John Richmond returned to London, the city that launched his career, for a fall 2025 presentation in the Tanks at Tate Modern.
Richmond worked with his old friend Jamie Morgan, the photographer and co-founder of the Buffalo movement, on the presentation-cum-party. Morgan shot the lookbook in black-and-white and his stark, elegant images were projected onto the walls of the brutalist space.
In an interview, Richmond described the collection as “Eighties gothic,” which paired perfectly with the concrete backdrop of Tate. “It’s all very ‘Blade Runner,’” he remarked.
While the collection may have had a dark, brooding edge, it was luxe to the core, full of pin-sharp tailoring, hand-sewn embellishment and luscious silk and satin fabrics.
A raincoat had silk panels and an abstracted tattoo print embroidered on the sleeves, while studs, hand-sewn in India, sparkled on the velvet collar of a topcoat, and the collar and cuffs of a black tailored suit.
Like any good punk, Richmond subverted the classics.
He ripped out the back of a strapless, floor-length evening dress with 18th-century flair, and paired it with a pair of jeans, and transformed the classic black leather biker jacket into a little, feminine cape. Tartan suits and hooded capes and tops added to the gothic-punk mood of the collection.
During the presentation, there was a live DJ set that alternated between British tunes including The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” and thumping electronic remixes of songs including Amy Winehouse’s “Tears Dry on Their Own.”
Morgan’s images were accompanied by bright red text with phrases such as “Positive anarchy” and “To keep moving forward you need to lose the past.” Richmond has the right idea – and should return to London again soon.
