Why place a pocket on the back of an overcoat, positioned halfway up the wearer’s spine where he’ll never be able to reach it? Or apply a snarl-up of overlapping pockets on an oddly integrated tabard on the front of it? Why would you wear a boxy biker long enough to fall only to the sternum? Or a cropped ribbed-knit sweater whose sleeves end six inches south of the coat cuffs above? There seemed no pragmatic or functional argument for any of these conceits pitched by Agi Mdumulla and Sam Cotton today.
And yet, having just flicked through the label’s booklet-cum-invitation, which contained a selection of menswear-themed brainteasers, it seemed right to let the eye linger, to enjoy the workout this collection presented to the preconception-burdened observer. Eventually, an answer to all of paragraph one’s questions: Agi & Sam’s incongruities demand that any beholder look twice.
Less stop-and-gawp pieces included a fine fly-front boiler suit and some peppy top-to-toe micro checks. This show contained the designers’ debut womenswear looks, too, which shared the roomy silhouette and rearranged hemline hierarchy of the men’s. There were also some striking wraparound wearable backpacks—which looked like quite a palaver to get on and off—for both genders: Fun to watch, if not to wear.
