Where British design meets American sensibility, Matty Bovan’s Autumn/Winter 2022 collection, which was recently shown at London Fashion Week, fully embraces the US of A.
“For me, this collection is the idea of America, a fever dream. Growing up, my access to pop culture was heavily influenced by America, with TV shows set in high schools, American baseball, pep rallies and cheerleaders, which always felt so exciting, yet so far away.” Matty Bovan
Entitled, ‘CYCLONE’, Matty spent two months in Connecticut working on this collection, and so, expect an amalgamation of American influences from Mark Twain, footballers and pop culture that flow into Matty’s creative story, where there’s dystopia and hope, reality and fantasy, chaos and beauty. As Matty says, “The idea of a cyclone causing chaos and destruction - even beauty - in the wake of its power outside of man’s hold, is why I feel the name is relevant today.”
Teaming up with collaborator Ruth Hogben once again, the collection is accompanied by a namesake film — a visual collage taken from front of house and backstage during the catwalk show at the Crypt at St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Capturing the energy of Matty Bovan’s American fever dream, Ruth Hogben says, “I approached the film in the same way Matty approaches his fittings, with a self-timer, instinctually editing without over thinking, making the film an extension of Matty’s collection rather than an add on.’”
Collection title: The title ‘CYCLONE’ comes from me watching videos of storm chasers on YouTube, a very dangerous and exhilarating job, the fact people will push themselves this far onto the precipice of danger fascinates me. We also had to contend with Storm Eunice on show day. Being alerted to our show venue having to make a decision by 8am whether to allow their staff to come in to work was terrible to wake up to. Thankfully, all came good and the weather ending up adding a subliminal dimension to the show experience. The idea of a cyclone causing chaos and destruction - even beauty - in the wake of its power outside of man’s hold, is why I felt the collection moniker was so relevant.
Prints: The gun print was designed by me, using a photo found at my boyfriends house - none of his family can identify who's car is in the photo, but it was the perfect backdrop for me to work upon. It reads as almost a mega new camo fabric, which the models loved. Like the U.K., America is very divided in many senses right now. While there, I could really feel the tension in the air.
Makeup look inspiration: The show make up was inspired by American footballers, when they use the black stripes to avoid glare, but I wanted to take it up to the eye, so it becomes this sort of warrior look, a hard edge. Miranda Joyce created the make up using Charlotte Tilbury Beauty, and the models felt very empowered by it, something reflected in their stance when walking in the show. The look of the show is such a collaborative process which starts with myself and Katie Grand who is creative consultant on my shows. We then work closely with Miranda, and Syd Hayes who always works on the hair, and also Josh Wood, who oversaw the wonderful colours we used on the wigs, from the subtle pastels to the vibrant red.
Materials: I used Liberty fabrics again, and they are in some of the apron shapes and prairie skirts. Mixed with gingham, it really gave the traditional British design and American sensibility, something I was trying to convey. I have always celebrated Britishness, and to develop this thread while creating a collection inspired by the idea of the American fever dream I had growing up, gave this narrative a truly British anchor. I recently spent two months in deepest Connecticut working on the collection; I delved into American folk art books at the Mark Twain Library. This season America held a beautiful excitement.
Pre-existing garments: The reason I wanted to work with pre-existing garments, or the ‘ready-made’ as I like to describe it, was I like the boundaries it gives me to subvert, such as Calvin Klein denim. Whatever you do to it, it still reads as a garment you understand, which means it can be played with. Others I reworked similarly, were the ROKSANDA recycled red polyester taffeta puffball gown worn by Irina Shayk to open the show. I also recycled some checked tailoring from Vivienne Westwood archived dead stock. These alliances are organic as both Roksanda Ilincic, and Vivienne [Westwood] and Andreas [Kronthaler] are all people I know and love. I also reworked and hand painted Alpha Industries flight jackets. I had fun with the footwear too, using Converse All Stars, UGG boots and Diemme hiking boots, which we hand-painted - the Converse were completely taken apart and layered to create hybrid tall versions of their traditional All Stars, suggestive of the shin pads worn by American football players.
