If LCM attendees were feeling flat by the last day of shows, then Christopher Shannon certainly helped perk us up. His collection took us raving around late nineties Manchester and Liverpool at clubs like Cream, Garlands and Paradise - places where the clothes were loud and unorthodox and the thrills came cheap. He'd ordered his collection like a trip - the high built throughout, kicking off with a gentle buzz as the first looks appeared, building as knits and shirting arrived covered in swirling patterns, mimicking the graphics on home-made retro club flyers, then exploding into a heady, acidic climax as the closing four models came out in head-to-toe neon PVC and rubber.
London has a rich history of high fashion born from club culture, but Shannon had kept things feeling modern by exploring the anti-fashion aspect of the super club scene - as he tellingly, and nostalgically, put it, this was about 'pre-high street club clothing'. He wasn't interested in the no-trainers-nice-shirt vibe of today's club scene - this wasn't about making his boys look trendy or stylish, but rather creating clothes as a vehicle for fun and enjoyment. It's telling that he'd been looking at photographer Gavin Watson's Skins, which contains portraits of revellers in action. Those images of them smoking, swearing and drinking are a strong contrast from the kind of polished, photoshopped fashion imagery we see every day. Shannon's easy shapes were built for dancing and mischief-making, while that glitter hair and those eye-popping patterns nodded to the magical, accepting vibe of the rave scene, where anything goes and it doesn't matter who you're wearing but how much fun you are having.
