Christopher Shannon Archives | Wonderland

Christopher Shannon EDP

Wonderland Staff — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 13:21:01 +0000

The designer teams up with Verdúu for debut fragrance.

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Interview: Christopher Shannon

Wonderland Staff — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 15:55:07 +0000

With selected pieces available at the Wonderland shop, we catch up with Christopher Shannon following the presentation of his AW17 collection.

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LFWM: Christopher Shannon AW17

Wonderland Staff — Sat, 07 Jan 2017 15:18:42 +0000

Christopher Shannon takes us around the world with his AW17 collection.

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Spotlight: Christopher Shannon

Wonderland Staff — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 13:18:40 +0000

We explore some of the brands inhabiting the dreamy Wonderland pop-up shop, starting with Christopher Shannon.

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North Quarter by Christopher Shannon

Wonderland Staff — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 10:31:13 +0000

The North Quarter by Christopher Shannon collection is a vision of modern and technical sportswear.

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LCM: Christopher Shannon SS17

Wonderland Staff — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 10:37:43 +0000

For SS17 Christopher Shannon cut up the rules on sportswear then stitched them back together to create his most outlandish collection to date.

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Rollacoaster Issue 18

Wonderland Staff — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 15:16:09 +0000

It’s arrived! Rollacoaster Issue 18 is out now.

Eau D’ Bedroom Dancing from Joseph Delaney.

Rollacoaster returns this January, kicking off 2016 with the freshest faces of season. For our SS16 menswear issue, White Cube artist, club-kid and all-round troublemaker Eddie Peake reworked our logo across two limited edition covers. Inside, he discusses life as one of Britain’s most fascinating young creatives, and offers us a few never-before-seen artworks.

Cover star, Prada’s new poster-boy and Glue actor Billy Howle talks to Nellie Eden, we shine a light on Olympic Gold-winner and serial record breaker Max Whitlock, and Wolf Hall’s Edward Holcroft walks us through the weird, weird world of Hollywood 2016.

We swap truths with genre-defying dancehall-pop crossover J-Hus and Kanye-cohort Novelist and chat to the likes of Martine Rose, Christopher Shannon and Nasir Mazhar about the Fashion Space Gallery’s breaking menswear exhibition, Mad About The Boy. All this, and the most exciting, out-there menswear fashions of now.

Treat yourself to a taster of the issue with all of the boys from our fashion cover lip syncing to Bikini Kill’s “Riot Girl”, shot by Joseph Delaney. Dreamy.

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LCM: Christopher Shannon AW16

Wonderland Staff — Sun, 10 Jan 2016 12:02:46 +0000

For the small town breakouts and those brave enough to wear PVC, Christopher Shannon, at your service.

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Walk The Line

Wonderland Staff — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 09:40:07 +0000

We trace the 10-year history of one of London menswear’s most nurturing and on-point initiatives; Lulu Kennedy’s MAN.

From the 10th Birthday Issue of Wonderland.

Martine Rose

Lulu Kennedy is a force to be reckoned with. The founder of both the Fashion East and MAN initiatives, Kennedy has been championing emerging British designers for over 15 years, carving a path that prides independence within the fashion landscape. Bringing the underground to the forefront of the industry and celebrating the youths shaping the future, Fashion East has seen Kennedy pioneer the likes of Marques’Almeida, Martine Rose, Gareth Pugh, Roksanda Ilincic and Louise Gray. This year Fashion East’s younger male counterpart MAN turns 10 and Kim Jones,
J W Anderson, Astrid Andersen, Christopher Shannon, Benjamin Kirchhoff and New Power Studio amongst others, can all count themselves part of Kennedy’s fast-expanding MAN gang.

