The whimsy of past Agi & Sam collections — the soft tailoring, the Lego colors and the quirky proportions — did a disappearing act for fall, and in its place came a hard, dark-hearted display. The musician Holy Other — his face covered but for the eyes — performed an original soundtrack as models stalked the floor of a deconsecrated church, like zombies.
The collection came in a palette of red, white and black, and was partly inspired, said designers Agi Mdumulla and Sam Cotton, by various subcultures, the “gang mentality” and the exciting cultural patchwork that is London.
Yet the show brimmed with menace: Models’ faces were wrapped in fabric, but for the eyes, or were covered up to the nose with fringed football scarves. Given the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Europe and elsewhere, it was not the time or the place to be trotting out an army of masked men.
“We did not want to become political,” said Mdumulla after the show. Asked about the masked men, both he and Cotton said football hooligans (another delightful bunch) often pull their shirts over their heads as they root enthusiastically for their teams.
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As for the other headscarves, Mdumulla said women cover their faces and heads with the niqab and the hijab every day and there’s no reason to equate that look with terrorism.
Yet the setting and styling distracted from the collection itself, which was done in collaboration with The Woolmark Company and online music broadcaster Boiler Room.
There were some handsome pieces, including black jackets and trousers with red piping; a long white poet’s shirt that came layered over trousers, salwar kameez-style, and plaid coats with sophisticated weaves inspired by the fringes on football scarves.
Mdumulla and Cotton are a talented duo and, hopefully, the clothes — rather than the statement — will make headlines next season.