PHOTOGRAPHY Leah Davies
On Saturday evening, London Fashion Week attendees flocked to 180 Studios to catch a first glimpse of HARRI’s SS25 collection, Chapter Five. The collection explores the way in which characters would dress in the world of Von Wolfe – an artist best known for his thoughtful distortion of historic art and visual culture. Wolfe’s work honours the cultural value of attested art, but still pays homage to the immediate beauty of modern aesthetics.
In line with Von Wolfe, Chapter Five presents exceptionally present pieces that also manage to maintain classic elements through the combination of their monochromatic palette, dramatic silhouettes – and most notably – the craftsmanship demonstrated to create such a stand-alone collection. Each latex piece is hand-fashioned by the designer and his team of craftspeople, dispelling the necessity of machinery, and adding a cultivated component to the entirety of the collection.
HARRI’s distinct tendency to manipulate latex to evoke different feelings is evident throughout the collection. The contrast between its more dramatic pieces – such as its black corset dress featuring an inflated overhead arch, as seen on Bimini Bon Boulash – and its light, ethereal pieces, including a range of delicately gauzy dresses, make for a collection that succeeds in remaining visually interesting despite working primarily with one material. The notable juxtaposition between the collection’s pieces builds on the idea of an extensive Wolfe-esque world, featuring multifaceted characters and feelings, an imaginary realm that knows no bounds; an atmosphere that the runway show truly harnessed.
For its debut womenswear collection, HARRI also presents a number of black mini dresses, that maintain the label’s classic inflated elements, modelled by a trio of gorgeously unnerving models who walked in perfect unison – perhaps reminiscent of Wolfe’s painting Shooting Stars – which was created for Chanel’s SS23 Haute Couture collection.
After establishing HARRI just four years ago, Harikrishnan Keezhathil Surendran Pillai’s SS25 collection further solidifies him as one of London’s most unique visionaries. From dressing Sam Smith at the BRIT Awards to hosting a musical fashion performance with non-binary icon Nemo, the designer is fast becoming one of the British Fashion Council’s most prolific NEWGEN designers, with the ability to present a collection that is so vast yet so cohesive, pays poignant notice to iconic art, and allows his audience to immerse themselves into the unexplored.
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