The showcase featured two up-and-coming designers: Rory Parnell Mooney and Liam Hodges. Mooney took his inspiration from Polish-Russian artist Kazimir Malevich, and played with notions of concealing and revealing. While there was probably more flesh on show than necessary, he delivered some interesting ideas. One suit had a Pierrot feel, its A-line linen jacket with fluted sleeves paired with wide-leg trousers. He perked up a monochromatic palette by dabbing yellow paint at the hem of white shirting, and his knitwear – long, lean and asymmetric – was especially well executed.
Hodges tapped into the rebellious spirit of the British pirate radio stations manned by disc jockey Tony Blackburn in the Sixties, and gave it a Nineties twist with nods to football and music-geek ravers in sportswear shapes and baggy trousers. He even worked sound wave patterns into an electric blue jacquard for a boxy T-shirt and matching track pants. There were military details throughout – cargo pockets on pants, and harnesses over T-shirts that recalled pilots’ safety belts — and they looked especially sharp on denim vest and jeans combo.