Mood board: The work of designers today is clicked and swiped in-and-out of multiple contexts stretching across the globe. The notes for Khalid Al Qasimi’s show opened with a reference to ongoing tension in the Middle East. It isn’t easy to challenge or influence political ideologies with clothes, but Qasimi’s childhood, growing up in the United Arab Emirates, is never far from his research. For S/S20 he explored familiar territory, looking at the notion of urban nomads and utopian ideas of the future. This time, the look was lighter and relaxed. Sun-bleached and sensual.
Best in show: Military references are at the core of menswear and most often influence the cut and shape of garments; here they guided the textile. Military canvas and heavy twills were used in clothes that had a rippling sensuality. A pale pink ripstop tracksuit was sheer; silk jelabas unbuttoned at the sides revealed a naked torso. Dimpled technical seersucker suits possessed a chic calm. Knitted racer back vests shaped an athletic body. Some pieces were riveted together, perverting the nuts and bolts of armoured fighting vehicles.
Sound bite: Qasimi was feeling hopeful this season: ‘Coming from the Middle East we have a duty to discuss politics and push things forward, the messages are political quite often but I am also really just expressing myself in the only way I know how – through fashion. I want people to be able to relate to a sense of hope and liberation,’ he said.
Qasimi S/S 2020. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Qasimi S/S 2020. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Qasimi S/S 2020. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Qasimi S/S 2020. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
-
Hollywood Forever's new ‘vertical mausoleum’ is the tallest in the USThe Gower Mausoleum is not only an innovative solution for housing the deceased in a crowded urban centre; it is also reframing the way that we view cemeteries
-
Teenage Engineering celebrate ten years of the Pocket Operator synth series with £49 modelTE’s cult series of pocketable synths, beat machines, sequencers and samplers celebrates its tenth decade with a new microsite and competition
-
The creative mind at work: a century of storyboarding at Fondazione PradaFondazione Prada’s 'Osservatorio, A Kind of Language: Storyboards and Other Renderings' features some of the most celebrated names in cinema working from the late 1920s up to 2024
-
Inside Louis Vuitton’s Murakami London pop-up, a colourful cartoon wonderland with one-of-a-kind caféWallpaper* takes a tour of the Louis Vuitton x Murakami pop-up in London’s Soho, which celebrates the launch of a new ‘re-edition’ accessories collection spanning the greatest hits from the Japanese artist’s long-running collaboration with the house
-
Get to know Issey Miyake’s innovative A-POC ABLE line as it arrives in the UKAs A-POC ABLE Issey Miyake launches in London this week, designer Yoshiyuki Miyamae gives Wallpaper* the lowdown on the experimental Issey Miyake offshoot
-
Margaret Howell London Fashion Week Women's S/S 2019 -
London Fashion Week S/S 2023: Ahluwalia to Martine RoseThough slimmed-down, London Fashion Week nonetheless provided the moments of creative expression the city is known for – from Ahluwalia’s ode to Africa to Martine Rose’s much-anticipated runway return
-
Discover these fashion brands at London Craft WeekDuring London Craft Week, fashion brands including Smythson, Bally and Serapian are hosting events across the capital
-
Nicholas Daley's multicultural roots celebrated in London -
V&A spotlights the sartorial and social significance of the kimonoFor the latest endeavour of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk explores the evolution of the iconic Japanese garment
-
Erdem A/W 2020 London Fashion Week Women's
