Enter Grandad, dreadlocks, grey tracksuit;
Enter Steph, print dress, purple cap, felt axe over the shoulder;
Enter Karis, pattern tracksuit, matching trainers.
The stage is set. Let’s talk about Yaku’s show.
For his SS27 collection, Yaku brings us the latest iteration of ‘ImPossible Family Reunion in RPG Space’, a series that he launched after graduating from CSM in 2023. There is no feeling, however, that the show relies on previous collections to make sense: on the contrary, the world of this collection ‘Can’t Rush Cooked Food’ is astonishingly vivid and complete in itself. The three models who enter at the start and take their seats next to the runway bridge the gap between model and audience, inviting us into the world of the show as both participants and spectators. Yaku’s collection, which uses countless family barbecues as inspiration, explores how recollected memories can become a family’s folklore, and by involving us we become part of that folklore too.
The show has a range of influences that feel both specific to a particular family and representative of a universal nostalgia. It draws heavily on y2k, swag and video game aesthetics, while also containing references to British-Caribbean culture. Baggy tracksuits and shorts are the dominant aesthetic. Fantasy elements come through powerfully, with several of Yaku’s pieces bearing a pattern he calls ‘Zilla-skin’, and one model wearing a dress that has ‘Take me back to Varrock’ (a reference to the game RuneScape) printed on it. By incorporating these aspects Yaku creates nostalgia for childhood video games and suggests that his family’s history has become indistinguishable from fantasy, now a fantasy of its own.
The tone is playful and humorous. Some models walk, others perform flips, a pair kisses on the runway, and one model even goes in for a handshake with an audience member then swerves him. Accessories include 3D-printed video game weapons and a giant cracked iPod. The show hovers on the border between theatre and runway. Previous Yaku shows have often had interactive hubs, little stations where the models would perform tasks and the audience could visit. This is the first Yaku runway show. While he still wants a relaxed atmosphere, there is a grandeur to the runway that I think he taps into here. It adds to the vividness of his world and helps us to experience it both as children looking on for the first time and as adults looking back through a nostalgic lens. There is magic in both, and magic in the fantasy too.
