James Long pushed along his intelligently maximalist interpretation of this heritage Italian knit-turned-sportswear brand this evening by incorporating the graphics of British pop art granddaddy Sir Peter Blake and broadening his usual frame of Brit youth subculture reference. The bondage chains that jangled at the pants of a fluoro-toned double-breasted suit were drawn from punk, while the suit itself was a nod to mod, and that eye-watering shade was pure late-’80s Global Hypercolor euphoria. There was so much visual action here that the promised Blake graphic Babe Rainbow—a cheery brunette in a white bikini surrounded by a rainbow frame—must have slipped past unseen, but the rainbow at least was there against the mod-loved target in the knit sweater in look 2. The rocker-rooted black leather tracksuits were the quietest pieces in this collection, but coolly effective.
As in last season, there was a discombobulating section of sophisticated, almost mature, tailoring and daywear for women in more powerful colorways. There seemed to be way more denim than usual, and although carefully rendered, it lacked impact here. Normality and hilarity resumed via knitwear homages to Mickey Mouse and Looney Tunes over pulsating toned paracord-detailed track pants and resin-dipped sneakers. Iceberg, for so long such a nothing show in Milan, has under Long become, if not quite a tentpole, then certainly a substantial guy-rope show in London.
