We fall in love with Shaun Samson‘s hockey-meets-streetwear collection, an ode to layering, silhouette and technique. Check out our backstage pics for more.

Shaun Samson confirmed his status as one of the hottest properties in London with his AW13 show, a collection that displayed the kind of confidence and swag that attracts celebrity fans like A$AP Rocky to the brand.

Voted by Opening Ceremony as the Best Breakout Menswear Designer of 2012, Samson has matured since he graduated from the Fashion East incubator. The needle-punch felting technique he developed at Saint Martins has been refined further, allowing him to seamlessly blend angora wool into jersey to create two-tone fabrics. A shimmery blue party-store fabric was bulked up with denim to create a brilliantly boxy, glittery parka.

Shaun Samson has always looked to the all-American jock-meets-hip-hop incarnation of sportswear for influence, so backwards caps, ear mufflers and sporting stripes that nodded towards hockey and basketball all loomed large in the collection. But given that streetwear (see: Astrid Andersen’s show earlier this week) doesn’t look like it’s dying out anytime soon, we’ll be batting for his team for some time to come.

MORE LONDON COLLECTIONS: MEN COVERAGE
Backstage at MAN: Astrid Anderson, Craig Green and Agi & Sam
Backstage at Richard Nicoll
Backstage at Topman Design
Backstage at James Long
Backstage at Christopher Shannon
Backstage at JW Anderson
Backstage at Jonathan Saunders
Backstage at E. Tautz
Backstage at Katie Eary

Text: Zing Tsjeng
Images: Mark Rabadan