Ben Osborn Spring Summer 2022 at London Fashion Week

FOR SPRING / SUMMER 2 2 , BEN OSBORN UTILISES A STRIPPED – BACK APPROACH, WORKING WITH THE TRANSFORMATIVE, SHAPE – SHIFTING QUALITIES OF NATURAL MATERIALS. CONSIDERING OUR PROXIMITY AND RELATIONSHIP TO DOMESTIC SPACES, CONNECTIONS ARE FORMED WITH AN INTIMATE, PHYSICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE POTENTIAL FOR CLOTHES AS A TRANSITIONAL DOMESTIC SPACE. A PORTABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR THINKING AND SENSING IS FORMULATED; NAVIGATING A RETURN TO A MORE PUBLIC SPHERE.

CONSIDERING BEHAVIOUR WITHIN A PERSONAL SPACE, THE FIGURE BECOMES A CENTRAL POINT OF REFERENCE, WITH STILLNESS AND MOVEMENT COMBINED INTO A STATE OF PHYSICAL CHANGE, MATERIAL SENSATION AND AMBIGUOUS PURPOSE. WORKING WITH BOTH CONSTRUCTED AND UNCONSTRUCTED SHAPES, INSPIRATION IS DRAWN FROM FURNITURE, PROTECTIVE UNIFORMS AND HISTORICAL TAILORING, CONDENSING AN ARRAY OF SOURCES AND REFLECTIONS ON THE BODY.

WORKING AROUND THIS FEELING OF COMFORT, COMPONENTS ARE CAREFULLY CHOSEN FOR THEIR SENSORY QUALITIES, AND COMBINED INTO A PLAY OF FORMS, VOLUMES AND DENSITIES. ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO TEXTURES; EXPLORING THE BEAUTY OF TACTILE SURFACE COMBINATIONS, WITH MATERIALS GROUPED TOGETHER ACCORDING TO SIMILAR ATTITUDES. MATERIALS AND MOVEMENT ARE COMBINED INTO AN AESTHETIC ARRANGEMENT OF LIGHT, STRONG AND COMFORTABLE FORMULATIONS OF MATERIALS, COLOUR AND PROPORTION.

A FEELING OF LABOUR AND PHYSICALITY IS SOUGHT IN THE SHAPES, WITH RESISTANT MATERIALS LIKE WAXED LINEN, PROOFED COTTON AND CANVASES SOURCED FROM THE UK. FLUID MATERIALS ESCAPE RIGID CONSTRAINTS AND SOMETHING MORE INTIMATE IS SOUGHT; SOFT COTTON SHIRTINGS, HAND KNIT SWEATERS IN COTTON YARN AND UNSTRUCTURED SUITING IN LIGHT WOOL AND CASHMERE, SITTING NEXT TO SKIN.

SPECIAL THANKS TO: BRONTE, CHARLOTTE, ADAM,PHILIP, GEORGE, SAM,JORDAN, MATHIAS, ROEMER,TOMOKO, YUKO + TT TEAM, B + SG TEAM, TONI AND GUY, AND THE BFC