Born in Newcastle and raised in Devon, Kennedy spent her youth working at art galleries and organising raves (a few years were spent living in Naples doing just that), before landing a job at the Old Truman Brewery straight out of college in 1996. “I basically ran wild as a kid and as a teenager, so I was never going to be much use at a ‘normal’ job,” quips Kennedy. “Being surrounded by creative people kind of puts you in an alternative mindset too. My heroes were usually people in my family or close friends rather than distant celebrities, which gave me the feeling that anything is possible.” Kennedy is right. Tasked with turning the then derelict 11-acre warehouse into a creative hub for east London’s designers, artists, photographers and all-round visionaries, rather than spending her time overseeing extensive restorations, Kennedy was loaning runway space to emerging designers and renting out cheap studio space to friends in similar industries. “I suppose in a way you could say my ‘career’ – I feel funny saying that word – started at the Bricklayers Arms, when I met Hazel and Pablo of House of Jazz,” recalls Kennedy. “They were the first designers I’d ever known, and became a massive inspiration to me.” It was shortly after that that Kennedy turned her show-space favours into the Fashion East platform, and luckily the owner of The Truman Brewery hopped on board to bankroll it.“I jumped in headfirst – quite unaware of the politics of the industry – with a desire to help look after designers, and the rest kind of looked after itself,” says Kennedy. “I’m very lucky I’ve ended up in fashion. I love what I do.”

Having already paved the way with Fashion East, which was becoming a mainstay on the London womenswear circuit, it was at a CSM MA show that Kennedy had a revelation. “The menswear students were so strong,” she recalls. “I was like, ‘Why aren’t we doing anything with these designers?’ They’re all going off to get jobs, which is great on one hand, but also a shame.” Realising that the talented designers in question needed a support system in order to reach their full potential, Kennedy approached Topman with a plan. “We were on the same page and they jumped at the idea when I went to talk to them,” says Kennedy. “We just clicked right away.”

At the time, Kennedy was inspired by the work of Kim Jones and Christoffer Lundman. Back then, Jones was sending silver-haired boys down an industrial metal runway wearing oversized trousers, strung in at the waist, teamed with deconstructed sweatshirts said to be inspired by “Russian Prisoners”, with what Tim Blanks referred to as “the energy of an 80s Body Map show”. Meanwhile, Lundman’s boys were clad in powder-blue denim co-ords and rich velvet garms with platform brogues. “They’re the main reason I got so into menswear, they’re really very excellent designers,” says Kennedy. “I also loved what Raf Simons and [Martin] Margiela were doing, but that was about all I knew or followed.” Openly admitting that her knowledge of menswear was “basically zero”, it was by attending college shows, speaking to lecturers or friends and generally scouring the London fashion scene, that Kennedy was able to scout out her cream of the crop – those with “intelligence, creativity, spirit, energy, humour”.

With the help of Topman, the debut MAN show held at the Atlantis Gallery next to The Truman Brewery in September 2005 featured Jones (who screened a fashion film by Will Davidson), Lundman and Topman Design (who showed under the umbrella for the first five seasons). “Everyone we wanted was there, it was buzzing, the reviews were good. I seem to remember it being quite boozy…” laughs Kennedy. “I had such an amazing sense of happiness that it went down so well.” The list of designers Kennedy has nurtured currently ranks at over 40. They’re more interested in pioneering their own label, she says, than getting a job. “My biggest fear [if it wasn’t for MAN] would have been being forced down a more commercial route in order to survive,” explains Astrid Andersen, one of Kennedy’s crop. “The opportunity to grow slowly allows you to truly build a brand, that’s otherwise very difficult and costly.”

