Sunday 20 August 2017

Why The Sock Boot Is Here To Stay

Lean, second-skin stretch-jersey booties have become a thing, even though they’re not waterproof, and we’re now faced with the issue of a VPS (visible sock line) beneath our sock boots.
In 2016, the consciously termed 'athleisure' movement peaked, but the mind-set which first inspired every woman and her dog to trim the excess fat off our day-to-day footwear stuck. High tech, high fashion sportswear (neoprene trainers, in particular) has become the backbone of our wardrobes in recent years, newly incorporated into the working week and for dressier after-dark occasions.

There's no reversing the effect of mass sportswear adoption: Post-athleisure, our wardrobes demand streamlined functionality, plus sophistication (the missing ingredient in the athleisure equation). It was only a matter of time before someone (Demna Gvasalia) came up with the eveningwear solution for our sporting-cum-sophisticated needs. Balenciaga’s ‘Knife bootie’ is the most elevated take on leisure footwear yet. On the catwalk it read as the adult edit of the conceptual Vetements cigarette-lighter-heel sock boots. Dior and CĂ©line have both channelled the spray-on leather bootie in recent years, but it is the idiosyncratic legging-style stretch which has launched an era-defining design classic that's continuing to inspire a wave of copycat styles.



We haven’t yet reached peak sock boot, because of how they feel as much as how they look. They’re light as air on the foot, and easy to stash in a handbag. They’re also a key ingredient to dressing 2017's silhouette – ballooning volume up top, body-con on the bottom. A friend of mine recently got married wearing only Balenciaga’s Knife booties with just a large starched white men’s shirt. I mentally pinned the look, thinking there was no better way right now to exhibit both a high-summer tan and the brave confidence that Gen Y makes look so easy. Easy as slipping on a zip-free bootie.

Tuesday 18 June 2013

Tintagel Collection on Fashion Capital

"You don’t meet too many young designers like Hazim Bangwar. He’s just about to send his graduate collection down the runway, to a room full of fellow students, media, sponsors and oh-so-proud parents. Not to mention, he has also just signed a contract in LA to become a superstar singer, but tonight, even he has to agree; the focus is on him and his five fellow American InterContinental University graduates, as they debut their final collections. The room itself is a Grade I listed building, a church; seats line a runway stretching across where an alter once lay.

Being ushered backstage, into a room full of excitement, chatter and rails of month’s worth of labour, I gain a few minutes to speak with the students about their collections. “People always expect designers to be influenced by other designers, but that never happened to me. I was just reading a book. I love story telling,” Bangwar begins. His collection is a futuristic take on an Icelandic volcano, also known as Eyjafjallajokull, meshed with one of his favourite books, King Arthur.

The collection coils around the body in swoops of white leather and knitted wool, hanging loosely away from the skin, while silver netting forms science fiction like leggings, sleeves and body suits to layer underneath. The contours of the garments are sprayed with silver paint, evoking the rust that would form on a Knight’s armour, “I don’t like simplicity. I’m dramatic as a person. I wanted it like, BAM, in your face!”"

Tintagel Collection on The Fashion Ache

Graduate Fashion Week went down a storm this season, and the talent showcased in our capital was definitely one to keep your eye on for many seasons to come. After sitting FROW for the American InterContinental University London's GFS, featuring the best, innovative designs from students around the world, at 1 Mayfair a couple of weeks ago – I thought it was about time I brought you my favourite collections from the show. Up first? It's got to be the dynamic, flawless work from emerging designer Hazim Bangwar.

Tintagel Collection on Glass Blog



Listen to the full audio interview.

Tintagel Collection on Fashion Beauty Insight


"Designs were a science fiction take on the legend of King Arthur with the shapes and contours based on the Icelandic Volcano Eyjafjallajokull.  A colour palette of white and fabric including wide leather strips, the garments were reminiscent of the medieval knights armour plate and layered in an armadillo design. Sparkling silver nets used on sleeves and in between the strips represented the chainmail, whilst chunky cotton ribbons knitted together like wool created a heavy and stiff tunic. Knights in Shining Armour never looked so good."


Tintagel Collection on GB Magazine


Hazim Bangwar’s collection
"This was very space-age with a lot of white and a very interesting use of materials. The designer’s brief states it is a science-fiction take on the legend of King Arthur."