In a surreal landscape of bubbly foam mountains created by set designer Gary Card, NEWGEN-sponsored designer Marta Jakubowski hosted her first stand-alone London Fashion Week presentation earlier today. Sticking to her dramatic signature palette of red, black, white and pinstripes — a signifier of power — the RCA graduate developed the fluid, cutout tailoring she debuted in a group show last season, adding cozy ribbed knitwear and pillowy quilted jackets.
“It’s kind of protective, but it’s also sensitive. Not fragile, but there are gaps in the clothes, it’s not all covered. I think there’s a melancholia, but also a mental strength coming through,” Marta told i-D at the presentation, with the show notes explaining that the so-called Super Hero collection, “celebrates every woman’s inner power and ability to set her mind on overcoming the obstacles in her path,” exploring the themes of protection and strength, the mind power of “performance artists, fire walkers, broken-glass walkers.”
The theme may have been about the strength of women, but this power was translated in the genderfluid language of our times, with both male and female models presenting the clothes. “Oh yes, it’s boys and girls — most of them are my friends, people who inspire me,” Marta says of the casting, which includes artists Jack Appleyard, Soraya Jansen, Jess Maybury, and male model George Hard. The clothes are for “everyone who’s feeling confident to wear them,” she confirms.
It pays to linger on the details at a Marta Jakubowski show, as tailored, sleeveless jackets fold origami-like into perfectly wide-cut trousers to create a louche suit-like jumpsuit; a black hoodie is slashed at the sides, the hood drawn tighter with long, trailing laces. Gloves are fashioned from long knitted rectangles that extend further than the fingers — “It’s about body extension,” Marta explains — and looks are finished with silver body jewelery wrapping unexpectedly around waists, arms and necks, creations by Juliette Van de Kerchove.
Credits
Text Charlotte Gush
Images courtesy Marta Jakubowski