Grace Wales Bonner’s AW25 menswear collection, entitled Selah, is a study of the artist’s process. Inspired by the ritual of making, the collection, rife with collaborations, brings together craft, history and contemporary luxury in a way that feels both considered and effortless. Across the offering, tailoring remains at the core, with sharp black, deep brown and grey-melange suits defining the season. Outerwear is bold but understated – Italian leather and Japanese canvas coats fastened with gold lock closures add a sense of durability and elegance. The accessories continue the theme of refined practicality, with studded suede flats and leather boots, reissued gold Jewel Mary Janes and structured leather bowling bags created alongside Adidas Originals.
Included in the collection is a standout link-up with Chicago and Japan-based artist Theaster Gates’ whose decade-long, ongoing conceptual project, The Black Image Corporation, aims to preserve and reactivate the archives of the Johnson Publishing Company. In line with this, the collection incorporates archival images photographed by Moneta Sleet Jr. and Isaac Sutton and taken from the now defunct Ebony and Jet magazines – specifically those that honour the Black woman’s role in shaping culture globally – which Bonner translates into rich indigo jacquards and cobalt blue prints. It’s a celebration of Black cultural history, seamlessly woven into Wales Bonner’s signature silhouettes.
Elsewhere, a partnership with Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard results in a reworked cavalry uniform featuring embossed gold buttons and satin contrasts, bringing military precision into Wales Bonner’s elevated world of modern tailoring. A cross-pollination with heritage English makers Crombie Ltd., on the other hand, brings to life a classic grate coat crafted from navy wool with leather finishings.
From start to finish, Wales Bonner doesn’t just reference history – she reshapes it, proving once again that her vision of cultural luxury is in a league of its own.
Photography courtesy of Wales Bonner.