Looking back on the decade, we really have seen it all. Remember the time New Power Studio sent models down the runway on a mobility scooter, wearing full-size bass drums as headwear and
a real life child – Roman – in favour of a backpack? “I think that was my highlight, just for sheer exposure,” says NPS’s Thom Murphy. “We had half a page in The Sun, and illustration of us
in Private Eye, and all the other usual cool mags. It was a special moment – totally terrifying as it could have all gone wrong, but we made it.” Meanwhile, we’ve witnessed Cassette Playa’s Carri Munden dance down the aisle hand-in-hand with Sonic the Hedgehog (kitted out in custom CP); Astrid Andersen lead a gang of gold-lipped-guys down the catwalk in velveteen tracksuits; and Agyness Deyn steal the show draped in Henry Holland’s studded leathers. The venues have spanned from the Old Truman Brewery and Holborn’s Old Sorting Office, to Topshop’s disused Eurostar station and everywhere between. Then when it comes to the after-parties, suitably wild affairs have seen Kennedy herself play barmaid and designers switch to DJs at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club (whilst the real DJ was spotted serving himself generous helpings behind the bar). Elsewhere, as Kennedy blogged on her namesake site back in 2009, Katie Hillier whipped her heels off “leading the troops into full on dancefloor combat” at east London’s Bistrotheque.

The most recent showcase – June’s MAN Turns 10 anniversary event – saw Royal College of Art graduate Liam Hodges and Central Saint Martins-educated designer Rory Parnell-Mooney present their SS16 collections at Topman Design’s space during London Collections: Men. Having only been on the fashion week circuit as a standalone event – separate to women’s fashion week – since June 2012, it’s safe to say fashion’s fairy godmother Kennedy was the catalyst. Now she’s leading the way not just in London, but on a global stage, with New York hosting their first stand-alone men’s fashion week this summer. Kennedy is quick to shrug it off when I ask, “Did you ever expect to have such an influence?” “Nope,” she says. “I just feel my way through things; it felt right to start menswear, so that’s what I did, without overthinking it.” For Kennedy, acting on instinct has sure payed off. “It seems like the whole world is into supporting emerging talent all of a sudden.” She’s right, and why wouldn’t it be? The future is shaped from the bottom up. The rest of the world just isn’t able to kill it at Kennedy’s pace, that’s all.

“I don’t know where I would be without MAN… I wouldn’t trade my experience for the world.” Shaun Samson

J W ANDERSON

AGI & SAM

“We were part of something that felt so big. Very surreal.” Astrid Andersen

Christopher Shannon

Liam Hodges

Craig Green

“Lulu was full of energy, advice, encouragement and fun. She was a trailblazer – fixing, sorting, organising and laughing, always.” James Long

Photographer: Jesse Jenkins

Fashion: Madeleine Østlie

Words: Brooke McCord

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LCM: Christopher Shannon SS16

Wonderland Staff — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 09:44:45 +0000

Short shorts and flesh-exposing neons to be worn for Marbella frenzies and exuberant foam parties – this season Shannon is fronting summer hedonism.

Marbella frenzies

For SS16 Shannon referenced “summer hedonism, Marbella frenzies and exuberant foam parties” as inspirations in his show notes and the resulting collection of fragmented sportswear and unconventional suiting conjured exactly that. Think slashed sweatshirts “taped-up” with duct tape, deconstructed jackets – backless with an arm missing – jersey tops hung around the waist and tech fabrics associated with sportswear teamed with traditional shirting (a return to Shannon’s original design roots). The black and navy-heavy colour palette was interspersed with crisp white cotton and bold neon colour blocking, whilst detail came in the shape of statement jewellery smattered on shoulders – made from fluro plastic, toy whistles and loom bands – born from a collaboration with Judy Blame.

Who likes short shorts?

The shorts this season were, well, they were short. Very short. Think 80s era sport shorts cut high to the thigh paired with shirts with zip front features and oversized sweatshirts. Meanwhile boys with foam-topped hair wore bikini tops hung loose over long-line t-shirts. They were ready for the foam party, duh.

Put your lighters up

Of course, it couldn’t be a Shannon show without a generous serving of the tongue-in-cheek statement logo knitwear he has become renowned for. This time around, fine knit jumpers featured lighter logos emblazoned with the words “Damaged” and “Needy”, along with s special flip-open “Shannon” version.

Words: Brooke McCord

Photography: Thurstan Redding

Hair: Fudge Professional

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