Manipulating for Menswear: Shaun Samson

Shaun Samson, Central Saint Martins MA, AW10.

While the realm of menswear can often appear more limiting than womenswear, there are still so many experiments to be had by manipulating the fabrics and materials to create new textures.

Shaun Samson is one menswear designer who is building his collections on techniques such as smocking, used to draw sections of the fabric together, and felting, used to blend together different fibres into one continuous piece.

The images above and below show the work that Samson has created in the past for his Central Saint Martins BA and MA collections utilising these techniques and he is also expected to show on schedule at London Fashion Week in September. While many student designers use fabric manipulations in their work it is not always done with quite the finesse required to keep the collection looking resolved. But in the MA images in particular the felting and oversized silhouettes have been drawn together with effective use of colour and pattern to make the garments feel very contemporary. The added dynamics of the traditional knitwear and the checks help to fuel the interest created along the blend lines of the fabrics.