The much-lauded duo took their shredded aesthetic in a new direction for SS16.

Sticking To Your Roots

Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida’s position as risen stars was cemented earlier this year with a healthy cash injection from the LVMH fund. They have, after all, made a respected name for themselves in a very short time through their unanimously praised work with shredded, torn and revamped denim. But fans needn’t fear that they’ve jumped the luxury shark thanks to this new found capital: those deconstructed denim pieces were still a mainstay at their SS16 collection.

Romantic Rancher

Expected jean-shaded highlights included a lovely blazer and a long, double-breasted coat that was elegantly belted at the waist but rendered in wonderfully casual, inky thick denim. Other denim pieces like a dress constituted entirely of fraying ruffles was a technical marvel but still managed to be strangely beautiful in its surprising fabrication (though perhaps it wasn’t in the least bit surprising in the context of these designers).

Frills and Spills

Ruffles rather than denim, in fact, were probably the lynchpin of this collection, binding the diverse range of garments together with their super-textured, romantic quality. These frills found themselves on dramatic, asymmetrically sweeping dresses, as well as on tops and skirts, and although they seemed in opposition to the abundance of denim, the tactile ruffles were actually nicely echoed by the raggedy hems of the jeans and the uber-short trucker jacket (which was more of a crop-top really). It was another expansive and yet peculiarly cohesive collection of clothes that will surely cement the duo’s position as one of London’s coolest brands.

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Words: Benji Walters