to be physically stolen. Hooded mini dresses laced-up the hands and faces of models, with one dress featuring a singular sleeve to restrain both arms. In enforcing restrictions upon the wearer there aren’t only connotations with the submissive, but a timely reflection of the state of bodily autonomy also.
Burglarwear also confirmed the endurance of the micro mini. Except here, skirts featured brazen cut-outs across the hipbone and front-facing closures, mimicking that of a handbag or purse. The purpose? Concealment of valuable goods, obviously. We were also granted a glimpse of Mowalola’s upcoming collaboration with New Balance, dropping in fall 2022. Christened the 90/60, it draws on the brand’s ’00s running shoe silhouette, updated through exaggerated features and slick colourways.
When asked if she’d be open to returning to Paris Fashion Week, the designer reaffirmed just how her creative ambition shows no bounds: “maybe, who knows…if I get the opportunity to [show] on the moon, I’m going to the moon.”
Photography courtesy of Mowalola.
