Duro Olowu has always done things his own way. Far from the fracas of crowds gathering outside fashion shows all day across central London, the setting for his presentation was the hushed opulence of the Oliver Messel suite at the storied Dorchester Hotel, where Olowu provided a live voiceover of sorts to accompany each look, all paraded by two models pulling gentle poses. With the rarefied air of a classic salon, it felt like stepping back in time, or onto the set of Funny Face.
It helped that Olowu’s designs are the kind that can hold up to this kind of close-quarters scrutiny. There was enough to say about each piece to fill the full 20 minutes, and while the context may have felt old world, the clothes were thoroughly modern. As ever, Olowu relied not on mood boards or muses for inspiration, but instead combined disparate elements from the vast constellation of references that lives inside his head. This season, that encompassed everything from the bold color combinations of the late African-American artist Romare Bearden, the free jazz of Don Cherry, and lapels inspired by Little Richard’s flamboyant stage outfits. “I just like to surround myself with these various things and see where it takes me,” said Olowu. But as always, once these starting points had been whizzed through Olowu’s blender, they emerged distinctly his.
Where Olowu went in a slightly different direction was in his more muted palette, with a particular emphasis on ever-so-slightly gradated shades of black. Far from feeling heavy or funereal, his use of black tiered chiffon lent the dresses a breezy effortlessness, while his razor-sharp tailored trousers were effortlessly slick. “I think that if you treat black almost as a primary color, it sets things off in a certain way,” he said. “It’s a very beautiful, very enriching color—normally used in a way to show that one is serious or severe, or one is mourning—but I hope that in the silhouettes and in the juxtapositions here, it becomes a lot more joyful and sharp.”
The season’s standout print featured a graphic leaf pattern inspired by botanical drawings, toggled at different scales to create an intriguing aesthetic rhythm, and set against bold panels of stripes in shades of purple and lime green. Olowu’s eye for extravagant print, however, is always grounded by a sense of practicality. The majority of his skirts were cut just so at the ankle, not only for the sense of movement it provided, but also for its innate ease of wear—the gowns managed to be both glamorous and resolutely unfussy.
“What really inspired me this season was having this transitional wardrobe that wasn’t just about winter,” said Olowu. “It’s about lifting yourself up and feeling good in your clothes. I think more than ever, there’s a need for strength in femininity.” If anyone knows how to turn that sentiment into desirable clothes, it’s Olowu.
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