Grace Wales Bonner opted to celebrate Caribbean art this season, rooting her latest collection in the work of the late Althea McNish, who was a renowned Trinidadian textile designer. Having graduated from the Royal College of Art, the talented artist had produced work for Liberty and Christian Dior and was known for her vibrant visions of Caribbean flora. Bonner reimagined McNish’s work by funnelling it through a contemporary lens, using her prints on garments throughout the collection.
Materials were influenced by nautical themes, with striped knitwear, fishnets under tops and mouliné jumpers appearing throughout the offering. Silhouettes that nodded to swimwear appeared in the form of speedo-like short shorts and more formal detailing was spattered throughout as jacquard blazers and Crombie coats. Tailoring was, as ever, a focus, with a collaboration with Savile Row tailors Anderson and Shepard birthing a wonderfully chic brown satin overcoat and an ivory silk shawl-collar jacket.
Footwear was meticulously crafted, with silver and gold leather being woven by hand into glitzy sandals and a new sequinned iteration of the brand’s collab with Adidas. It was another clear display of the undisputed talent of one of fashion’s most revered rising stars.
Photography by Christina Fragkou.
