Designer John Alexander Skelton Calls Upon Dylan Thomas' 'Under Milk Wood' for A/W 20
Supported by The Sarabande Foundation, British menswear designer John Alexander Skelton's shows are usually a fantastic, albeit a little awkward, immersive experience. Skelton's A/W 20 collection was a typically intimate presentation but this time with a poetic twang. Set in the Zabludowicz Collection in Chalk Farm, Skelton's presentation was centred around Welsh poet Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood - Skelton's favourite work of poetic form.
Under Milk Wood is a radio drama by Thomas, posthumously broadcast by the BBC in 1954, a year after Thomas passed. This well-known piece heavily inspired this season's collection; Skelton designed with Thomas' characters and the way they would have dressed in mind, verses of the play were inscribed on garments too and Ryan Skelton, John's brother, performed Thomas' piece as he strolled about the mannequins, each addressed and propped up as if a personalty from Thomas' fictional seaside town of Llareggub.
The fabrications, as ever with Skelton's work, were an innovation, with the majority thick and fibrous in a spectrum of grey. Natural greys, direct from the British wools made in collaboration with knitwear designer Lewis Floyd. Antique linens and antique Welsh quilt patterns kept the collection rooted in history, whilst nods to Llareggub appeared in the form of eel hand-engraved brooches, rope fastened British wool and seersucker corduroy hats by none other than Stephen Jones.
Watch Ryan Skelton's performance and view John's captivating collection with director Rei Nadal's film.