Oddly, there is something so irrefutably ‘now’ about KTZ’s aesthetic in its leathery, structural, warrior-like composition.

Brave New World 

‘TWTC: The world to come’ flashed in canary yellow LEDs upon arrival into the industrial railway arches of Blackfriars’ most subversive spot: the gay sex club ‘XXL’. Onlookers were crammed into seats behind regimented red barred fencing with exposed power supplies hanging from them, beneath which models strode gallantly into the future. The unmistakeable Pris-from-Blade-Runner wigs cemented the brand’s chosen focus for the season instantly – The Future: as imagined by the 80s. Oddly, there is something so irrefutably ‘now’ about this aesthetic in its leathery, structural, warrior-like composition. Mini dresses were like body armour – in form fitting leather and/or cardboard which geometrically snapped around the curves of the body. Polka dot under-garments in black and white chiffon, as well as the odd jacket with a huge puff sleeve, really reaffirmed the 80s vibe with vigour.

Handle with care

A rather humorous take on ‘functionality’ saw brown paper bag handles sit symmetrically all over dresses, and at the top of ultra (!) cool thigh high boots. Bags in rectangular brown cardboard, and a structured paper trench coat warned that these future-bots should be handled with care. The show’s openers were panelled two-pieces with silver and black adornments littered with writing and graphic imagery – like sexed up racing car drivers – both in their power, and aesthetic. Silver burnished coins, in rows and rows, were used as accessories, to finish hems, or for entire shift-style dresses: their jangling bounced around the damp archways like screams in tandem – visually and audibly demanding.

Art Attack

The show culminated in a colour splash: of two-pieces, dresses and shoes splashed and splattered in primary paint patterns: imagine Jackson Pollock was sent the toiles to have his way with. Rubber stomper heels were ultra bright and geometric, and wigs became flecked with yellow feathers like little birds of Paradise. The show was entitled ‘Anything is Possible’ – a brilliant sentiment indeed. The KTZ woman is she who commands and demands attention, and the brand continues to design for the coolest around.

Photography: Thurstan Redding

Words: Tom Rasmussen