Have We Emerged Yet? Edward Cuming’s Soft-Rebellious Collection

“Have we emerged yet?”, a question that seems to be consistent for young designers, as well as talents in all the creative industries. A question that also Edward Cuming is posing himself and that has become the title of his first complete Autumn/Winter collection. Cuming, an MA graduate from the prestigious Central Saint Martins and currently Madrid-based, is not afraid to go against the constructs traditionally built upon fashion designers.

A sense of “soft, sensual rebellion” dominates the whole collection as the designer abandons conventional techniques. Cuming here creates shapes that enhance imperfections, hyperbolic proportions and fluid silhouettes that combat the stereotypical notions of masculinity. These elements blend to create an extraordinary range that includes pieces such as cut-away duffle and oversized trench coats, subverted tailoring, recontextualised sweats, inverted jerseys, exaggerated knitwear, silky shirts and sturdy denim.

The glorification of imperfections permeates the collection. Visible natural fraying and seams on jerseys, or more deep blue accents embellishing a shirt whose lining had been tinted blue during a washing accident – all these elements aren’t hidden, in fact, make the pieces unique.

Experimenting with materials and playing with the concept of inversion, an iridescent coat is created by double-layering lining fabrics, and trousers have cuts that show the soft lining. Previously seen in Cuming’s SS22 collection, circular design features make a reappearance here in garments such as the mohair sweater, or in the form of cut-outs, revealing underlying colours.

View more photos from the collection below.

Words by Agnese Picchio