For the last few seasons, Marques’Almeida has been a reliable closing number on the London Fashion Week schedule. Youthful and wearable, but never cynical or unimaginative, the collections are a vibrant blend of smart-casual-frayed-denim-soft-pink-neon-yellow; always encapsulating the energy of London’s fashion scene, both on the catwalk and off.
Like many of our best designers that take a season off to show elsewhere (Craig Green and JW Anderson in Pitti, for example) their absence was felt heavily at London Fashion Week. Hopping on the Eurostar and decamping to Paris Fashion Week this season, among the spring/summer 19 offerings, Marta and Paolo — the couple team behind the label — showed their Resort 19 collection. The decision to show a Resort collection was in part formed by their intention to deliver a see-now, buy-now style show; many of the pieces already available to buy online, in line with the typical Resort delivery dates. The decision to show outside of London was the result of the Portuguese fashion council offering them money to show in Paris.
The collection itself had all the hallmarks of a classic M’A offering — frayed denim, mohair trim, bold prints, baroque one-pieces, asymmetric tops, oversized leather jackets, studded boots, stripes-on-stripes-on-stripes. With the usual gang of M’A girls and a punkier feel than normal, it felt like a best of British celebration. This, combined with the models’ heavy, colourful eyeliner and static hair, could perhaps best be described as “fashion show at 6, wild night out at 8”.
Credits
Photography Mitchell Sams