FEBEN Spring Summer 2023, After two seasons of ruminating on the emotional turmoil that has blighted recent years, FEBEN finds strength and levity in spirituality. Drawing inspiration from age-old divination methods, tarot cards among them, THE READ – the brand’s SS23 collection – reveals that there is no one way to read the cards that life has dealt you. It is, ultimately, your perspective on them that will light the path you go on to tread.
The sartorial range of the FEBEN woman is expanded with gusto, mirroring the multitudes contained within her. An architecturally constructed coat in nightshade wool – with a slanting hem, complex darting at the breast and a concealed martingale back – sits next to a strapless corset minidress in PVC-coated scarlet tweed.
The carefree flirtiness of micro bandeau tops and scintillating beaded slips – a product of Feben’s longstanding collaboration with artisans in Accra, Ghana – is counterposed by the severe sensuality of elongated, belted tunics and a signature Twist dress in inky black, double-breasted men’s suiting, and shorts and trousers in undulating bonded jersey.
Grommets and studs lend the collection a biker-y, no-fucks-given toughness – best exemplified in an olive mock croc jacket with abbreviated notch lapels – and prints that echo specific cards within the tarot deck – The Devil, The Chariot and The Tower – imply divine power. Rather than harbingers of specific meanings or fates, however, their meanings shift depending on your perspective – on what you choose to read in them.
This principle directly informs this season’s brushstroke-stripe poplin pieces – which include slashed miniskirts and elegant, asymmetrically draped dresses. While innocuous – respectable, even – at first glance, peer between their sky-blue lines and you’ll discover passages of sordid prose lifted from Georges Bataille’s transgressive masterpiece, Story of the Eye.
On the Celtic Cross runway formation before you, all the answers are laid bare before you. Just concentrate – take a moment to read.
Support by – Bumble & Bumble, 111Skin & Neue water
Special thanks to –
Karen Binns, Kate Brindley, Mahoro Seward, Juul Temminck, Veronika Tran, Karla Otto, Melat Matusala Devon Nicholas, Anoushka Christi, Camille Smiley Jones, Rose Prince, Louis Cisse, Shelomi Siringwani, Eleanor Jacques, XiufenYang, Verity Smiley Jones, Blonstein, Azeb, Sky
All images courtesy of FEBEN
PR Agency Karla Otto London