Grace Wales Bonner, the Trailblazing Menswear Designer
In recent years, more women have started to become prominent menswear designers as gender norms are broken and a larger space has been introduced for many to take part in whatever design aspect they choose. A select few women have created a remarkable path in menswear that give it new meaning, with one woman in particular being Grace Wales Bonner.
Originally in womenswear at Central Saint Martins, Grace’s focus eventually directed towards menswear. Entitled AFRIQUE, her graduate collection consisted of embroidered velvet jackets and crystal skull caps, leading her to win the L’Oreal Professional Talent Award in 2014. Grace presented EBONICS in 2015, her first collection under the name Wales Bonner at Fashion East and earned the title Emerging Menswear Designer at the British Fashion Awards. 2016 saw her first solo collection, Ezekiel, and went on to receive the LVMH Young Designer Prize. Grace released her first womenswear collection in 2018, as well as received the the British Land London Emerging Medal. Her recent accomplishments include the winner of the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund and a Dior collaboration for their Resort 2020 collection.
Heavily influenced by the British Afro-Caribbean music scene, Wales Bonner can be found at such places as Net-A-Porter, Barney’s, and Galeries Lafayette. It has also built up a celebrity fan base that includes Meghan Markle, who chose to wear the brand for her first official portrait with Prince Harry and her son. Having an eye on representing gentle, black male figures, Grace sought to connect history and beauty through their identities. She wanted to create a space for the unrepresented, to show that they are as complex and beautiful as others portrayed in the media. History has always been interwoven into her collections with the presence of black poetry, music, culture, and films, and expanded into creating a space for black artists and creators alike to share their art as well. Artist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye created poetry for a 2017 Wales Bonner show, and Solange Knowles was one of the performers at Grace’s event Devotional Sound.
A female gaze on men and their complexities have helped Grace Wales Bonner to define what has made her brand today. She credits the people around her and the culture she consumes as to what drives her inspiration; to create a platform for those not represented.
Photo Credit: GQ, Dazed, Celebrity Style Guide
Report: Charlene Piccio
At the rise of Covid-19 many of us first questioned the timeline of fashion week and would we see the regular calendar continue - the question weighed over many of us for months! It was refreshing to see design houses and designers across the globe take advantage of the uncertainty and plow into production mode - thus my interest in Jerri Reid New York - The Black Designer based in Brooklyn New York wow’d instagram with his latest collection paying homage to the Black Is King film which debuted earlier this year in July. I was taken aback at quick of a turn round the young designer produced and released his well crafted designs reflecting some of the films most memorable moments.