It’s no secret that Samuel Ross is connected to and understands where the sidewalk meets the runway. Like his mentor/contemporary Virgil Abloh, Ross uses his work to examine streetwear and how it fits into the modern high-fashion scene; what’s unique for Ross (when compared to his contemporaries) is how he unpacks ‘factory floor workwear’ and the rhythm of life on British council estates within his collections. Streetwear influences are present, but not in the same way that another (American) designer might approach it. If anything, it’s this new perspective that’s helped Ross earn accolades while competing for the LVMH Prize this year. Streetwear touches notwithstanding, there’s always been an avant-garde edge to A-Cold-Wall (something that’s starting to emerge in London’s menswear scene thanks to designers like Craig Green or J.W. Anderson). For his Spring/Summer 2019 collection, it seems like Ross was taking a page out of Green’s book, offering up a show that was equal parts men’s week runway and performance art installation.

Let’s get the performance bit out of the way first: certain looks (namely 8, 16 and 24) were accompanied by architectural frames, lifted and supported by grayed-out ‘zombies’ (for lack of a better term) shrouded by detachable hoods. While one could mistake the supporting cast for grim working-class folk covered in clay and soot, it’s likely the meaning was much grander. The concept reached its apex when the grayed-out ensemble wheeled out a giant cube, broke it open and revealed a naked man covered in red liquid (not blood, but a “primary red liquid used to represent rebirth,” as Ross explained in his show notes). While the performance is an attempt to show that Ross is ready and able to break free from the largely dismissive ‘streetwear-adjacent brand’ conversation to step into a high fashion pantheon, it’s also fitting that the grand finale of the performance (and all the debris that resulted from it) landed squarely in front of Ross’ former boss—Virgil Abloh. Clearly Ross’ introduction into the LVMH Prize conversation has left him more confident in his work and his message; like the man emerging from that monolithic cube, he’s ready to break free from all that’s held him back.

But what of the clothes? Like the performance, most were largely conceptual—mesh tops and shirts made of clear PVC plastic are clearly more about recontextualizing production materials into something unconventional. These pieces hit at A-Cold-Wall’s ever-present workwear roots. Sometimes this really works, but here it drew questions around whether Ross simply foraged for new fabric in and around the studio floor. Pieces like these are admirable, but certainly not wearable.

Perhaps a more successful side of those working-class inspirations were in the cargos, harnesses and zipped-off tearaway pants. The effect was purely functional; if one is going to work on the bus or the train, you need to have space for all your daily belongings and necessary items. It was exaggerated, to be sure, but at time when ‘clout packs’ and body bags are part of the fashion conversation (if not with Supreme, then certainly with Alyx and Prada Sport), it was a bold, contemporary touch that added to the collection without being distracting. Beyond the cargo pants, for what appears to be Ross’ takes on techwear, Looks 18 (the outerwear) and 19 (the shirting) deliver street-ready garments in a concept-heavy collection that would be hard for most to pull off at work—whether that’s in a factory or an office.

But it wasn’t just blue collar workwear being dissected either—Looks 3, 27 and 29 felt distinctly ‘white collar,’ but without a tongue-in-cheek riff more commonly associated with the work of Demna Gvasalia.

Look 29 in particular also spotlights one of the shining aspects of this collection, the bags. Clearly a rework of the humble briefcase, the accessories were a place where Ross’ signature loves of architecture and the culture surrounding city-living were able to connect and deliver in concert. It’s interesting that—for a collection that’s clearly about shedding the weight of the past—Ross’ collection featured plenty of details that emphasized bringing the things you need along with you.

According to Vogue’s Nick Remsen, Kiko Kostadinov took inspiration from Martin Kippenberger’s The Happy End of Franz Kafka’s Amerika, riffing on the installation’s premise of a large, absurdist, communial job interview. Transplanting the original idea from early 20th century America to a fictional town along the Ganges River in India, the collection was largely a combination of white collar interview-wear, Indian motifs and true sportswear.

The Indian and Middle Eastern aesthetics came either by way of high-concept styling (see: hair, make-up and accessories) or in the stacking of prints and patterns (like in Looks 12, 20 and 23). While certain items did feel a little white collar (Looks 25 and 26), their tailoring details were still carrying on the broader, blended theme with bright plaids and deep textured blues.

Kostadinov’s partnership with Asics also made its return, notably in peachy anoraks and safety orange tracksuits. According to 10, the designer’s footwear was equally cobranded; Kostadinov reworked Asics’ Tug of War sneaker as well as Camper’s TEIX hiking boot. It has never been a better time to be looking for unconventional—but compelling—footwear. Here, as in the past, Kostadinov delivers.

