FEBEN’s SS22 collection was a call to wear what you want, when you want
In light of the past year and a half from hell, for SS22 Feben Vemmenby is making the case for wearing whatever we want, whenever we want.
DESIGNER: FEBEN
SEASON: Spring/Summer 2022, titled X-Pression
EVENT: London Fashion Week
LOCATION: Old Selfridge Hotel, London
There’s a sense of euphoria when it comes to dressing up and going out - or going anywhere - these days, having been deprived of such a freedom for far too long. I’ll go to the opening of an envelope if it means I get to slip into something silky, have a go at my best fox eye and disappear into the evening, clinking glasses with strangers and letting the night unfold into a world of uncertainty. The good kind of uncertainty. If you’re like me, you sometimes even slapped on a full face of make-up, complete with a fiery red lip, to roam the aisles of Sainsbury’s back when grocery shopping was our only escape.
X-Pression, FEBEN’s Spring/Summer 2022 collection, offered a contemplation of these “hectic emotional landscapes we’ve all wandered,” and the clothes that became veils of confidence or blankets of security along the way. In its debut on-schedule presentation at London Fashion Week on Saturday, FEBEN’s concise collection made a case for wearing whatever we want, whenever we want, bound to no rules or regulations that may have preceded lockdown life.
I made my way to the TikTok Show Space at The Old Selfridges Hotel, where some of the most exciting emerging designers have been making their official debut this season. A dark industrial stairwell, lit only by what looked like purple light sabers hanging from the ceiling, led me to the jam-packed presentation space. The buzz from fellow guests alone would be enough to prove just how exciting it was to have FEBEN on this season’s schedule.
Stood amongst the fuscia coloured, coil-shaped structure in a space lit up by differing hues of purple, models wore clothes made to “amplify our euphoric highs and nurture us through the abyssal lows,” that we all came to endure throughout the pandemic. The message that clothes play such a comforting, vital role to our wellbeing has never been clearer, with intentional fabrics and silhouettes suitable for a cocktail soirée or a pyjama party. Because if the past year and a half has taught us anything, it’s to stop saving your favourite outfits for big nights out. Wear them when you feel like it, when you need that extra injection of vigour in your day.
Some models were elevated on plinths while others firmly on the floor. One by one, right on queue, the steadfast models left their position to weave their way in and out of the hot pink formation before returning back to their original place. Cosy felt tops and brightly coloured wide-leg jersey trousers swept by, counterposed by the harness silk dresses in midnight black and shirred-panelled tailoring in hot pink. Fused strips of jersey on said trousers, part of Feben’s first-ever menswear offering, created a wavy texture to mimic the waves found on hair extension packs. This is a nod to the designer’s own lockdown experience, in which her go-to excursion was trips to the local Afro beauty store. Other textures featured were Feben’s signature puckered ‘twist’ tops and dresses, carried over from her CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS graduate collection.
This is the first collection from FEBEN, full name Feben Vemmenby, since her graduation from Central Saint Martin’s where she completed her MA in Fashion as an Isabella Blow scholar. The London-based designer is a recent NEWGEN recipient and draws on her own multi-cultural heritage to deliver a universal message: find the common ground in “living through the time when the world shuddered to a halt.” This attitude is evident in the brilliant beaded tote bags featuring world map motifs or a giant single letter ‘F’, all hand-crocheted by artisans in Ghana. Shrimps Antonia may have had its time to shine in the beaded bag market, now in my treasure hunt for my next new carry all, F marks the spot. FEBEN’s SS22 X-Pression collection is described as “an elevated toast to the unique sartorial coping strategies we’ve all developed.” I’ll cheers to that!
Images courtesy of Getty.
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