W ith her razor-sharp tailoring and highbrow references, Grace Wales Bonner is a high-fashion favourite. But her eponymous London-based label has now scored wider attention, thanks to her collaborations with Adidas. The recent Samba boom can be traced back to a silver version of the shoe she designed.
And she was also responsible for the popular kits worn by Jamaica’s female footballers at the 2023 World Cup. ‘She broke boundaries’: how textile artist Althea McNish made Britain bloom Read more Her show in Paris on Wednesday evening provided further examples of how she is able to please both connoisseurs and customers. Designs included a take on the classic mac, satin suiting, and knitwear subtly flecked with colour, worn with red swimming trunks.
But there was also a tracksuit with shorts, and some new trainers – including a Superstar – that are bound to spark excitement online. Prints by Althea McNish were used on some pieces. The artist and designer, who arrived in London from Trinidad in the 50s, worked on fabrics for companies such as Heals, and her Golden Harvest textile was a bestseller.
Transposed to Wales Bonner’s very modern clothing, the sketchy vibrant designs gave a mid-century charm. ‘We’re showing the next generation there’s a place to exist’: the documentary celebrating Black British fashion Read more Wales Bonner, who has Jamaican heritage, found McNish inspiring as someone who had popularised a perspective that was not typically part of th.
