MAINS, the reborn label from Skepta (and his team Mikey Pearce, Johnson Orchid, Ella Dror, Stevo Brown, and Leonard Iheagwam), has just closed the second day of London Fashion Week. Held in one of the City of London’s prestigious heritage banking buildings, MAINS drew everyone from Louis Theroux (who shouted out Culted, by the way), to Mia Khalifa, Little Simz, Stormzy, Clint, Headie One, Maisie Williams, and Naomi Campbell, the latter having starred in MAINS’ inaugural campaign when it first launched a few years back.
So with very little to go off, what did we expect? Not this. Skepta and his team impressed, with a collection and soundtrack as diverse as each other. From Phil Collins to grime music, there was a tune for everyone — and much like the music, the looks encompassed genres and themes far and wide.
The tennis court-inspired set made complete sense once the show commenced, with looks serving Wimbledon winner to off-court training duty. But beyond the track suits were a number of choice outfits that proved Skepta’s ability as a tastemaker and a designer: no easy feat in the dog-eat-dog world of fashion.
Chanel-esque boucle tweed was encrusted with crystals to create an “M” insignia on the chest, and featured more bedazzling throughout the very fibres of the two-piece ensemble. It informed a coat with angel wings on the rear (subsequently closing the show), but before that came a baby blue double-breasted suit, itself a switch up to what came elsewhere in the collection.
The diversity ranged from Moto-informed biker suits in nylon or full leather, emblazoned with MAINS on the front, to heavily-embroidered denim co-ords and a pair of dungarees, one of which was sported by the rapper JME. Hats were informed by berets and Rastafarian influences, Timberland boots were touched by flames (no word on it being a collab, mind), and shell suits were redone in raw silk for a luxurious finish.
From leather-trimmed cropped shearling jackets to encrusted boucle tweed bombers, leather pants to netted football tops, hoodies layered upon hoodies layered upon hoodies, and even some school boy influences regarding the knitted stripe sets, MAINS SS24 did not come to play. It came to serve.
The debut runway collection from Skepta’s MAINS can be seen here. For more fashion week content check out coverage across Culted’s Instagram and TikTok.
Spotify teamed up with Skepta to host the exclusive London Fashion Week afterparty following the reawakening of his fashion line MAINS London. As part of the collaboration, Skepta exclusively took over the Spotify Who We Be playlist for the weekend by selecting the tracks he loves alongside his friends in the music community.
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