Bianca Saunders and Farah's SS22 "Uptown Top Ranking" Collaboration Is the Summer Uniform
Exploring the “nuances of masculinity together with the influences of my Caribbean heritage.”
A darling of London’s bustling fashion community, Bianca Saunders returns for Spring/Summer 2022 with a collaboration with the heritage Texan brand Farah. The designer is no stranger to collaborations having previously worked with the equally iconic label Wrangler for SS21, and it’s these brands that really get Saunders going: “I always want to collaborate with brands that have more history, more heritage and that have been around longer than mine,” per her interview with HYPEBEAST last September.
Titled “Uptown Top Ranking,” the SS22 collaborative collection is an extension of something dear to both brands’ hearts. For Farah, it continues to support both established and emerging British brands — previously working with YMC, Martine Rose, and the British documentary photojournalist Martin Parr — while for Saunders, it allows her to further explore her concepts of masculinity and identity.
“Collaborating with Farah has allowed me to continue to explore what I love — the nuances of masculinity together with the influences of my Caribbean heritage,” says Saunders in the brand’s press release. “Going deep into the Farah archives and finding ways to push forward the signature cuts and silhouettes of the brand with my own transformative techniques, has been a real honor.”
Bianca Saunders/Farah
Bianca Saunders/Farah
Bianca Saunders/Farah
Bianca Saunders/Farah
Bianca Saunders/Farah
Bianca Saunders/Farah
Bianca Saunders/Farah
Bianca Saunders/Farah
Bianca Saunders/Farah
Bianca Saunders/Farah
Bianca Saunders/Farah
Bianca Saunders/Farah
Bianca Saunders/Farah
Bianca Saunders/Farah
“Uptown Top Ranking” draws heavily on “FaraPress” trousers and male subcultures of the ’70s, as well as personal and musical sources which gave the collection its name — Althea & Donna’s track “Uptown Top Ranking” “describes how a Jamaican man would dress himself up as he heads to the city to show off,” and this is just a part of the energy that makes Saunders’ SS22 collaborative collection.
Neatly pressed trousers, purposeful creases and sophistication underpin the collection, resulting in track pants and shorts with distinctive creases running down the middle of the leg (served in black, copper orange and sage green no less), as well as thick and wide placket open-collar polo long-sleeves, graphic merch-style T-shirts, polos with trompe-l’œil-esque cable knit imprinting, scrunched and creased sweaters, signature pocket tees, silky chore jacket-like shirts, and more.
Speaking on the collaboration, Farah’s Global Head of Design and Concept Chris O’Brien said: “We are really excited to collaborate with Bianca. Her exploration of male identity through style and subculture is what the Farah brand stands for. Celebrating her Caribbean heritage, the music of a decade that inspired so many movements with modern adaptations that still hold true to both brands, is the makings of a wonderful collaboration.”
Bianca Saunders’ SS22 “Uptown Top Ranking” collaboration with Farah launches today on Farah’s website and at select stores worldwide, including the likes of Machine-A in London, the online platform HEAT, Australia’s Chinatown Country Club, and GR8 in Japan. Take a look at the campaign above and the video below.
In other news, here are eight more drops you don’t want to miss this week.
