LFWM AW19: Iceberg

FOR AW19, London Fashion Week Mens has a new home – The Truman Brewery. Located in the edgy streets of Brick Lane, it’s a place where the atmosphere, history and architecture is the perfect match for the bold, grungey and fashion-forward streetwear that graces each LFWM runway. Iceberg’s AW19 show was an epitome of this.

Since bringing the Italian label to London in June 2018, Creative Director James Long has been infusing his British aesthetic into each step of the design. For AW19, this meant delving deep into the Iceberg archives to bring back bright and beautiful 80s prints, but this time with a British punk grunge attitude.

Deep purple was a new colour seen for the Iceberg man, coming in the form of a velour tracksuit. In addition to this, a new coat shape tailored in high sheen wool and knit was brought to the runway with soft leathers and neon accessories. Likewise, for the Iceberg woman, a new and subtle corporate feel was introduced, with tailored jackets set over relaxed trousers, and fluid high split dresses paired with oversized jackets. But stealing the show was the new punk-grunge graffiti logo peaks across knit hoodies and zip jackets. Kilts came with flashes of the logo too, resulting in a blizzard of crazy puzzle graphics, adaptable to both the slopes and the street.

Long spoke of his inspiration coming from a time of football frenzy in the 80s, where British football fans would go to Italy to watch matches and return in bright and bold clothing that only Italy could offer at the time. Iceberg’s AW19 show took us to a modern snapshot of this time, the Italian Alps with a punk-grunge edge. Colours are bold, graffiti print is rife, and chains on chains were a predominant feature.

Simultaneously, Italian tailoring was visible in each look, knitwear, synonymous to the brand, was exquisitely crafted and well celebrated, and finally the Mickey Mouse prints, seen in several pieces, are a clear nod to the brand’s first creative director, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, who was one of the first international designers to add cartoons to his collections in the ‘70s. The result – a radiant retro renovation.

by Lily Rimmer