The Tamesis
Part of the joy of Duro Olowu showing his collection is the presentation itself. Typically, Olowu talks about looks while models are wearing his clothes on display at his St. James jewelry showroom or in an equally minimalist private home that belongs to one of his friends. So it was a shock to see his clothes from this season in the white-walled Sadie Coles gallery on Bury Street. “I like that it’s no nonsense, no distractions,” Olowu said. “You can really see the clothes against a plain background. It’s nice to see the movement of things in that way—even for me.”
This season, Olowu paid more attention to the precision of his lines and the textural subtlety of his chosen fabrics, which makes sense: Many looks forgo his signature clashing patterns in favor of head-to-toe black. There was nothing sombre or funereal about Olowu’s use of the color, though: A series of looks with voluminous sleeves and flared skirts were cut from brocaded silk, hand-embossed in patterns that echoed palm leaves. Another set featured a richly textured black terry that was structured but not stiff, while several pieces—including a particularly dazzling, hip-length cape—were trimmed with shimmering black sequins sewn down to reflect light upward. “Really, it uses black in a very emotional way,” Olowu said.
Part of what’s got his gears buzzing this season are memories of visiting his mother’s Jamaican relatives in London in the 1970s, and seeing his cousins — young women in their late teens to early 20s, many of them part of the couples rock scene — wearing ’40s-style pencil skirts, bomber jackets and culottes, all styles he reinterprets here. “I really wanted to make them less nostalgic; make them very modern,” he said. He also points to the influence of the Jamaican-born British photographer Armet Francis, whose photos of fashionable women outdoors in Brixton markets in the 1970s feel as fresh and relevant now as they did when they were taken. In Olowu’s words: “It’s classy, but also a little firm and cool. It’s cool in a good way – they’re not copying what they see in magazines.”
Overlapping appointments throughout the morning ensured that Olowu’s talk was a social event for the wide range of editors and creatives who passed by, as well as being a showcase for his latest collection. Yet you couldn’t take your eyes off the clothes: Everyone was raving about the Argyle wool sweaters that Olowu cut into strips and reassembled into a set of coveted hats and scarves. Carefully tailored jackets and dresses in white and toffee brown with abstract coral-like prints were clearly popular. “I love the fact that the presentation is about fashion, but we can also have conversations about art, politics and film, all rolled into one,” Olowu said. “It’s work, but it doesn’t feel like work.” That’s what makes Olowu’s clothes so elegant and effortless.
