a new rave for SS22

Burberry

Raves are back for Burberry for spring/summer 22. The brand upped sticks to the Paris schedule from London for the first time this season and models adorned with fake facial piercings walked, and danced, to trance music, through dystopian sand dunes at the Millenium Mills in Royal Victoria Docks, East London. Chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci’s Universal Passport collection was about freedom of expression and youth, helped along by leather halterneck vests, coats and briefs, giving the collection a 1990s edge. The iconic trench coat is reimagined and sleeveless for next season, tailoring also has a rebellious edge, with sleeveless suiting and contrast monochrome stitching.

Louis Vuitton

Men’s creative director Virgil Abloh presented the spring/ summer 22 collection through a Samurai-inspired fashion film named Amen Break, named after the drum beat in hip-hop and jungle defining track Amen, Brother. The collection is also themed around US musician Lupe Fiasco, who was influenced by his father to take up martial arts while growing up in Chicago in the 1970s and 1980s. The collection takes it cue from rave subculture, with elevated tracksuits, neon shades, bucket hats, tie dye and smiley face motifs featuring across SS22 – contrasting with neutral tailored suiting, updated with obi-belt shapes.

Dior

Artistic director for menswear at Dior, Kim Jones, collaborated with rapper Travis Scott on Dior’s SS22 collection. The French fashion house had a touch of Texas about it for next summer- the collection is named Cactus Jack after Scott’s record label and Texas was one of the first places the brand’s founder Christian Dior visited on his first trip to the US in 1947.

Influenced by desert landscapes, the collection consists of sun drenched tones, reflected in its mauve, pink, pale green, blue and sand colourways. A hint of the new rave trend was seen in the use of neon greens and bucket hats.

Abstract desert landscapes are also printed onto oversized, flowing shirts, sweatshirts and knits, while the area’s fauna is reflected in textured snakeskin knitwear. Scott’s influence is seen in distressed T-shirts reminiscent of gig merchandise, his reimagining of the Dior logo echoed in embroidery, and his hand-drawn prints and Cactus Jack logo feature across the collection. Tailored jackets flare under a high waist and side fastening, revisiting the “arrow” silhouette first created by Dior in 1956.

JW Anderson

Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson, who is also the creative director of Spanish label Loewe, presented both men’s SS22 and women’s Resort 22 during the Parisian schedule. Next summer’s menswear offer is bright, optimistic and “juvenile”, inspired by self expression whether in public or in the privacy of the bedroom. Colourful tracksuits, bomber jackets and running shorts feature, as do dresses made out of pillowcases, giant beads and bold strawberry prints. The womenswear collection has a similar bright colour palette, and the collection is directed at “party girls” – something craved by consumers after 18 months of social restrictions. It features asymmetric dresses designed to be worn “out out”, as well as tailored pieces including Bermuda shorts and cropped blazers.

Wales Bonner

British menswear designer Grace Wales Bonner took inspiration from the works of West African portrait photographer Sanlé Sory for her SS22 collection, named Volta Jazz. Sory captured fashionable subjects from his Volta Photo studio in Bobo-Dioulasso, in the country then called Upper Volta, renamed Burkina Faso in 1984. The collection is inspired by these portraits and their backdrops, as well as orchestral music group Volta Jazz. A Japanese-inspired floral print worn by one of Sory’s subjects is reimagined for SS22 and seen in a navy printed shirt. Cotton used in the collection was hand-woven in Burkina Faso, with West African Jacquards also used. Textures include lightweight cotton, silk shirting and mohair knits. Tailoring is relaxed and made with linen blends.