Before attending to this ironically prescient Union Jack tabard, a point of order. This menswear collection is released simultaneously with women’s Resort; most of the items here are available in gender specific sizing and are intended to apply to the Faith Connexion faithful of whatever chromosomal combination. Pre and He are One.
Perhaps, it’s true, les hommes will be less inclined to pick up the frayed olive shirt with caresses of lace detailing that is in fact a bodysuit. And equally, maybe their eye might be less interested in getting hold of the lace boob tube than the ladies. Equally, les femmes might be less interested in the very butchest and biggest and to-their-eyes possibly reclaimed, but not, suppressed camouflage outwear and cargo pants. And yet there is no apartness at Faith Connexion: Wear what you want, if you want it, whatever you are.
So to the tabard. It was painted by Pisco, a street artist, and is one of a series of hand-painted contributions he has made to the collection. It was delivered before the Brexit result. Others included a jacket that demanded, “God Love the Queen” on its back and quivered with hand-cut velvet fringing at its shoulder. Never Too Much Basics, a Neapolitan collective, contributed handwritten detailing on some denim pieces.
This rail is as dense with intense-ingredient pieces as any you’ll see in Paris, and there are 400 buying teams that have made appointments to do so, so just a few more highlights include: a Dalmatian-print velvet trailing waistcoat, a gold and peppered trucker gilet, a pulled-apart submariner’s rib knit with tattering and embroidery details at the shoulder, a huge white tweed field jacket with more hand-applied embroidery, and a purple and black tweed “shirt skirt” that made me note: “Chanel for aspirant anarchists.” Which isn’t a terrible summation.
