Flair Fashion Collective Presents – Frontier

“You think this has nothing to do with you? You go to your closet, and you select that… lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care what you put on your back. But what you don’t know is that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lápiz, it’s actually cerulean…”

Snatched from The Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep’s lines emphasise that no decision surrounding fashion is made in a vacuum. Even a sweater found in a sale rack years after that colour was ‘in’ is ever-connected to the designers and magazines that started that trend.

And Flair Fashion takes another look at that relationship. Their ecosystem connects creator and customer through live showcasing and online shopping, encouraging re-evaluations of fashion and people’s relations to it on every level.

Their collective runway, featuring collections from Karina Bond x F3ROGbyrana, PIECES* x Exanté, FÉE MUSE, SAMUELLEON, Ongang, Lam Wing Sum, and Psy Lau, took a genuinely new look at concepts that can be typically overdone or ignored like heritage, human nature, and connection.

Starting the night out strong with Karina Bond x F3ROGbyrana’s collection, which was a reflection on primal emotions and the human nature. The use of bright, light-catching materials contrasted the Waldorf’s white marble and beige walls to draw attention to every detail, including F3ROGbyrana’s unique handbags.

Karina Bond’s bold and futuristic influences mesh with F3ROG’s adoration for chunky textures which combine into pieces that stun with their vibrancy and noise– literally. The feathers, the ruffles, and the overall pieces rustled as the models fluttered down the runway. With the unsettling orchestral music echoing, rather than blasting, the sounds of the materials could be heard, acting as another accessory to each piece.

Even though PIECES* x Exanté’s collection was teased on Instagram leading up to the show, the contrast after the previous collection was a welcome surprise. The music changed to a beat-heavy instrumental, wonderfully accompanying the street-wear collection. These were pieces that could be actually be worn out around London: with clever layering, muted shades of green, grey, and black, and outfits that leaned towards oversized on all layers. However, the artistic value can’t be understated here — it is still wearable art, reflecting cultural diversity and innovative twists on traditional craftsmanship.

FÉE MUSE’s collection centred around corsets, gems, and an abundance of white and beige fabrics. On paper, that could be disastrous in a room with a muted colour palette, but the accent colours of soft greens and baby blues or bold textures like chunky glitter, lace, and sheer fabric ensured that no piece got lost in the Waldorf’s showroom. A trend rushing through areas of Turkey as evidenced by pieces on FÉE MUSE’s website and Turkish influencers.

SAMUELLEON’s collection played with the idea of the modern man and his lifestyle. The four models wore pieces focused on pastels, floral patterns, and green pinstripes. With a vague nod to his Italian heritage, designer Samuel Salisbury inspects the idea of the modern man in the ‘TikTok era’ — one that is playful, erratic, occasionally serious and indulgent all at once. This was the shortest part of the night, as fittingly all the models’ walks could have fit into a single TikTok.

ONGANG’s collection was filled with this year’s fall colours like moonstruck, lucent white, and maroon. Favouring chunky coats and cuts, drawing attention to the shoulders and legs, this collection once again leaned towards fashionably day-to-day wearables. Any trench coat lover would rejoice at this collection.

LAM WING SUM’s ‘Learn from Nature’ was, to no surprise, centred around the idea of nature and resilience. The pieces had more natural-looking fabrics with beige, orange, and muted blue as the colour palette. But the accessories were chunky and bold, with incredibly oversized glasses and earrings balancing out the outfits. As LAM WING SUM’s work centres around sustainability and stewardship, all these outfits naturally could be worn in day-to-day life, chunky accessories included.

PSY LAU closed the show with their take on streetwear, one that takes inspiration from their passion on self-awareness and social issues. Another purposefully functional collection, this one plays with bleach splatters, bright splashes of colour, and unique cuts in the clothes. The men wore glitter, layered chains and denim, and the most accessories of any collection this night. Each outfit’s glittery layers and silver accessories caught the light as the models moved, ending the night in a striking way.