London Collections: Men – James Long A/W 2014 show

For autumn/winter 2014, James Long drew inspiration from the sci-fi world of cosplay to create a collection of abstract futurism. 

The showcase was held at The Old Sorting Office. Its reflective ceilings created a visual effect so on par with the futuristic feel to the collection, it was almost unsettling. We were frantically trying to shazam the music in between note-taking and Instagramming, to which “sorry, no match” became the bane of our existence, but after reading the press release, we were surprised to find the jams had been specially written for the showcase by Simon Milner of Is Tropical, which sort of made it okay.

Reversible quilted bomber jackets and layered mesh and jersey tracksuit bottoms made up the silhouette, whilst blocked fabrication created abstract shapes within them. In case you didn’t catch that, yes, we did say “reversible quilted bomber jacket”. When reversed, the quilt pattern is visible on the other side through a layer of mesh. These jackets made the collection. Considering there were no shirts, we’re almost certain the collection depended on them. The look was bold and the hair was blue, but the collection was heavy on the blacks, greys and whites with accents within the primary colour palette. The trainers, woven in the collection’s mesh and denim, were made in collaboration with Kurt Geiger London. James Long created abstract shapes from images to make up the resounding geometric pattern in his sweatshirts, knits and leathers.

Christianna Pugliese
Photos: Krish Nagari

Explore the James Long archives here.