For FW16 Bobby Abley takes us away from the cold and rain to the sunny and vibrant Rio Carnival. Inspired by the summer he spent in Brazil last year, Abley has pulled out all of the stops to fuse his signature streetwear style with carnival culture and translate it all into a largely wearable collection worn by a casting of bronzed and buff models.
Abley’s preferred collaboration, Disney, returns this season featuring characters from the lesser-known ‘Saludos Amigos’ feature film. Model Matty Carrington from Select is styled as a contemporary streetwear Mickey Mouse in some voluminous red shorts, a black torso-less hoodie and some yellow Nike trainers, while Ashton Gohil of Elite Models is styled in a more current version of a carnival reveller in printed sportswear, some tasseled socks and a cap, and accessorized with a whistle around his neck.
Backpacks adorned with metre-long brightly dyed peacock and striped pheasant feathers in green, yellow, red and blue mimic the plumed carnival costumes of Rio, while still maintaining Abley’s streetwear aesthetic by having them grounded firmly in conventional territory with hoodies and tracksuit bottoms.Bo
