The Corporate Espionage collection was really meant as an introduction to Stadion, a first strand in what will become the DNA of the brand going forward. Regardless, I couldn't help letting it become niche in its inspiration. Through readings on algorithms, AI and Roland Barthes (an art student classic), I felt a need to look at the layers of social media. The idea that we have become both the observer and the observed. That's where the espionage comes in. I imagined a spy being spied on; neither is separate, both subject and witness are the same individual. Which then raised the question: who is the spying being done for? Who has asked us to become documentarians of our own lives?
As we fall deeper into our conditioning, screens invading our most intimate moments, this idea that everything must be documented doesn't feel absurd anymore. Of course, since cameras have been around, the concept of memories given permanence is a net positive, but things have taken a step into the extreme. We document everything now; we even create “events” not to experience them but for the sake of documentation itself. There are courses and Instagram accounts teaching us the best ways to present these invented “moments”, adding a further layer to the absurdity. Pictures of people walking, sitting on steps, reading books and standing in front of mirrors. These aren’t memories that anyone will cherish, neither the subject of the picture nor the people seeing it online, which begs the question of why capture it at all. Which then brings us to the Corporate element of this collection.
Corporate Interest and the Attention Economy
Like the overly referenced Pavlov's dogs, we have been trained to create a play-by-play of every waking moment. Companies want to know where we are at all times, where we are most likely to shop, what we would buy, and by creating an ecosystem around influencers or celebrities, they then know what the followers are most likely to consume. There is an economy around attention; it is in every company's interest to fight for the real estate of our vision. A commodity measured in seconds instead of physical space.
James Bond, Star Wars and the References Behind the Collection
This felt like the right topic to centre around a fashion collection that was intended to be basic. A wardrobe for every day. There are easily made links to established British folklore such as the James Bond franchise. The Sylvia Trench Dress is, of course, named after one of the most famous Bond girls. We also brought in references to Star Wars and the robes the Jedi knights wear throughout the prequels. A bit more kitsch, but it brought a sense of futurism. There is also the thematic exploration of an older institution being undone by the interests of global monopolisation (universalisation?), similar to how our nostalgia for photo albums has been corrupted for the sake of algorithms.
A Wardrobe for the Observer and the Observed
The wardrobe we were creating reflects the lives that we now live. Interests have become so varied, in part because there has never been such a wealth of opportunity, but also because we want to have varied lives because it makes us seem more interesting online. Then having the spy vs the establishment makes it a bit more fun for the imagination. A trench for the rainier days in London, with a big collar to hide ourselves in. The three-piece suit is a staple of Bond movies, a tailored woman's wool coat detailed by removable layers for a quick change of appearance. Then there's the tracksuit, an item to blend and relax in, with the irony of it being a bright blue colour, glowing like our screens as we doom scroll in bed. A dark black hoodie, silhouetted by its huge cowl, providing both anonymity and protection from the elements. All of these garments sit in this irony of anonymity vs individuality, the observer and the observed, corporate vs human, the doer and the homebody.