Photography Alexandra Gordienko, fashion Tamara RothsteinFashion / FeatureExclusive: Martine Rose unveils SS17 collectionYour first look at the London designer’s new line, which is inspired by the idea of ‘previous owners’ShareLink copied ✔️June 21, 2016FashionFeatureTextTed StansfieldMartine Rose SS17 Martine Rose has never been about the pomp or ceremony of runway shows, and this season is no exception. As with AW16, she’s presenting her new line via a lookbook photographed by Alexandra Gordienko, which is unveiled exclusively here. While she forgoes the hype and ‘social media moments’ a show provides, her collections don’t need hype – they command attention, regardless. One of London’s preeminent menswear designers, Rose’s work draws on subcultural movements and their proponents, blurring different types of masculinity. Her ‘man’ – the fictitious character existing in the mind of the designer who embodies the season’s concept – always seems to evade categorisation. He’s been a queer skinhead, a crusty raver and someone who combines elements of transgressive photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and post-punk rocker Mark E. Smith. This time around, she simply describes him as “carefree”. “This season, we were working with the idea of ‘previous owners,’” she explains. “Finding clothes, reworking them, mashing styles, fabrics and colours together has a very punk DIY feeling – it’s not about anyone specifically, but about everyone at the same time.” Essentially, she cut these clothes to look like they’ve been owned before – blowing up their proportions, shrinking them down and altering them, exaggerating shapes and silhouettes, and creating “odd combinations” of fabric and textures. “(The collection is) the wardrobe of everyone in a way: boys, girls, teenagers, old men” – Martine Rose Cotton t-shirts meet crocodile skin jackets, football shirts meet knitwear, and sports socks meet heeled leather loafers. Rose’s signature oversized denim jeans (that are so reminiscent of Nigel Shafran’s “Teenage precinct shoppers”) also feature, worn with a retro-style jumper – tucked in. Every piece has a badge bearing the name ‘Susie’ sewn onto its inside, again reinforcing this idea of a previous owner. The collection bears testament to Rose’s profound ability to take something traditional, subvert it and, in doing so, create something that looks completely new. “I was looking also at how clothes change context and meaning with different owners,” the designer explains. “How something like a specific football kit here means one thing in one place – in terms of team colours and clearly identifiable as a football kit – but taken out of context, means nothing and the garment is something completely different.” As for the lookbook (which stars models Olympia Scarry, Taro Smith, James Wreford), Rose was inspired by Cindy Sherman’s Bus Rider series – a sequence of 15 black and white photographs based on people she had observed on the bus, which she created shortly after graduating from art college in the 70s. “I found (this series) during my research it really resonated with me. It communicated something that I was saying about the collection. The collection reflects the diversity of people on a bus. The wardrobe of everyone in a way: boys, girls, teenagers, old men – I love that the pictures almost make no sense in isolation but together create a really strong clear narrative.” Martine Rose SS17Photography Alexandra Gordienko, fashion Tamara RothsteinEscape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy Expand your creative community and connect with 15,000 creatives from around the world.READ MORECopenhagen Fashion Week AW26: Everything you missed from the Danish capitalSub-zero street style at Berlin Fashion Week AW26Roger VivierWhat went down at an intimate Roger Vivier book launch in ParisIn pictures: GmbH return to the club for AW26Versace just released Dario Vitale’s first (and last) collection campaignLuca Magliano’s AW26 inspirations: ‘Who doesn’t love gay porn?’Grammy’s 2026 best looks: Schiaparelli is the big winnerStreet style AW26: The loudest looks from Paris Fashion Week men’sThis New York designer knows that right now, survival is rebellionAdanolaWhat went down at Lila Moss’ intimate Adanola dinner in London The Moment premiere: Charli xcx officially canonises the Brat eraMargot Robbie is living for the drama on the Wuthering Heights press tourEscape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy