Against the industrial, paint-spattered backdrop of Elms Lester Studio, contemporary black shoe company Mr Hare presented a sleek, dazzling offering: Tutto Nero. The show’s strapline, ‘everything a man needs disguised as everything he wants’, summed up the duality of the collection – on the one hand, coherently streamlined, on the other, discerningly decadent.
Built around just one shade and three leathers, Tutto Nero comprises a versatile range of footwear for work and play, all crafted from ultra-soft Italian calf leather, gleaming leather patent and velvety Tuscan suede. Derby shoes sit alongside monk straps, classic oxfords, stack heels, winter wingtips, slippers, high tops, tennis shoes and walking boots. A new line of accessories features chic, elegantly crafted coin pouches, document wallets and belts.
The slick presentation echoed Marc Hare’s comment on his monocolour collection: ‘this one is for the old Black, the profound colour. The colour that doesn’t have to shout.’ Models were lined up with military precision, silhouetted against high glass ceilings, their glossy shoes teamed with uniform-like garments (army batwing cape coats, Black Panther-esque berets). It was a format that achieved quiet socio-political gravitas through its immaculate attention to detail.
Words: Mary-Jane Wiltsher
Photography: Panagiotis K. Pontikas