The war child was the theme at Jamie Wei Huang on Friday in Freemasons Hall, and at London Fashion Week she occupied the hallowed catwalk with a merciless world-wise militancy. Essential was the byword, as Taiwanese designer Huang populated her catwalk with necessity clothing, through which “fashion becomes a part of life and a way of survival”, as heavy, severe materials were juxtaposed with light, feminine materials to underpin the impetus, the quite contempo amalgamation of femininity and masculinity.
However most importantly for Huang, there is still a stable humanity present in the collection, which establishes her as one of the most active emerging designers, sure to go places in the future. Post-War fashion function details, such as tool belts, with delicate feminine quirks and fine finishing’s make for silhouettes, strongly cut with the overt capacity to flatter the female form, further conveyed by furry armbands and towering inverted fur-lined collars, creating a kind of, somewhat dystopian, warrior-like armour.
These warriors of the, clinical, wasteland are however warranted as refugees of the artistic set, the new tormented artist, that do however possess a spark keeping them forever alive, think Van Gogh for instance.
This new uniform for the aforementioned demographic, with its liberal use of wool and leathers in stocky outwear, oversized masculine Yamamoto-esque cuts, discontented balaclava-like helmets and moody colour scheme, does it’s part to negotiate with the emotive aspects of modern fashion and specifically what necessity actually means to us.
by Liam Feltham