Unpicking the seams of Menswear Day...Matthew Miller

Just as the sun was setting on 2009 we caught up with one of the most exciting design talents to emerge from the Graduate shows of June that year. As we all know by now the RCA's MA graduate show is one of the best (and most exciting) places to discover the fashion stars of the future, we found such a star in Matthew Miller. During his time at the prestigious college he won a number of awards and competitions and has worked with brands such as Umbro, Brioni and Thierry Mugler. In his standout graduate collection, Miller explored notions of masculinity with a jovial as he explored how a young man deals with the possibility of his own death after hearing the news that he will soon be sent to war. The collection saw him balance sharp tailoring and menswear staples with humour as he experimented with laser cut polka dot bombs, dancing skeleton pique bibs, cute cable knitted skulls, to name but a few interesting details. We couldn't wait to see what this young talent did next but thankfully we didn't have to wait long because he was soon added to the London Fashion Week Menswear schedule...

A look from Matthew Miller's AW10 as shot by the talented folks at Fashion156.

For me, nothing represents the diversity more than Fashion East's Menswear Installations and the latest crop did not disappoint. One of the real highlights of the space was Matthew Miller's smile inducing tailoring. Ever since the day itself we have been itching to do a more in depth feature on this young talent and are fortunate enough to offer a glimpse in to the designer's mood board, sketchbook and finished pieces.

The Inspiration

As mentioned in the previous post, we were both fans of Another's First Look series because it offered glimpses at some of my favourite labels mood boards while sharing the designer's inspirations, wants and desires. This type of coverage taps in to our inquisitive nature and really helps see the collections in a new, brighter and altogether more agreeable and understanding light light. With this in mind we just had to see the key images behind Miller's Plasticine Dreams Become Killing Machines...

Matthew Miller's mood board for AW10

The Concept...

We have been meaning to talk about the interplay between the social constructs of masculinity on men's fashion and style in a series of posts for some time now but however many posts we draft, we ultimately do not know quite where to begin. Thankfully a number of our favourite designers are posing the questions for us and the resulting collections are full of variety and interest. Building upon the techniques explored during his time as a student from tailoring to laser cutting, Miller's inspiration for his on-going work continues to look at the way in which society has been conditioned in its perception of masculinity, forming a narrative to his designs...

"Man/Boys Masculinity is under a barrage of social conditioning. Conditioning that wants Masculinity to self destruct. As children boys are constantly given objects that symbolise destruction war and death, they are taught how to kill mame and murder through the art of game. Is it any wonder these boys destroy society and themselves! The collection is a symbolic representation of these man boys! Unwilling to become men, conditioning to destroy each other with there toys of war." Matthew Miller.

Technical Drawings

As fashion consumers and obsessives, we rarely get the opportunity to see anything other than the finished look but as bloggers we are always interested to understand how the designer's sketches become reality. To help us see through the studio door and in to the sketchbook, Matthew sent through a number of key technical drawings...

The Look Book...
In addition to the technical drawings and mood board, Matthew has sent through the first round of images of his AW10 look book which we can exclusively share with you now. The collection itself is inherently British. Primarily in the sense that it is Irony in the form of Garments. The whole collection was supposed to look fun, and that’s what comes across, but upon closer inspection, you can see all the fun elements have much darker undertones...

The Video...
This short film directed by Alex Johns accompanies Matthew Miller's Fashion East menswear collection. It premiered at Somerset House as part of London Fashion Week 2010 but we were the day was so hectic that we didn't really get a chance to view it properly. Now we can...

Season after season Menswear Day gets more interesting. For Aw10 it was particularly exciting to see Savile Row sit comfortably alongside the high street, more established designers and exciting new talent. With the emergence of designers like Matthew Miller, the future of menswear design in the capital is undoubtedly bright.