Luke Azzopardi’s London Fashion Week debut was this weekend and we’re still shook!
In recent years, Luke Azzopardi’s name has become synonymous with ethereal wedding dresses, fascinating evening wear and bespoke couture creations. It was only a matter of time until the Premio Cultura e Moda 2016 winner made the big leap unto the international fashion scene – and boy did he leave an imprint!
Nocturnal Artefacts, Luke’s ninth collection, he says, was inspired by his accidentally breaking his arm. Long weeks spent in a cast spurred his visual research into body castings and, fast forward to the present, they are now a prominent element of his latest creations.
Luke’s designs featured further explorations of his signature style, but with the addition of an alluring comment on gender conformity. Men in dresses are an emerging underground concept, perhaps more commonly associated with drag, but Luke’s stunning reworking of it begs for more attention and a quick incorporation into more mainstream male outerwear.
Luke Azzopardi
The show also made way for women in suits – a staple of Azzopardi’s artistic vision in using fashion to enhance the subtle beauty and accentuate the power of women.
Tamara Webb
What Tamara had to say
Local influencer Tamara Webb was the latest addition to Azzopardi’s ever-expanding team of creatives, and the star absolutely dazzled as she took over the brand’s social media account over the weekend. “It was my first time at London Fashion Week and it’s definitely going down in the books!” Tamara gushes. “It was a dream of mine to work alongside Luke and I’m so honoured to have been invited to join the brand on this trailblazing journey.” Tamara admits that the experience wasn't without its share of difficulties, but every member of the team pulled through, a fact facilitated by the tight-knit and fun-loving atmosphere behind Luke's productions.
The team
Along with Luke, an entourage of local professionals collaborated on the project with Andrew Borg Wirth on set design, Becky Micallef on studio management, Gabrielle Zammit Grungov & Roberta Sultana on make-up, Matthew Attard Attard Navarro on creative consultancy, Lara Theuma & Manuela Bugeja on hair and the queen herself – no, not Lizzie, Tamara - as brand ambassador. Bloc Collective, Kane Cali and Philip Sultana also worked closely with the brand to fulfil its vision. Maltese models Gabriella Mifsud and Amy Zahra also travelled with the team, each walking down the catwalk donning one of Luke’s surreal creations. When contacted, the team admitted to a degree of post-show exhaustion but were already busy at work on their next task - documenting the dresses in a lookbook!
The project was supported by The Cultural Export Fund, Presentation and Touring Grant of the Arts Council Malta, Camilleriparismode and Malta Airport Foundation.
What are your thoughts on Luke's latest collection? Are you gagging? We're gagging.