/fa/ - Fashion

As for Raf, despite the show being shorter than expected, it was truly a great collection.

The first impression I had was how similar it was to the collection before it, with the puddling trousers, the long lab coats, the patched together knitted tanks, etc, but there is a clear progression occurring here.

f/w15 felt fairly joyous in nature, with models walking together in twos down the runway like a pair of close friends, their long sleeveless coats flapping behind them enthusiastically. The clothes were styled as both oversized and rather tight, making the attitude of the models and the collection feel carefree, not burdened by what others might think of their distressed coats and ill fitting sweaters and trousers. Not to mention the warm nostalgia offered by the rustic tweeds and the bright colours that you might find around your old childhood primary school. In shorts these models felt truly like youth, dressed in handmedowns without a care in the world.

This brings us to this season which has a noticeably more brooding tone. The lighting is dim and cold, and the models walk with face-shielding hoods, almost like a medieval cult. It seems like the youth from the previous season have grown older, moving rapidly towards young adulthood. The boys feel burdened (by age? responsibility?), with bags featuring large chains draping over their shoulders, their hoods giving them the appearance of bowed and sunken heads. No girls on the runway this time either, which on the last runway evoked imagery of younger children hanging out together in a co-ed environment, this season having the boys now segregated into pack, a male brotherhood.