Edward Cuming Wants You to Embrace the Mess

"If it’s too clean, it’s not Cuming. This designer refuses to play it safe"

Edward Cuming doesn't do neat. He doesn't do sterile, streamlined, or the kind of wardrobe that feels curated within an inch of its life.

His latest collection, GROW UP, is an unravelling; clothes in flux, silhouettes half formed, hems frayed, seams sticking their tongues out at the expectation of a clean finish. It looks like he started making something, got distracted, and left it up to the wearer to finish the thought.

But that's the point.

Cuming's work sits somewhere between the recklessness of youth and the self assurance of a designer who doesn't need to prove himself. It's messy, unfinished, strangely tender; with clothes that feel like they've been lived in, loved in, abandoned, and found again.

This season, raw indigo denim is ripped at the knee and left to unravel, knitwear is graphic and oversized, and jacquard prints feel as though they were lifted from your grandmother's best sofa.

Instinctive, yet nothing about it is accidental.

For all the talk of anti perfectionism in fashion, Cuming is one of the few who actually commits. The industry cycles through aesthetics like trends; 'undone' is having a moment, but more often than not, it's contrived. Cuming's clothes don't just suggest mess, they embrace it: GROW UP rejects polish in favour of movement, ease, and the refusal to let clothes dictate how they should be worn.

It's also a rejection of fashion's ongoing obsession with controlled luxury; and while trend forecasters cite Mocha Mousse as the colour of 2025 and brands line up to deliver their version of the season's prescribed minimalism, Cuming does what he always does: whatever he wants.

The collection leans into saturated brights, unexpected clashes, and textures that tease to be touched. It's a reminder that fashion doesn't have to be clinical to be sophisticated; and that the best clothes (the ones you actually reach for) are that feel right when you throw them on without thinking.

His ongoing collaboration with Adam Signature continues, refining his past styles with new colourways. These aren't the kind of shoes that disappear into an outfit; and just like the clothes, they're full of personality, challenging the idea that 'wearable' has to mean 'neutral.'

Cuming has always designed for the person who just gets it and with GROW UP, he defies the idea that fashion has to be perfect to be meaningful.

And in that, it feels more relevant than ever.

Brand @edward.cuming Lookbook Photography @jules.jpg Detail Photography @xtinastolhe Styling @patriciavillirillo @futurerep Art Direction @ottiliethompson Casting @monika_domarke Make-Up @miky.valles Hair @ceciliehildebrandthair Models @lb.maylis@kinoko_fb Production @adrianasuarezproducer Photography Assistants @stevpane_@edstuart.edstuart Shoes in collaboration with @adam_signature Stockings supplied by @swedishstockings