Shokushu Boutique’s SS21 runway collection continued the playful commentary surrounding ideas of femininity which encompassed FF's LFW show. 

With the backdrop of St John's Church, Notting Hill, Shokushu Boutique chose the K-Pop song Actuallymymomisalien by Uyeon (유연), underlining the 'East meets West'.

Photographer Mikey San

Created for people not afraid to stand out and be different, Shokushu's Boutique was an exaltation of the use of latex. The notions of latex as an oversexualised material is transformed in this collection through the Boutique's palette of pastels and delicate embellishments of illustrations and lace. The collection demonstrates how latex can, indeed , be cute as well as empowering. And the models' dynamic walks in the pastel latex collection, down the nave of St John's Church, proved this. The brand is generally inspired by an ‘East meets West’ culture clash, which includes influences from Harajuku street style and Korean Pop and Hip Hop, coalescing into something completely unique. 

The SS collection draws specifically on the fantastic pink interior of the French colonial Tan Hinh Han Catholic church in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In tandem, the collection is also inspired by big name designer collections from the last 30 years, that themselves draw on Christian iconography: such as Lacroix’s AW’88, Versace’s AW’97 and AW’12, Jean Paul Gaultier’s SS 07, and Dolce and Gabbana AW’13.

Fashions Finest debuted Shokushu Boutique’s SS22 collection which will be ready to buy in November 2021. Shokushu Boutique prides themselves as being an independent brand that sources their fabric within the UK whilst committing to reducing material waste to zero through a bespoke service. Make a custom order from them through www.shokushuboutique.com or to buy from bulk by checking out their stockists www.shokushuboutique.com/stockists

The collection displayed a new way to challenge notions of femininity through a dialogue of conflicting textures and contrasting reference points. The textural and visual polyphony of Shokushu Boutique SS22 collection on the runway at Fashions Finest’s LFW show was a reminder of the power of materiality in fashion, after 18 months of being behind a 2-dimensional screen.