Scene setting: For the backdrop of Wales Bonner’s A/W 2018 collection – presented at Grosvenor Place – the designer enlisted New York-based artist Eric Mack to create a series of breezy, patterned fabrics which draped and floated across the runway, like sails or drying sheets folded over washing lines.
Mood board: Grace Wales Bonner is fascinated by identity, and her collections have explored narratives based on London’s street preachers and ceremonial styles in Ethiopia. As hinted at by the sail-like fabrics on the runway, for A/W 2018 Bonner embraced the idea of a marooned sailor returning home. There were cropped nautical jackets buttoned to the side (which will hold strong appeal to Bonner’s womenswear following), a sporty toggled jacket in shiny sunshine yellow, colourful abstract prints emblazoned across billowing pyjama shirts and homely plaid details on waistbands and trouser turn-ups. Bonner’s lost sailor is a master of cut and colour.
Finishing touches: Bonner only graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2015. The designer, who won the LVMH Prize in 2016, has become a much-praised name for her intellectual, bold and studied approach to menswear design. For A/W 2018, Bonner worked with Stephen Jones on a series of sou’wester hats with plaid peaks.
