Martine Rose puts a fresh spin on the familiar at London Fashion Week Men's showcase

The unusual venue choice of the Stronghold Climbing Centre in N17 played host for her spring/summer 2018 show
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Hannah Rochell12 June 2017

Uprooting the fashion pack from its familiar surroundings of Soho to Tottenham on a Sunday night might seem like a bit of a risk for a niche, underground menswear designer, but it's a risk that paid off for Martine Rose.

The unusual venue choice of the Stronghold Climbing Centre in N17 - a mere stone’s throw from the label’s headquarters - played host for her spring/summer 2018 show.

An enthusiastic crowd arrived, eager to knock back a glass of rum and ginger beer with their complimentary spicy fried fish before settling down on crash mats to watch the show.

Founded in 2007 as a shirting brand, when it comes to tailoring Rose is well-known for her masterful play with volume. Power suits had a touch of Talking Heads’ David Byrne about them, with loose trousers (though not as super-wide as Rose often designs them) and very broad shoulders.

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One cobalt blue suit was accessorised with two shiny silver pens in the front pocket, and a pair of trousers in the same shade were teamed with a lilac shirt to great effect. Much of the tailoring was worn with contrasting coloured money belts; all were styled with Nike trainers.

Fittingly for the venue, an “outdoor types” theme ran throughout the non-tailored attire. Sensible walking jackets and raincoats appeared in bold block shades of red, purple and forest green, and were paired with baggy jeans reminiscent of the late Eighties Manchester scene.

Cargo shorts were wide on the leg and tight on the waist, while chunky fleeces were worn underneath oversized black leather jackets and gilets. One of Rose’s reference points was Toronto’s underground electronic music scene, which was reflected in the use of cycling shorts - familiar attire in the UK’s own rave culture from which Toronto’s was born.

Sweatshirts and T-shirts emblazoned with the brand’s name we're high on the agenda too, and included one that had fashioned the ‘M’ for Martine into something akin to the MTV logo.

Reimagining past references is one of this label’s trademarks, which makes the collections both familiar and fresh at the same time.

Sunday night’s show was no different, reworking some items that have been long forgotten from any fashion agenda - cycling shorts and fleeces - and no doubt making them desirable once more.

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