Bianca Saunders, recipient of this year's 2024 BFC/GQ Designer Fashion Fund, is proud to invite you to her SS25 collection, "The Hotel'', an exploration of character creation and rediscovery. Crafting archetypes through disruptive tailoring has been a through line in Saunders’ work- take her Pre-Fall 2021 collection where each look was based on a meticulously constructed persona inspired by Hans Eijkelboom’s ‘The Ideal Man’. This season, Saunders was interested in the perspective of the tourist- what they see when they visit a place with fresh eyes and how an idealised scope informs their perception. Acclaimed photojournalist Bradley Smith's photographs of a Jamaican resort in the 1940s and his book 'Escape to the West Indies: A Guidebook to the Islands of the Caribbean' were the evocative inspirations behind the collection. Smith captured the staff's distinct personalities and their sartorial suaveness in a manner that deeply resonated with Saunders. This season, Saunders delves into her devotion to world-building and her practice of expanding the possibilities of menswear. In “The Hotel'', Saunders melds refined opulence with vibrant craftsmanship.
Immersed throughout the collection are homages to Saunders’ heritage. A dazzling sequin fleece tracksuit reminiscent of the luminous Jamaican night sky is Saunders’ take on the underexplored concept of men’s day-to-night dressing. A semi-fitted cropped pleated shirt manipulated to appear tucked in pairs with a mid-length skort with a curved hem. The shorts, which come in both cotton poplin and cupro, are a tender nod to a Jamaican schoolgirl uniform. Vinyl bags with leather straps and oversized jersey Y-neck tanks are respectively emblazoned with kitsch slogans found on travel magnets and proverbs commonplace on prayer scrolls omnipresent in Jamaican households.
Continuing their partnership from last season, Saunders uses responsible fabrics from the LVMH-backed platform Nona Source to create the collection. In the spirit of looking at something with fresh eyes Saunders revamps an overcoat with a concealed hood and storm flaps at the front and back, first shown in AW24 in two versions: a water-repellent nylon and a translucent down-proof fabric. On a pair of Saunders’ staple jeans that appear stretched from the inside, she creates her own pulsating whiskers that shoot up towards the leg. They coordinate with a denim jacket with an extended shawl collar and handkerchief detail at the neck.
In tandem with the release of “The Hotel,” Saunders unveils her first full footwear collection in collaboration with the Portuguese Association of Footwear and Leather Goods and manufactured by
Valuni. The six-style collection, ranging from leather mid-length boots to square-toed knit slip-ons, is an intentional step to further actualise the Bianca Saunders world.
Words by: Trey - @heyheytreytrey
Creative Director & Designer - Bianca Saunders
Stylist/ Casting Director - Gary David Moore
Lead Hair Stylist - Yvonne Saunders,
Lead Hair Stylist Assistant: Asharni Nelson
Sponsored by Adwoa Hair
Make up - Aurore Gibrien c/o Bryant Artists
Make Up Supported by Byredo
Skincare sponsored by The Ordinary
Stylist Assistants - Morena Salas & Lorenzo Di Girolamo
Casting assistants - Zach Turkson & Pili Macridachis
Production - GW+
Dee Patel, Jameliah Adekunle
Sam Gainsbury, Anna Whiting, Antoine Vermot
Ena Quinn, Andrew Bell, Tom Vermot, Florian Rapineau, Lena Mantez
Runway Photographer - Iker Aldama
Music/Sound Design - Benny Mails
Show Scenting by Penhaligons
Show Film Director - Terry Paul
Video Team
Sidi-Ouis Sabri
Christophe Garros
Movement Direction - Saul Nash
Social Media - Tashan Dwyer, Raiessa Linusi
Bianca Saunders Team - Nina Verano, Emily Sanders, Geoffrey Barlow, Esther Oke, Zainab Mansary, Ross Draper, Annabel Campbell, Shikemi Lanihun, Cindy Xu, Ismael Mbaye, Alissa Calderone
PR - Purple PR
Michael Dale, Megumi Keogh, Naomi Ofsuhene
Sales - Sales@biancasaunders.co.uk
Supported by Adwoa, Penhaligons, The Ordinary, Byredo