Peep Edward Crutchley’s AW23 London Fashion Week show…
Look One:
Round neck oversized coat and surcote* in lichen textured wool jacquard
Platform shoes in leather
*A surcote is an outer garment dating back to the Middle Ages. Commonly worn by soldiers on the battlefield, this long cloak or cape worn over metal armour would help to prevent heat stroke. Its name derives from French meaning “over the coat”. During the same period, ankle and floor-length dresses were common for women, often paired with a chemise or smock in fine linen. The duality of the longer silhouette—worn both on the battlefield and in the bedroom—reflects Crutchley’s fluid approach to gender binaries.
Look Two:
Beanie
Silk taffeta coif*
Printed silk scarf
Organic cotton hoodie
Lichen textured wool jacquard coat
Bedford cord cotton v neck top and matching shorts
Leather platform boots
*Although it brings to mind the traditional habit of Catholic nuns, coifs date back to the 10th century and were originally not specific to religious dress. Here, Crutchley pairs the close-fitting cap with the more archetypal bucket hat or beanie.
Look Three:
Funnel neck parka in recycled polyester
Sweater dress in lichen texture angora blend jacquard
Elasticated waist maxi skirt in melange wool tailoring
Leather platform boots
Look Four:
Round neck long line jacket in wool mohair tailoring
Lichen texture angora blend knitted jacquard mini sweater and matching midi skirt
Leather platform boots
Look Five:
Bob* in recycled polyester with contrast under brim
Coif in recycled polyester
Oversized coat in melange wool
Blouson and elasticated pants in recycled polyester
Platform shoes in leather
*A hat with a narrow, downward-sloping brim that is more commonly known as a bucket hat.
Look Six:
Cartoon* print silk surcote
Merino rollneck sweater with plated lurex detailing
Elasticated waist maxi length skirt in wool mohair tailoring
Leather platform boots
*Each of the six characters that appear across the collection draw their inspiration from the curious woodcuts that feature in illustrator Richard Breton’s The Drolatic Dreams of Pantagruel. Crutchley looked to the proto colouring book (released in 1565) and reimaged the figures in a more cartoonish style.
Look Seven:
Beanie
Coif in grey melange wool tailoring
Printed silk scarf
Blouson and drawstring low rise pants in Bedford cord
Leather platform boots
Look Eight:
Bob
Coif in silk taffeta
Oversized wool coat
Cartoon angora mix jacquard dress
Leather platform boots
Look Nine:
Beanie
Silk scarf
Cartoon jacquard blanket
Over shirt and elasticated waist shorts in cotton twill
Leather platform boots
Look Ten:
Beanie in technical wool blend
Silk taffeta coif
Printed silk scarf
Cartoon jacquard sweater vest in merino
Low rise drawstring pants and elasticated waist midi skirt in wool and mohair tailoring
Leather platform boots
Look Eleven:
Beanie in technical wool blend
Coif in silk taffeta
Drop lapel tailored wool coat
Oversized sweater and midi skirt in lichen texture merino jacquard
Platform shoes in leather
Look Twelve:
Fleece liripipe hat
Hand crocheted Clapdale* wool jumper
Elasticated waist recycled polyester pants
Leather platform boots
*Clapdale wool is a yarn spun from all breeds of sheep who live on two farms in Clapham, North Yorkshire. As part of the Clapdale Wool Project, Glencroft purchased fleeces from local farms within a five-mile radius. The wool was then scoured, processed and spun in a variety of local factories and mills in Yorkshire never travelling further than 50 miles from source.
Look Thirteen:
Beanie in technical wool blend
Coif in melange wool tailoring
Printed silk scarf
Oversized blouson, drawstring low rise pants and V-neck oversized coat in wool cartoon jacquard
Leather platform boots
Look Fourteen:
Drop lapel jacket in melange wool tailoring
V-neck oversized jacket and elasticated waist maxi skirt in melange wool tailoring
Leather platform boots
Look Fifteen:
Fleece liripipe hat
Coif in silk taffeta
Cartoon jacquard wrapped blanket
Drop lapel jacket, low rise drawstring pants and platform shoes in quartered* patchwork wool tailoring
*In heraldry, quartering is a method of joining several different coats of arms together in one single shield. The same method has been used to pair four traditional British suiting patterns: a Prince of Wales check, houndstooth, hopsack and gingham.
