LABRUM FW23 "From Greener Pastures" Reunites Disjoined Immigrant Families
Hosted in London’s Brixton Village, the showcase was ignited by traditional music and sentimental dancing.
London-based imprint LABRUM is all grown up. Since its establishment in 2015, the brand has continued to build a bridge that brings stories of West Africa to a global audience. Last year, the brand communicated the importance of bodily movements through an artistic lens, while Fall/Winter 2023 saw LABRUM bring life to London’s Brixton Village with a soulful musical affair.
Titled “From Greener Pastures,” LABRUM looks to reunite families separated by land, sea, or other uneasy circumstances. The collection places a looking glass against the cruel realities that divide immigrant households while an instrumental band filled the runway with lively energy.
The showcase began with a poem that brought tears to the eyes of audience members, followed by relaxed dancing injected with sentimental movements. Shortly after, the single dancer opened a stamped suitcase and played a delicate trumpet solo. The collection pulled inspiration from Samuel Selvon’s 1956 novel The Lonely Londoners and An African in Imperial London by Danell Jones, which mutually inspect the trials and tribulations experienced by immigrant families.
Looking at traditional African attire through a modern lens, LABRUM presented its staple slouchy suiting with quilted caps matched with dangling toggles and ear flaps. Denim ensembles played with the natural proportions of the body, while leather varsity jackets were ornamented with travel-inspired patches and leather detailing. Ruffled accents and zippers decorated staple formalwear, working alongside geometric patterns and diamond-shaped indentations.
Gilded notes fashioned ribbed ensembles with ancient status and cartoon LABRUM emblems, while traditional patterns embellish wool coats with passport stamps, faded lettering, and suitcase headgear.
Take a closer look at LABRUM’s FW23 collection in the gallery above.
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