Bianca Saunders New Collection Is Inspired By 1970's Male Subcultures

Bianca Saunders, a London-based designer, has collaborated on the Spring/Summer 22 collection ‘Uptown Top Ranking.'

Bianca Saunders is a menswear designer, born and based in London. Her menswear label is an exploration of surrounding identities and draws heavily on Bianca's background of growing up in London with West-Indian heritage.

Saunders, a graduate of London's Royal College of Art MA program and a finalist for the LVMH Young Fashion Designer Awards 2021, opposes gender-construction and aspires to explore her Black Caribbean heritage by experimenting with garment transformations to reflect the wearer's subculture.

“Collaborating with Farah has allowed me to continue to explore what I love - the nuances of

masculinity together with the influences of my Caribbean heritage. Going deep into the Farah archives and finding ways to push forward the signature cuts and silhouettes of the brand with my own transformative techniques, has been a real honour.”

Bianca Saunders

Farah's ongoing backing of young British designers sees her trademark menswear vision reworking the brand's rich legacy into fresh, contemporary pieces. As a result, a capsule collection has been created that seamlessly explores Farah's history ‘FaraPress.'

Bianca's first research source was 'The FaraPress,' which focused on male subcultures from the 1970s. Taking inspiration from both personal and musical sources, the collection's title was inspired by Althea & Donna's 1978 song "Uptown Top Ranking," which describes how a Jamaican man would dress up as he went to the city to show off. From album covers to family portraits of her uncles, the collection is a tribute to the confident men in her life who prided themselves on projecting sophisticated attire and all its sartorial overtones with their well dressed, ironed-out crease pants.

“We are really excited to collaborate with Bianca. Her exploration of male identity through style andsubculture is what the Farah brand stands for. Celebrating her Caribbean heritage, the music of adecade that inspired so many movements with modern adaptations that still hold true to both brands, is the makings of a wonderful collaboration.”

Chris O’Brien, Global Head of Design & Concept, Farah

Photography by Sam Rock

Written by: Adena Gordon (@adenaxstudio)