{"id":351382,"date":"2024-02-21T14:38:06","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T14:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.co.uk\/?p=351382"},"modified":"2024-02-21T14:59:19","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T14:59:19","slug":"lfw-aw24-kink-office-suits-olly-shinder-sinead-o-dwyer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/fashion\/lfw-aw24-kink-office-suits-olly-shinder-sinead-o-dwyer\/","title":{"rendered":"If the economy is tanking, why *not* dress like a dominatrix for the office?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gen Z killed office casual. Here\u2019s how queer, London designers are reinventing work clothes.<\/span><\/p>\n

WORDS BY JAMIE WINDUST\u00a0<\/strong>
\nPHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF FASHION EAST<\/strong><\/p>\n

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With the economic blues hitting home and our hard-grafted <\/span>Vinted sales<\/span><\/a> no longer safe from the tax man, the euphoria around fashion might feel like it\u2019s on the way out. But even the 2008 financial crash couldn\u2019t stop London Fashion Week and so, this February, LFW reared its subversive, stylish head once more.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And, okay, we were kind of gagged! From Dilara Findikoglu\u2019s ode to the divine feminine to Tolu Coker\u2019s joyful, street hawker-inspired collection, London’s designers lived up to their bold reputation. But one thing we didn’t expect for a fashion city known for its raves and stick-it-to-the-man attitude? Suits…literally everywhere<\/em>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Whether it was Fashion East, JW Anderson, Aaron Esh or Labrum, tailoring took over but, have no fear, the anarchic London spirit still reigned strong. Models stomped down the runway in deconstructed shirts, oversized silhouettes and BDSM-lite briefcases that \u2013 if they could talk \u2013 would undoubtedly say, ‘my favourite workplace romcom is Secretary<\/em>‘.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why, though? Well, there’s no denying that workplace culture is shifting. Gone are the days of your traditional 9-5, but the grind \u2013 no matter what you do \u2013 lives on. If anything, we’re having to work more than ever to get by: wages are stagnating and the cost of rent, food and pretty much everything else is ballooning. And that’s not even mentioning that the retirement age is expected to keep going up and up<\/a>, meaning that most of us will be spending even more<\/em> of our sad little lives clocking in every weekday morning.<\/p>\n

So, why not have a little fun with your office wear? Or, if you’re one of the many folk who don’t work in an office, why not cosplay as a vampy office siren, as the FYP seems to have been encouraging us to do since the beginning of the year? At least that’s what LFW – and in particular, the queer designers on its schedule – seemed to be suggesting.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Olly Shinder (@olly.shinder)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n