Designers Vin + Omi are known for their head-turning fashion collections, and their 20th anniversary show was no different.
The runway featured The Great British Bake Off judge Dame Prue Leith in a particularly risqué and avant-garde design.
The 84-year-old cook was dressed in a black skintight leather dress with latex evening gloves and red contrast stitching. Her look was paired with smokey black eye make-up, a bright red lip and spiky hair. Before the show, Vin told PA Media the goal was to “sex her up”.
While the show isn’t on the official London Fashion Week schedule, it coincides with the city-wide style event, and also featured Playboy model and American TV personality Josie Stevens and property mogul Naomi Heaton.
Stevens – who is married to Billy Idol’s guitarist, Steve Stevens – walked the runway three times, wearing increasingly skimpy outfits for each appearance.
The show was titled ‘Moxie’, meaning perseverance and courage, which is what the design duo said got them to where they are today.
Sustainability is at the core of Vin + Omi’s designs, and the catwalk featured fabrics made from nettles, chestnut, butterbur, cow parsley, mushroom, recycled plastic and wood chippings from the King’s Sandringham estate.
“We took the waste wood chippings from King Charles’ estate and inside wood is cellulose, which we turn into this fabric,” said Vin, explaining that this fabric is able to biodegrade in around three years.
The design duo, who are nomadic but predominantly based in Norwich, have been collaborating with the King to develop sustainable fabrics since 2019.
The 20th anniversary show began with a poignant rumination on war, acknowledging the horrors and injustices of global conflict.
Models wore slashed and red-stained ensembles with intestine-like detailing leaking out of the garments. The collection featured bleached utilitarian jumpsuits, trench coats adorned with anti-war slogans and dresses adorned with fish skeletons, adding to the dystopian aesthetic.
Dresses ranging from vivid browns to fleshy raw reds, and garments featured lavish ruffles and pluming embellishments that gushed from the models – which seemed to represent both destruction and vapid opulence.
The harrowing first segment closed with a couple walking together in distressed black gowns mimicking burnt remains and flecks of ash. The male model held a sign reading ‘Love Always Wins’.
But that wasn’t the end of the show – the next segment celebrated fun and freedom, with a distinctly punk sensibility.
Leather, ruffles and feathers littered the runway. A coquettish element was introduced in the form of Marie Antoinette-inspired hairstyles and Rococo-style uniforms, highlighting that sustainable fashion doesn’t have to be boring.
Knitted ensembles imitated coral and dresses were emblazoned with endangered marine life: each piece a physical reminder of the importance of sourcing sustainable fashion.
Towards the end of the show, a standout look was a sheer black gown with a long train of iridescent ruffled roses – perhaps a nod to the King’s beloved flower beds.
Despite the serious messages, the show felt like a celebration. As models walked the runway, they hailed ‘Vin and Omi’, evoking cheers from the audience.
Vin and Omi proved in their latest collection that sustainable fashion needn’t be sensible, with unforgettable and outrageous looks gracing the runway from start to finish.
