February 21, 2023 |
It’s been a hot minute since Mowalola has put on a catwalk in London. Not since her Fashion East days has the designer shown in the capital, marking her triumphant return with a 10pm show Saturday night that drew in Shygirl, Skepta and Coi Leray on the front row. It’s a testament to the designer’s cult appeal, which hasn’t dampened despite skipping the catwalk for a number of seasons (she returned last June with an electric show in Paris). Back in the Big Smoke, Mowa doubled down on the trompe l’oeil leather coats, scanty togs and cowhide clubwear she’s made her hero pieces. She was thinking about our shared conflict with technology, and how our algorithms are orchestrated by cash-grabbing big businesses.
Her thoughts turned to New York, the epicenter of global capitalism, where she bootlegged The Yankees logo across roughed-up leather bombers and took sagging jeans to new extremes, pulling pants down so they swung below the knee. Trousers with windowpane cut-outs, supersized totes and an ‘insert disc here’ column dress completed the sexed-up outing, making for one of the most memorable shows of the week.
Photography courtesy of Mowalola.
