This 1974-vintage, original knit-wit label has cut itself adrift from Italy. Under the creative directorship of James Long, tonight Iceberg presented its first show on the London menswear schedule. Right place, right time, right man, right brand.
Iceberg was the original proponent of athleisure, back in the days when “athleisure” was a portmanteau undreamed of. After some conceptually sincere but in reality pretty painful reboots, Long seems the perfect person to add—dreadful-word alert—authenticity. Using his natural traits, evident when he ran his own label, of both arch wittiness and sincere geekiness, Long put Iceberg’s heritage logos, cartoon graphics, and knitwear expertise into his creative tumble dryer. What came out was a mashed-up jambalaya of a collection that mixed a multitude of semi-literal sportswear references (moto pants, soccer shirts, manager coats) with graphics sourced via Pink Panther and Schultz (but redrawn, with approval, by Long) and a mammoth dose of logomania. The frayed, logo-paneled jeans at the end were supposed to represent the results of a horrendous crash, but in fact this was a collection that navigated serenely through many obstacles. Mix a tailored-jacket body with stadium-jacket arms? Check. Redesign the track pant via a back-fastened drawstring and angled zippered pockets? Totally. Link almost every piece—from the knit-sock Resort mid-calf booties for women to the coated knit panels in the bags—to Iceberg’s defining specialism? For sure.
Iceberg may have been 500-ish miles from home, but there was a neon urgency to many of the pieces, the excellent sneakers especially, that harked back to its roots in Rimini—font of the ’90s Italian house scene. Front of house PR Ella Dror, a fearsomely connected force of nature in nu-London, had called in many of her new-gen music contacts, all way, way cool. They, in turn, knew completely nada about Iceberg’s history, but there was palpable love in the room for a collection that took the notion of heritage streetwear and ran brilliantly with it. With authenticity.
