TOURNE DE TRANSMISSION AW 16 PRESENTATION

This season is fuelled by the idea of a lone figure who has crossed continents; a searcher, wanderer and a peaceful warrior, picking up clothing from the different cultures – and wearing it all at once.

This ‘searcher’ takes a rejuvenating spiritual stop in Tibet which has inspired the shows set by Art Director Johnny Buttons, who has handmade and painted over 3000 “wind horses” (prayer flags) attached to a 24 metre D-shape, painted mat black bamboo structure, mirroring eastern construction techniques.

“The book ‘Tibetan Style’ by Yann Romain has especially become a bit of a bible to me,” reveals creative director Graeme Gaughan. “Tibet is a place I find hugely inspirational, the clothing habits of its people and the way they put together colour is like nowhere else.”

A long, robe-like silhouette is key to the collection. The feeling is eclectic with more colour – camel, plum, blue jeans – than before. Checks and plaids are overdyed. Vintage military garments are reworked: a Vietnam field shirt, a flight suit chopped in half as trousers. A colourful ikat kimono has extra long sleeves, based on the Tibetan tradition of having one sleeve longer than the other while patchwork repared coats have staggered hems.

The show is a tribute to the legendary Barry Kamen, who passed away last year. Kamen was synonymous with the Buffalo move­ment of the 80’s and styled the debut presentation of Tourne de Transmission, SS16.

“The thing I will miss the most are our long chats,” says Gaughan. “You were never stuck for conversation and his childlike enthu­siasm for everything around him was intoxicating. He was a child of mixed heritage and we really bonded over our appreciation of cross-cultural clothing traditions and fashion.

Jewellery in the show is provided by another London great, Judy Blame, who also rose from the Buffalo movement and was a friend and contemporary of Kamen’s.

Hats this season are by South African milliner Simon and Mary, based around native design and tribes of the continent. The Amsterdam brand Ace & Tate contributes clip-on sun lens eyewear with an explorer feel. Watches by Nixon tap into the colours of the collection