Sinead Gorey Takes Us Back to School With Bimini Bon Boulash
A tribute to the girls who couldn’t wait to grow up.
Sinead Gorey returns to the London Fashion Week runway for a second time, taking us to London’s iconic Heaven nightclub for a blast from the past. Reimagining the “British teenage experience,” Gorey’s Fall/Winter 2024 show recreates typical schoolgirl archetypes, drawing from her own vibrant adolescence.
Looking at the dangerous periods spent outside the classroom, bus stop and local corner shop, the designer takes us deep inside the minds of our former selves, evolving her past exploration of British youth culture and 2000s coming-of-age experiences. “Back in the day, different schools had different tartan checks,” explains the designer in a press release. “That’s how you knew who went to what school.”
Alongside her own reinterpretation of classic school tartans, Gorey’s showcase featured nostalgic accessories like iPod shuffle clips, jelly spike nails and fashion royalty, Bimini Bon Boulash.
Read on for Hypebae’s summary of Sinead Gorey FW24.
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Who: This season’s showcase saw the likes of pop icon Katy B, presenter Zeze Millz and model Lottie Moss in attendance, while drag queen and fashion icon Bimini Bon Boulash closed the show.
Where: Taking us to the clerb for FW24, Gorey’s nostalgic showcase brought us to a dingy basement floor and makeshift Gorey corner shop, where our teenage selves felt right at home.
See: This season, the collection debuted a collaboration with the era-defining Ed Hardy, resulting in statement hats, skirts and accessories. Elsewhere, Steve Madden lent its distinctive touch to P.E.-style footwear, complete with rainbows of tartan, Union Jack prom dresses, PVC bodycon dresses and fur coats.
Hear: A classic noughties playlist filled the room, complete with remixed mash-ups starring the Sugababes, Lily Allen and The Prodigy.
Touch: Drawing inspiration from St. Trinian’s-core, DIY was the name of the game this season. Classic school blazers were “vandalized” with punky badges, skirts were harshly cropped within an inch of their lives and Mean Girls-inspired “tit-slit” tops offered a contrasting, raw edge. Elsewhere, silicone spikes adorned nails, while laddered tights and stuffed bras took somewhat two-dimensional silhouettes and upgraded them.
Taste: If Sinead Gorey’s FW24 is anything to go by, it’s clear that nostalgia is here to stay — only this time, we’re not lamenting our youth or poor decisions, we’re owning and customizing them.
