For the collection, Edward Crutchley and Aron Alexandros De Vallier Petridis investigated the shapeshifting and continually changing Greek sea deity Proteus, a symbol for the gender-fluid LGBT community.
Crutchley’s muse was certainly De Vallier Petridis, who studied ancient history and archaeology at university. He not only walked in the show, but he also had an impact on the collection as a historical and cultural adviser. The collection is based on the shapeshifting and ever-changing Greek sea deity Proteus, who serves as a metaphor for the gender-fluid gay community.
It explains why the collection was themed as an underwater dance party. There were open shirts with crinkle fabrics that looked like ocean reflections, and spots of sequins here and there over see-through gowns that looked like scales.
The aquatic theme continued with transparent underwear and pulled-down bralettes on muscular models, who were coated in sequins. It generated a memorable social media moment.
Crutchley did provide some safer alternatives, such as a liquid-looking bomber jacket and a comfortable cardigan with an abstract design, but he also dressed male models in skirts and platform shoes.
“The ancient Greeks had an intricate relationship with the ever-changing sea. While a resource, a spring of power, the sea’s otherness, its ever-changing unpredictable nature, brute force and indomitable will were feared. At their core, many stories within Greek mythology are about interpersonal conflict. A solution is often a form of metamorphosis. Liminal beings, bestowed with the power of transition or change act as bearers of resolution. Unlike humans, their very essence allows them to shift through contrasting realms: the mortal and the divine. Land and sea… Perhaps, the only way to peacefully coexist with change is to be protean ourselves. Perhaps, we will capture Proteus on our sojourn today.” – Aron Alexandros De Vallier Petridis
He finished the showcase in a lavish ballgown made of Lurex-faced cloque jacquard.
Edward cleverly chose the fragrance BASALT to perfume the catwalk space. A balsam of dry roasted seashells lies at its heart, distilled in an earthenware sill into the finest Mysore Sandalwood Oil. It elicits a hyperreal, multi-sensory recollection of salt-saline air, foaming beach waves, and washed-ashore seaweed.
Photography by Maja Smiejkowska