Kostadinov’s ability to finesse the mish-mash of ideas is what Kippenberger’s installation represents in the first place—something truly utopian. While the many different forms of dress on display could be easily slotted into something segmented by culture and nationality, Kostadinov’s collection is, perhaps, better described as a fusion of different fashion tribes into something post-future. In this way, Kostadinov manages to mirror Kippenberger’s work—one where disparate-yet-interconnected join together for a common vision (be that a fictional job interview, or a runway collection).

Cottweiler’s connection to athleisure has been apart of the brand from the very beginning. The same could be said for its moody takes on tracksuits and trainers, with the Cottweiler man injecting emotion into something more concerned with sporty function than aesthetic form. It seems that the label’s success comes from its ability to take its defined ‘man’ and outfit him for whatever activity is taking center stage for that season. While last season saw the Cottweiler man descend into a cavernous darkness, for Spring/Summer 2019, the Cottweiler man is ascending into new age enlightenment.

While the first few looks (many riffs on black leather tracksuits) are more reminiscent of what the label did last season, the offering lightened up before long. Starting with pastel color accents (Look 6) and opening up to purples and pinks (Look 8). By the time the collection made it to the one-third mark (a leather track jacket over a cream-white tracksuit, shorts included) the offering had clearly arrived at the Californian Yoga retreat. Speaking of Yoga, one model (Look 12) emerged in an blue-green set, with his aqua sock-sandals, surfshirt and emergency blanket-meets-yoga mat practically begging for a seaside session as soon as possible. Like much of what Cottweiler does, it’s all familiar, but feels futuristic.

The collection, like a day at one of these high-concept wellness centers, retreated like a sunset into faded yellows—peaking out by the collection’s close with shimmering golds. While heavily stylized, these looks seemed primed for a day-long hike, with looks riffing on details from bottles (Look 23) to bags (Looks 16 and 19).

Even if your idea of recharging is less about activities and more about doing… well, nothing at all, Cottweiler thought of that too. Sure, one look featured a model showing the signs of cupping treatment, but his look (as well as a few others) indicated that some of Cottweiler’s charges are sorting themselves out in a lounge chair more than on a yoga mat or mountain hike.

If Cottweiler’s retreat was real, we imagine that a day or two removed from society in its care would have us feeling equally recharged and radiant—not unlike the collection’s final look.

Perhaps the most compelling location for this season's London menswear shows, Martine Rose shut down a whole street in Camden to show her Spring/Summer 2019 collection. Don’t get the wrong idea though: hardly an ostentatious, Lagerfeldian move, Rose used the location to invite the neighborhood into the proceedings (literally), using the area’s history of music, fashion and cultural fusion to both inform and stage her collection.

Local children and anonymous adults of the Kentish Town cul-de-sac mingled in the same spaces as the likes of Virgil Abloh, Luka Sabbat and other VIPs. If anything, that alone was an metaphor for Rose’s offering, which mashed up everything from PVC (Look 13) and denim (Look 18) to leather (Look 25) and leopard print (Look 2). It was a selection that felt like Rose excavated a Frankenstein’s monster (in a good way) of long-loved garments.

Each look was a combination of reggae and punk or rave and rock (to name a few), with each amalgamation hardly one thing more than any other. “For me music and clothes have always had a way of unifying people,” Rose explained to WWD. This, of course, also applies to the cross-pollination of clothing between musical tribes. Admittedly, the effect ranged from intriguing, to downright garish.

That said, it would be all-too-easy to decry Rose’s outfits as high-fashion thrift at equally high-intensity, but that completely misses the emotion behind the clothes. It’s this joy of a life lived—seen physically in the neighborhood setting, dissected in Rose’s post-show remarks or implied in the ‘secondhand shop’ nature of the garments. Each garment has enjoyed its own lifecycle during its musical and cultural heyday, Rose has simply collected the lovably weird pieces, cut them up, and reassembled them for a new era of wear in this equally chopped up chapter in our society.

Key pieces are the O-ring jeans (Looks 20 and 14) paired with chunky knits, the trackpants fused with denim fronts (Looks 18 and 23) and the myriad T-shirts (Look 26 and printed Hawaiian-style button ups. As wild as some of the outfits were, as Tim Blanks noted for Business of Fashion, the items “could almost have been plucked straight from the closet of kids back then.”

Rose’s work often manages to pluck out the bits of subculture and recast or reintroduce them to a world that’s largely changed since the OGs hit the streets. With her work with Demna Gvasalia or under her own line, her secret lies in taking things lost to the passing of time (and certainly the changing of tastes) and reminding us why we dressed like that in the first place. For Spring/Summer 2019, it was this segmented soul—split between London’s various styles, scenes and musical pursuits—that felt strangely unified as each segment returned home and was celebrated in turn on this de facto family reunion. From the setting to the collection, it’s a reminder that for a city with a cultural history like London (including Rose’s experiences within it), the best things are often the direct sum of its parts.