At the beginning of November, leading changemakers and creative minds in the fashion industry gathered together under one roof at the Royal Academy of Arts for the Frieze Academy's Art & Fashion Summit. The event not only explored some of the most pressing issues our world is facing and the constantly evolving landscape of the industry, but also those who are shaping it. As the day unfolded, industry leaders shared a rare insight into their worlds whilst commenting on the one around us. Central to the event was the question: ‘Whose world is this?’.
Matty Boven in conversation with Tim Blanks
Matty Bovan In Conversation with Tim Blanks
MAKE IT: STANDING ON A PRECIPICE
Designer and Central Saint Martin’s graduate Matty Bovan kicked off the day in conversation with Business of Fashion’s Critic and Editor-at-Large Tim Blanks. The designer spoke of his early years growing up in York, where he remains based, and the influences that would lead him to the path he's on today. He revealed how he discovered magazines at the age of fourteen, connected with the legendary work of Vivienne Westwood and was inspired by his late grandmother who taught him to knit.
Since graduating, Bovan worked with the likes of Nicolas Ghesquière, Katie Grand and Miu Miu, before launching his own label on the Fashion East platform. Now, after three seasons with Fashion East and four stand-alone shows, he’s become one of the most distinctive designers in British fashion through an innovative approach to design. His work has ranged from patchwork trousers to crinolined gowns, to balloon head-dresses courtesy of Stephen Jones.
Blanks noted that a large portion of Bovan's career had taken place in the shadow of Brexit. Perhaps this is the reason why escapism and freedom play such an integral role in his work; certainly, people have often described attending his shows as 'being transported into another world'. Bovan discussed his desire to create and present collections as an opposition to what is currently happening around the world. In this respect, he embodies the British resilience that has guided us through the most uncertain times, and perhaps the one we are in right now.
Paria Farzaneh In Conversation with Sarah Mower
Paria Farzaneh In Conversation with Sarah Mower
DEEPLY DYSTOPIAN: HOPES + FEAR
Young menswear designer, Paria Farzaneh, the second-generation daughter of Iranian parents who immigrated to England 30 years ago, sat down with Vogue Runway Chief Critic & British Fashion Council Ambassador for Emerging Talent, Sarah Mower. Originally born in Devon, Farzaneh was raised and went to school in Hull, before moving to London to study fashion at Ravensbourne University. The duo’s chief topics were to discuss how Farzaneh is tackling issues such as male identity, the effects of modern technology and the influence her Iranian heritage has had on her work.
During her AW19 show, she sent models down a conveyer belt catwalk filming themselves which instinctively triggered the audience to film what the models were doing. At her most recent show in June this year, she featured television screens that were used to put members of the audience under surveillance to focus on those who were viewing the show through their mobile phones. A reminder for us to look up from our handheld devices, and take notice of what’s going on right in front of us.
Farzaneh also mentioned the uniform influences in her designs, that were referenced to the compulsory age of nineteen in which men are expected to serve in the military in Iran. I asked her thoughts on the increasing focus the media is putting on the mental health of men, and using fashion as a platform to counteract the stigma which surrounds it. She explained her thoughts that mental health is not being spoken about enough in today’s society and that she hopes her work will encourage and enable men to speak more openly about the subject. Farzaneh has evidently set out on a mission, to combat these issues one garment at a time. Paying homage to her origin, whilst exhibiting a vision of what she hopes the future will be.
Charles Jeffrey In Conversation with Tim Blanks
OH, LOVERBOY: MORE THAN A PERFORMANCE
Having been described as 'The Voice of a Generation', flamboyant Scottish designer Charles Jeffrey is redefining what his generation is. The London-based designer is another who graduated from Central Saint Martin’s and showed three seasons with Fashion East, before going on to do his first standalone show for SS18 at London Fashion Week Men’s. Jeffrey explained to Blanks how his
Loverboy label evolved from a club night at Vogue Fabrics to a fashion house that won him the British Emerging Talent prize at The Fashion Awards in 2017 and a nomination for the LVMH Prize.
In the last year alone, the self-proclaimed ‘club kid’ has taken us from a broken down power station one season to the British Library the next. His work skilfully combines elements of punk and performance which he demonstrates within his shows. Most notably at his AW18 show for the ‘Tantrum’ collection, Jeffrey staged performers who screamed, shouted and stomped around the venue. This was all taking place whilst the models were coming down the catwalk in his signature tartan tailoring and painted prints.
Jeffrey, one of the figureheads for the queer community in fashion, later mentioned the sense of responsibility he feels as a designer to create and act as a leader. In 2018, for example, he collaborated with Topshop Topman on a Pride collection to highlight the continued fight for LGBTQ+ rights. In the show notes at his AW19 show, Jeffrey touched upon the legislations being put in place towards the trans community in America, a collection that was in reference to the people the designer holds closest to him. It's clear Loverboy isn't just about personifying pride in a post-gender world, but also a statement of solidarity with those in a more marginalised position than the designer himself.
Dr Pam Hogg In Conversation with Ben Cobb SHAPING A PATH
To close the summit, Benn Cobb, the former editor-in-chief of Another Man Magazine, sat down with musician and designer Pam Hogg. Originally from Scotland, Hogg studied Fine Art & Printed Textiles at Glasgow School of Art before making the move to London to pursue an MA at the Royal College of Art.
Hogg was a child of the New Romantics, a time that celebrated all that was eccentric whilst reacting against the anti-fashion mood of the punk era. A movement in pop culture that emerged from the nightclub scene in the late 1970’s & early 1980’s at clubs such as The Blitz, which she later credits as one of her biggest influences. She has singlehandedly brought a piece of this legacy into the present through an unapologetic and rule breaking attitude to fashion, if there was ever a rulebook in the world of Pam Hogg.
In 1981, a pivotal time for extravagant fashion, Hogg launched her first collection and has continued to deliver daring and provocative clothes for almost forty years. Along this timeline, she has dressed countless generations of
stars who have defined these decades. A list of icons that includes Kate Moss, Lady Gaga, Tyra Banks and Rihanna to name just a few, each representing the rebellious nature the brand has always retained.
At the end of the day, Tim Blanks bounced the key question to the audience - 'Whose world is this?'. Whilst the summit touched upon global issues such as political turbulence and social conflicts, the hope and optimism I witnessed was perhaps the answer to the question we were deliberating on. Throughout all of this, we continue to pioneer forwards within a society that attempts to suppress, we rebel against the forces who wish to oppose and fight for a future that's better than the one been given to us. The summit was an example of individuals from all corners of the industry, from all backgrounds, collectively coming together as a community. That is whose world this is.
Article by Jordan Wake
