The Tamesis
Outside the glass doors of a white cube gallery in Bethnal Green on Saturday afternoon, a lively crowd thronged the pavement – most boldly dressed, others scantily clad on a cold February day. Walking through them into the space, brightly colored clothes are scattered on plinths, stretched on chairs, nailed to the wall or seemingly discarded on the floor. In one room, a pair of disembodied legs clad in ornate gold trousers akimbo in a corner, tucked haphazardly in a way that recalls a Sarah Lucas sculpture. In another piece, a layered look of padded jackets, woven tops and lace padded skirts was carefully arranged like a classified museum display, or perhaps a crime scene.
Rather than opting for a high-energy fashion show, Jawara Alleyne chose this playful approach to presenting his latest collection – which was a bit unexpected considering its title, “Night Life.” But Alleyne explains that he thinks about nightlife “sociologically,” not as a series dedicated to the clubs themselves, but more as an imaginary space in which we discover and express our sense of self. “It’s where we find ourselves, it’s where we find community, it’s where we dress up and experiment with fashion,” he said, noting that the recent announcements of closures of legendary London nightlife venues have been alarming. “Without these places, I doubt how the new kids will be able to find a sense of self.”
That said, the way Alleyne presents the collection to people no Coming to Bethnal Green came about through a lookbook featuring mostly his friends, many of whom he first met on the dance floor. “I think it makes the clothes feel more authentic,” he said of the musicians, stylists and writers who make up the mashup. The energy of the photos meant he was still able to translate the exciting movement and energy of his clothes on the catwalk: acid neon lace dresses and bubble skirts, pleated plaid overalls, psychedelic plaid hooded jackets, polo shirts and T-shirts, sewn together with safety pins or knots.
Viewing these images and the exhibition together only goes to show Alleyne’s impressive versatility: if one day pop stars no longer ask for custom-made clothes (although, considering Rihanna describes him as her favorite designer, that seems unlikely), he’s sure to make a splash by venturing into the art world. Still, it was his love of clothes and his fascination with their meaning that kept him going. “It’s not about showing clothes as products but as functions,” he said of the exhibition, noting that the way the clothes were torn and scattered depended in part on where they ended up at the end of the wild night. Alleyne talks and thinks like a true fashion director.
