After an impressively short delay due to a dramatic exploding water pipe that spewed steaming hot water over a swathe of showgoers, the Oliver Spencer show at the Old Sorting Office began in earnest. Specials drummer John Bradbury played a live set from the middle of the runway circuit as ‘cross-generational’ stream of models and rockers-as-models, including Blur’s Alex James, Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp and the beautiful Suren Seneviratne of My Panda Shall Fly strutted past.
Inspired by Purist polymath Le Corbusier, the collection was based around informal modern tailoring. References to London’s ‘ever-evolving subcultures’ – as promised by the show notes – were not easy to find, but the exciting colourways and fabric combinations were engaging enough in their own right, with blocks of colour in warm autumnal hues like mustard and burnt coral, and prints including a red tartan, a steely blue camouflage and a brown, charcoal and duck egg blue camouflage created by a repetitive daisy motif. Wide-cut trousers in canvas and wool with rolled hems revealed bare ankles, showing off brightly coloured leather desert boots. Jackets came in an array of styles, from blazers to pea coats, short and long trenches to bombers and even a quilted coat-liner style. Fine turtleneck jumpers, horizontal striped knits in navy and grey and scarves were used for layering, the looks accented with trilbys, beanies and sporty sunglasses.
Words: Charlotte Gush