From Office To Runway: Martine Rose’s Surprise Show
In a subversive move that has become routine for the designer, Martine Rose held her surprise off-calendar SS26 show in St. Marylebone Jobcentre, an abandoned office building in London. Half runway, half market, the designer introduced a duality to the show space that both highlighted her own collection as well as the work of other London artists, both within and outside of the luxury space, paying homage to the creative community of her hometown [and expanding upon an immersive world of the collection’s inspirations.]
Before making their way to the second floor, guests at the show first stepped into a makeshift market, where 22 vendors, including designers, photographers, artists, booksellers, and record labels, had set up with their wares. The chosen vendors enhanced Rose’s show themes of vintage erotica (inspired by mass-market romantic fiction publisher Mills & Boon), with many pieces featuring sex and fetish content. Of note were Smut Press, an Irish publishing collective, selling affordable photography books, Ladycotton, whose t-shirts featured queer, sex-positive slogans, and Crap, a zine founded by Anthony Campbell that focuses on the fetishization of garments. Rose also gave a platform to up-and-coming designer Jawara Alleyne, who sold pieces from his experimental Untitled collection.
In characteristic fashion, Martine Rose transformed the runway into a living, breathing portrait of her London. Local heroes were given just as much a place in the landscape as industry professionals, acknowledging her role beyond that of a designer, as a curator of culture and community.
