Standing Ground’s creative director Michael Stewart is standing his ground through fame and recognition.
The designer won the inaugural Savoir-Faire Prize at the 2024 LVMH Prize earlier this week, which includes a grant of 200,000 euros and a one-year mentorship.
His intentions are clear on what he intends to do with that cash prize. “I want to improve the work and spend the prize money on developing [the brand] further so that I can elevate the work. I don’t [want to] waste it in other ways,” he said backstage after his debut London Fashion Week show.
Stewart with a small budget managed to transport the audience into a dystopian world he’d dreamed up on top of 180 Strand. When the bright white lights turned on, not a murmur could be heard – the only sound present was of the velvet fabric from his statuesque gowns sweeping the floor or the silicone beads in his futuristic designs.
If the Bene Gesserit in Frank Herbert’s “Dune” universe ever want to branch out of their modest, heavy fabricated garments, then Stewart has fitted bomber jackets in leather that can be worn with dresses that cover everything but the face and fingers; velvet hooded dresses that shadow the face; leather shields that conceal the chest, and a sheer orange dress worn with a pair of underwear that incorporates the hand-inserted beads.
“I really wanted to make sure that I was showing a development of the work and that [my designs] were moving on and improving. I [want to be] solving problems and offering different things to different people that I didn’t offer before,” said the designer.
In just 22 looks, Stewart offered more clothes for a wearer than most do in double the number of looks.
