Mood board: Green has become known for his sensitive, incisive work exploring the body and its architectural reality. It is always revealed or wrapped, presented or protected. For S/S 20, the designer took a philosophical approach to the human form. Much of the research looked into resurrection and ways of thinking about transformation. Green wondered why we wear the skin of another animal as a protective layer on top of our own. Here he embedded matte leather into a ribbed knit jacket and tabard, worn like a second-skin. The show ended with a succession of brightly coloured laser-cut ripstop pieces inspired by Mexican Easter flags, which symbolise rebirth, though are quickly disposed of after use.
Best in show: Green’s signature workman jackets have added mirror and lacework patches or come in flesh toned silk. Standout were the silk dream suits, hand-embroidered with padded shapes inspired by Zoroastrian anatomical drawings, where human flesh and muscle appear like flora. ‘There was a weird Egyptian idea of embalming or burying you with your worldly goods. I think it’s such a strange thing that when you pass, you get put into a tomb or a concrete box when, throughout your life, you’re never that protected,’ he said. Elasticated cotton suits were printed with lo-resolution images of men’s bodies found online. There was a sense of the ethereal, but with an ultramodern attitude.
Sound bite: ‘The outlook was a bit more positive than normal,’ Green said. ‘I kept thinking about mirrors, which I always think of as possibilities. There is also that idea of scrutinising yourself in the mirror that ties into the research about resurrection. I like the idea that things didn’t have to be from one place, they didn’t have to be either negative or positive, they are celebratory in their balance.’ The designer was in full renaissance mode: ‘it’s about lightness and skin and playing with this idea of transformation.’ §
