One of last year’s most viral fashion moments was a behind the scenes video from Central Saint Martins’ MA showcase, where a bodice emblazoned with lenticular trompe l’oeil pleating appeared on everybody’s Instagram feeds. This work belonged to Gothenburg designer Petra Fagerström: lauded by the likes of LVMH and The Hyéres, perhaps she had the highest expectations surrounding her going into this year’s AW season – and she absolutely delivered.
Her latest offering – After Everything I Did for You – takes inspiration from her own upbringing as a figure skater. She references Michel Foucault’s thoughts on power – how it wasn’t the preserve of the elites and instead an asset found in everyday life; in turn applying this to the own coach-skater dynamic she witnessed and experienced. Retrospectively, she found the portrayal of this relationship quite problematic, referring to it as “villainising.”
Fagerström’s lenticular pleating was of course present, as seen on a marvellous bateau top and a tunic dress nodding to the work of artist Franz Kline. This season, though, she dived into the waters of outerwear: structured fleece jackets, high collars and cropped puffers. Typically these elements are met with symbols of sportswear – instead, Fagerström combines these staples with a 1940s sensibility :off the shoulder tops, cinched waists and pointed-toed heels – courtesy of sponsor Manolo Blahnik. This dichotomy appears to reference that of the coach-skater dynamic, though Fagerström clarifies she’s not influenced by skaters as a “literal costume vocabulary”, one can observe a flawless combination of the seasoned and the youthful.
The show was held in Farringdon’s Studio Smithfields transformed attic space which carried a similar charm to the earlier works of Margiela and Westwood. No doubt Petra Fagerström is on the same trajectory as those greats.
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Words: Rory Fainaru
Photography: Brandon Hepworth