Look Sixteen:
Drop lapel jacket, oversized V-neck jacket, low-rise drawstring pants and platform shoes in quartered patchwork wool
Look Seventeen:
Bob
Coif in silk taffeta
Round neck jacket and mini skirt in quartered patchwork wool tailoring
Platform boots
Look Eighteen:
Bob in quartered patchwork
Coif in quartered patchwork taffeta
Overshirt and low-rise drawstring pants in crinkle taffeta
Leather platform boots
Look Nineteen:
Layered ruffle dress in silk taffeta
Leather platform boots
Look Twenty:
Bob in silk taffeta
Coif in silk taffeta
Track top and ruffle pants* in silk taffeta
Leather platform boots
*The ruffles of these pants were directly influenced by an all-white ensemble dated 1523 on Plate 61 of Matthaeus and Veit Konrad Schwarz of Augsburg’s The Book of Clothes. The collection of illustrations (like early selfies) is considered one of the most extraordinary primary source documents in fashion history.|
Look Twenty-one:
Codpiece bra by GAHM*
Round neck oversized wool coat
Low rise drawstring pants in wool mohair tailoring
Leather platform boots
*GAHM was founded by multidisciplinary artist and designer Avleen Kaur in 2022. Kaur’s work brings together the tradition of heavy jewellery adornment from her native India with tropes of S&M culture.
Look Twenty-two:
Bob
Coif in silk taffeta
Dropped shoulder biker jacket in waxed leather
Cashmere rib crop top
Cod piece thong in leather by GAHM
Leather platform boots
Look Twenty-three:
Coif in silk taffeta
Silk jersey lichen print backless dress and double drape taffeta belt dress by Dem the First*
Leather platform boots
*Cypriot born Dem the First is a BFC scholar and final year womenswear student at Central Saint Martins. In 2022 Crutchley met the designer through a BFC initiative and was impressed with his talent for drape. ‘I have never really worked with a designer in this way before. Edward pushed and allowed me to evolve in my own way yet within his eutopia. The process has been so full of trust and freedom that it gave me equal pleasure as when I am making things for myself,’ Dem says.
Look Twenty-four:
Coif in silk taffeta
Jersey trained dress and taffeta draped coat by Dem the First
Leather platform boots
‘Orifice’ by STUDIO_ edwardlorenz
For the third site-and-time-specific olfactory artwork presented alongside Edward Crutchley’s collection, ORIFICE is an expansion of the themes from Autumn/Winter 2023: the study of hardness and softness, of darkness and light, and of the early Medieval period.
There are two distinct scent profiles to this work, two significantly different experiences that clash, harking back to the dualities present in Crutchley’s work: the sacred and the profane, the gauche and the urbane.
Part one is built around orris — a raw material used frequently in old perfumery and still used in trace amounts in the most luxurious perfumes. It takes at least 7 years to produce 1kg: 3 years to grow the bulb of the Iris germanica underground, and 4 years to age and ferment it to its distinctive lipstick-like smell.
Part two is built around oud — a historically Eastern and Middle Eastern material used in perfumery that has now only come into fashion in the West. Another extremely labour and time intensive material, oud is a resinous exude from a small pairing of species of trees that are the result of an immune response to a fungal infection. The best ouds take at minimum 30 years to age within a tree.
SHOW CREDITS
Styling: Julian Ganio
Casting: Lucy Rogers
Production: Antony Waller
Press Release: Dal Chodha
Shoes: Roker
Jewellery and Head Pieces: Victoria Rickard and Gianluigi Zoccheddu
Movement Direction: Brieuc Breitenstein
Fragrance Design: Edward Lorenz
Hair: Richard Phillipart at Gary Represents sponsored by My Organics
Make-up: Michelle Cadillo sponsored by Glow Recipe and Trace Publicity
Nails: Marie Louise Coster at Nylon Artists using Jessica
Lighting Design and Videography: Hydra Design
Runway Photographer: Chris Yates
Backstage and Look-book Photography: Francisco Gomez de Villaboa
Graphic and Textile Design: James Bosely Studio
Character Design: Liklik
Embroidery: The London Embroidery Studio
Wovens Production: TRUK 1609
Crochet: Shannon Hyland
Studio Team: Karen Coughlan, Aaron DeVallier, Demetris Handjimichael, Ava Coffen, Aaron James Ford, Hilary Watts, Willow Prieto-Johnson, Lucas Chaillot, Oliver Julius Ross, Mitja Olenik.
