Alexander Lewis was talking about "a clash of cultures" at his Resort presentation. It's an idea that hits close to home for this up-and-coming designer, who is Brazilian but based in London. The cultures in question were Asian expats and surfers. But if the references could be quite literal—Mao-collared Qipao shirts and shibori dyeing techniques on the one hand, and board shorts and surfboard-shaped seams on the other—the results were subtle and wearable. A mash-up that was more than the sum of its parts.
Lewis was trained on Savile Row, and it showed in the rigor of a miniskirt suit pieced together from those surfboard shapes. There was something efficient about his approach to pattern as well. All of his patterns were inspired by a shibori dyeing experiment he conducted at home in his London bathtub, but rendered on silk jacquard and cotton canvas, they were as different as night and day. The blue and white cotton canvas, in particular, looked great. It had the laid-back feel of sun- and sand-battered denim. The surfing community would no doubt approve.
