Foday Dumbuya, the recipient of last year’s Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, is celebrating 10 years of his brand Labrum London.
He summoned London’s fashion flock to the great halls of the Tate Britain for a show started 40 minutes late and when it did, a slow hypnotic soundtrack played on loop that made everything seem stuck in time. It didn’t help he was the last to show on Saturday evening.
This season, he expanded his usual line up of 30-something looks with an extra 11 new looks, totaling 45 looks modeled by different ethnicities and body shapes.
“It was all deliberate and I wanted to make sure it touches everybody,” Dumbuya said backstage, explaining that the collection celebrates migration.
“It’s not just Africans that move, but Europeans move to the other side of the world, too,” he added.
Even though he featured his colorful signature tailoring on the runway, it was refreshing to see men’s kaftans in shiny bronze or sunset orange prints, as well as traditional hats from the African diaspora reinterpreted by milliner Lucy Barlow.
Dumbuya teased that he has “interesting stuff” coming out with Adidas in July, praising the sportswear brand for its continued support of his work.
To commemorate 10 years of Labrum London, the designer is planning an exhibition to showcase the history and evolution of the brand.
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