Two nearly-naked men locked in a pas de deux, theatrical performances, and an East London venue filled with smoke and scavenged car parts: Almost exactly one year after presenting his Central Saint Martins MA collection, Maximilian Raynor is back — and still all about the drama.
Designing for an ultra-dystopian future, Raynor’s knit eventwear had a grungier, more deconstructed feel than his previous collection. Skirts, tops and dresses were woven from fat yarns and strips of tweed and herringbone fabric, sprouting with thickets of menacing black tubes and were pierced with sinister silver hardware.
“It’s a response to my feeling that we’re descending into absolute pandemonium globally — but it’s also my response to the murmurs coming out that London Fashion Week is not where it used to be,” he explained post-show. “We really hope that this show is a pledge to bring the energy back to London and prove that we’re a hotbed for theater, talent, and drama, but also that we can be considered as really serious contenders for European houses and taking on big brands like LVMH.”
Rather than give in to all the pessimistic moaning and groaning, Raynor found a silver lining, which streaked through the collection. That included teaming up with his emerging designer peers, including fellow Central Saint Martins graduate and 2023 L’Oréal Professionnel Young Talent Award winner Eden Tan. Using a load of leather donated from Tan, Raynor created heavy duty dresses held together with tough studs.
“I love this idea of us coming together, the London designers, rather than feeling in competition with one another — actually collaborating on these kinds of things,” Raynor explained.
While the collection might have had a post-apocalyptic “Mad Max” look, at its core the show symbolized what makes London Fashion Week stand out: chock-full of energy, ideas, and perseverance.
