Those who’ve spent much time on the British Isles this summer will know that it has been—perhaps unsurprisingly—a total washout. Among them is Feben, who took the constant rain as a point of departure for her namesake label’s latest collection, titled Reign. “It was a play on words,” the designer explained backstage post-show, acknowledging the terrible weather we’ve been blighted with, but also the possibility of putting positive spins on seemingly negative situations.
A key figure of inspiration in this endeavour was Antonia Singla, the legendary flamenco dancer and actress. Despite the inhibitions imposed by her lifelong deafness, she rose to become one of the dance form’s true greats. “She’s someone that transformed their vulnerability into a strength,” Feben said. “She would literally feel the beat from the music, and tap it out with her feet.” The inspiration expressed itself most directly through blotched v-neck and single-strapped white cotton dresses, both featuring dropped waists and flounced hems that swished with sass as the models walked. Heavily fronded jersey dresses and separates were made to be moved in with gusto—as if a wild turn on the dancefloor were the only way to truly bring them to life. A little less dressy, but no less distinct, were a selection of cinched shirts born of a collaboration with OnceMore, a Swedish textile developer that creates fabric from regenerated wood pulp.
Elsewhere, rich textures—a cornerstone of Feben’s design vocabulary—featured prominently, with velvet riffs on the designer’s ‘Twist’ technique confidently building on her initial experiments in the fabric last season. A longstanding partnership with a community of artisanal beaders in Accra, Ghana yielded a netted bateau-neck column dress trimmed with ostrich feathers—“there’s sense of armor to it, but the wearer’s also exposed—it embodies the juxtaposition at the heart of the collection,” Feben said. The most intriguing developments on show, though, were the split-seamed skirts and vest dresses with sculpted hips, richly embroidered with reversible sequins. “I thought it would be really nice to introduce pieces that change with touch,” Feben said. Pieces that you can tweak to match your mood, whatever the weather.
