Grace Wales Bonner pays homage to black icons in Paris present – Repeating Islands


Morwenna Ferrier (The Guardian) writes about Grace Wales Bonner, the frontrunner for Louis Vuitton job, who enlisted Kendrick Lamar, Lubaina Himid, and the Jamaica soccer group for the brand new assortment. Ferrier writes, “She was born in south London; her father was the youngest of a household who got here from Jamaica as a part of the Windrush technology and this heritage has at all times knowledgeable her work. On this assortment, she additionally needed to pay homage to black icons who discovered artistic freedom in Paris, akin to the author James Baldwin and dancer, singer and actor Josephine Baker.”

Backstage after her Paris present, the British menswear designer Grace Wales Bonner mentioned she wasn’t within the rumours spreading throughout the French capital.

The 31-year-old, who’s mixed-race, is claimed to be the frontrunner to take over at Louis Vuitton, which might make her one of many youngest artistic administrators at one of many world’s greatest trend manufacturers.

“I’m actually simply targeted on Wales Bonner,” she mentioned, referring to her personal label when pressed on her future. “For me, there’s nonetheless an extended journey to go along with that.”

The rumours are justifiable. There aren’t many designers who can enlist the Pulitzer prize-winning musician Kendrick Lamar, the Turner prize-winning artist Lubaina Himid and the Jamaican nationwide soccer group to work on a group. And even fewer who may have their identify dropped in a tune specifically written for the present by Lamar.

Within the hubbub and gilded glamour of the Hôtel d’Évreux, Wales Bonner was cool and to the purpose: “I’m simply an admirer of Kendrick, and Lubaina, that’s all. They’re the inventive visionaries of our time, and I needed this assortment to be about that,” she mentioned. Her present included silk tunics hand-painted by Himid. “It’s a collaboration, actually,” mentioned Wales Bonner.

There have been simply 32 fashions (many exhibits can function double that) on the catwalk, difficult notions of how males’s clothes can transfer from the black African diaspora to Paris trend week, and the broader world. It is a widespread theme in Wales Bonner’s work. She was born in south London; her father was the youngest of a household who got here from Jamaica as a part of the Windrush technology and this heritage has at all times knowledgeable her work. On this assortment, she additionally needed to pay homage to black icons who discovered artistic freedom in Paris, akin to the author James Baldwin and dancer, singer and actor Josephine Baker.

Regardless of their class and race connotations, Wales Bonner doesn’t see an enormous distinction between silk Savile Row fits and a soccer equipment. “I see the whole lot in a single world. I’m thinking about hybridity,” she mentioned.

Wales Bonner used the present to launch a house equipment and an away equipment for the Jamaica group. As a substitute of displaying them on the finish, these garments – Wales Bonner was a long-distance runner – dotted the gathering. For each boucle tweed coat and double-breasted cream silk jacket dripping in cowrie shells, there was a prime within the Jamaican yellow and a pair of Adidas trainers (Wales Bonner works with the sports activities model, however made no touch upon the spoof demo that passed off in Berlin on Monday).

Since graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2014, launching her model in 2015, and in 2016 successful the LVMH trend prize – the Oscars of rising stardom in trend circles – Wales Bonner has used her collections as a method of not solely connecting black principle, historical past and trend however pushing them into the mainstream. She additionally makes use of virtually solely non-white fashions in her exhibits. [. . .]

For full article, see https://www.theguardian.com/trend/2023/jan/18/grace-wales-bonner-pays-homage-black-icons-paris-show

[Photograph above by Jack Day. “Wales Bonner does not see a huge difference between silk Savile Row suits and a football kit. ‘I see everything in one world. I’m interested in hybridity,’ she said.”]



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