Matty Bovan A/W 2019 - From The Streets magazine

A little clubkid in 1612.

The title of Matty Bovan’s Autumn/Winter 2019 collection is “In Uncertain Times. This Is A Sure Thing!”. Inspired by an advertisement meant for his deceased grandmother, Matty used the calling of the past to create a collection with, perhaps not a new, but a strange perspective.

            Using a range of materials in innovative ways, Bovan made use of his access to Liberty’s printed fabrics and paired them with woven garments, tulle, brown nets and terrycloth that looked straight of the colonial times. In his statement, he mentions being inspired by the Pendle Witch Trials of 1612, the traditions that can be found in rituals and how he became consumed by mysticism, folklore and myth. Through the collection we can see that he himself understands that this isn’t an homage to the past and it was never intended to be. Woven frills, backwards jackets and a darker colour palette, this was a far cry from the pastel wonderland he presented last season, but in no way any less. However, whilet the darker brown hues were definitely standouts, Matty’s love for the pastel and colourful definitely shone through with a range of blues, greens and pinks placed throughout the collection; a personal favourite being the blue, white and black woven dress.

            Plenty have mentioned Helena Bonham Carter as possibly one of the only reasons you will ever see this on a red carpet and while I agree, I also doubt Matty created this with the red carpet in mind. Unless said carpet is placed dutifully in the centre of a dystopian alternate universe. Standing out were the sequins, the corsets, the COACH x Matty Bovan shoes and the frills attached to the floral printed Liberty fabrics he used to create Edwardian necklines, which is why HBC would definitely be the first to come to any mind. Stephen Jones’ artistry also made an appearance with headpieces from the same COACH collaboration, hiding a lot of the known faces walking down the runway. Bold and pointed shoulders that seem almost impossible to construct with woven fabric put Matty’s talent and dedication to his craft up on a pedestal that he definitely deserves, while his styling does not seem to disappoint in over the top accessories and subtle details that elevate each look.

           

            Matty’s ability to accentuate a figure using what can only be described as rag tag fabrics is truly the most magical aspect of this collection. He can create bold hips with boning while also allowing fabric to gather and create the illusion of hips in the same garment, leaving it to seem natural instead of constructed. A look to be remembered was the finale dress; Black with boning up top resembling something out of the late 1700s, juxtaposed with deconstructed (or unfinished) colourful crochet skirt it truly presented the history of design in one garment; Past, Present and Future. With only a handful of collections under his belt, Matty Bovan continues to prove critics and his hype right, he shows raw talent in design and presentation each time while also being innovative and showing true understanding of design and form in ways some of his contemporaries fail to do so.