Claire Barrow blurs art and fashion in new series

“The collection is kind of a reaction to Instagram, that we’re getting references pushed down our throats all the time. I wanted to question – is there anything new? Can new subculture or fashion or art even exist anymore?” These were some of the thoughts going through the mind of Claire Barrow as she was designing her AW16 collection, debuted at her show at London Fashion Week two weeks ago. In the wake of the show, the Dazed 100 designer has unveiled her AW16 lookbook shot by Alice Neale with styling and art direction from Dazed’s own Emma Wyman and Jamie Andrew Reid, and off-kilter make-up by Daniel Sallstrom.

Staged at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Retro-Spective show comprised a fake exhibition with models posing, like living statues, on plinths complete with gallery-style plaques describing their clothing. The text from these plaques – such as “A/W 16 THE RETROSPECTIVE LOOK 1 Bully and Pat” – is included in the lookbook (see below), along with photographs of the models dressed in her designs. As well as this series, the designer released three films (which were screened at the show) in conjunction with the collection. Barrow has blurred the line between fashion and art since her brand’s inception – this season, she all but erased it.

See the full lookbook in the gallery above and vote for Claire Barrow in the Dazed 100 here