Mood board: S/S 2018 marks Raimund Berthold’s debut runway show at London Fashion Week Men – the Central Saint Martins graduate has been showing presentations since A/W 2015. For spring, the Austrian-born designer was moved by a series of photographs of child soldiers in Sub-Saharan Africa. From French army cavalry coats to garb worn by the British army during World War Two, Berthold often looks to military uniforms for inspiration, and he was struck by the oversized outfits worn by child soldiers, grown up too soon, in attire swallowing their frames. This was explored in the designer’s use of exaggerated silhouettes – designs in his idiosyncratic technical fabrics, in both black and bold sou’wester yellow – featuring wide funnel necks and trailing enlarged sleeves and including monastic wrap front trousers and oversized ponchos.
Finishing touches: A bright graphic print in yellow, cyan and red signalled a new exploration of colour for the designer. This was featured on blankets that were folded over the shoulder, and secured with utilitarian pocket-detail bags worn across the body. Reflecting Berthold’s preoccupation with conflict and release, accessories were tied and pulled across the frame, with the straps of huge backpacks secured in a knot at the front of the body.
Team work: For the set of his first fully fledged catwalk show, Berthold worked with artist and regular collaborator Justyna Kabala, who devised a series of brushed steel columns.
