Adam Frost Spring Summer 2024 Collection. London, 18 September 2023
Finding fabulous light through life's darkest challenges, 5ELEVEN Magazine caught up with designer Adam Frost during London Fashion Week straight after launching his latest collection at Kachette.
Words by Leigh Maynard.
September, a vibrant and eclectic crowd gathered under a dark arched tunnel with exposed Victorian-era brickwork once home to the original nineteenth-century Shoreditch Railway Station ticket hall. The venue may have been dimly lit, but guests were luminous in their various fashion week fits, their sartorial sensibilities demonstrated through a mix of fabrics and silhouettes, from zebra print, PVC, platforms to peplums and more classic shapes. This show could not have been a better representation of London's varied and inclusive community, editors waiting with bated breath, stylists dressed to impress, and drag queens in vertiginous heels.
The occasion Adam Frost's highly anticipated spring summer 24 collection debut. A model in thigh-high platforms stomped down the railway-arch-runway to a thumping base beat, holding the banner 'Art is in Abundance. ' This season's theme is a comment on undervalued, underfunded creatives, making positives from negatives, empowering themselves to create despite financial constraints. There may not be money, but ideas and art are abundant and can be galvanizing. Frost elaborated: " I thought I didn't have much money, but you get invited to these events looking fabulous with a tenner in your bag." It's an aesthetic Frost has previously described as working-class couture. "Yes, I like to call it that. I like the idea of mixing where I come from and all these things, but I know I often say about the working class thing, but all my friends are very varied." Many were willing collaborators, either modelling for the show or lending their artistic disciplines to build on the designer's collection.
"I collaborated with my friend, an amazing lesbian artist, Olivia Strange. We did a hand sculpture dress." The dress Frost describes features sculptural hands resting across the torso of a pink PVC dress. Other notable designs included an oversized PVC trench and chequered pink suit covered by the designer's hand-printed illustrations. Hair by Nick Irwin and the Schwarzkopf professional team was as lofty as the heels in beehives and mohawks, and Pablo Rodriguez's makeup complimented the designer's colour palette and illustrations. The collection wasn't just for those who want to wear their sartorial hearts on their most gregarious sleeves. There are many adaptable pieces for everyday wear, including Frost's screen-printed T-shirts. "I now have the T-shirts and polo shirts, and many of them are going into store next month in Kings Cross, and I will do a little soft launch for that as well."
While the collection and fabrics may have denoted a lighter, fun and fabulous design code, there is a more profound message in Frost's work. He derives every garment through a long process of multi-disciplinary creativity, explaining, "Every single concept and every show that I do starts with a word. For instance, this show is 'Art is Abundance', then I write a song, and from the song, it goes into poetry, paintings, embroidery and through that, it goes into the clothes and from the clothes, it goes into production." This process is cathartic as Frost reaches designs through his darkest challenges, finding comfort through creativity and exploring deep themes surrounding his issues with mental health.
Taking inspiration from such personal experiences and emotions, 5Eleven asked Frost if he felt there was enough support for creatives, particularly for their mental health. "No, I don't think there is, and I want to start a collective called something like 'Frost Collective', and it's for artists' funding because if you don't have funding, it affects your mental health. As for support as a designer, no, it's hard. I have had to work hard; I am very working class, and now people are catching on with my work, hahaha! If you are underprivileged like me, if you work hard, it doesn't matter if you are talented and don't have the funds. It's about meeting the right people. You still need the stylist, the producer, and the PR. You need all the elements for it to work."
As for Frost's collection soundtrack, that is imminently for release and will be in conjunction with a mini-tour. "That will be on Spotify, but I need to produce it properly and put little teasers out! I do have enough for an ep." That is just one of many projects this multi-talented creative has lined up. "I really would love to work with Schwarzkopf again. For the following collection, I have this concept that I want to grow old with you. It's intense but light. I can't explain it, but I already have this vision of a new collection in my head for AW24, but in between, I will work on music and teach, basically!" There's no doubt Adam Frost is busy, capturing our imaginations and a shining and most fabulous example of how hard work and self-belief pay off, no matter where you hail.
