WINNIE NY Fall Winter 2024

Idris Balogun’s besotted love for art and creative sub cultures is a social affair. This season, Balogun shepherds, as much as he fashions, a collection for a cast and a market driven by the aura of community. His synopsis: “A force backed by togetherness – sent to a hopeful state of mind.”

This is how Balogun does fashion. Founded in 2018 with clothing entirely manufactured in New York, the label is an homage to his grandmother, PRINCESS WINIFRED DADEMU, and this particular season is defined by a bold reverence for the artist TED JOANS and the “BEAT GENERATION”.

There is no ‘one’ or ‘another’ – it’s all about unifying. This season WINNIE imagines pilgrimages and a high-octane strength in clothing (fan of ‘60s Jazz bravado, which no doubt chucks a sensual spirit in the narrative). But back to the clothes: sophistication and fuss-free, dynamic functionality appear in equal measure, starring front-and-centre on the brand’s mood-board.

On the technical lane, the inspiration of Ted Joans extends to an ambience of Joans’ work, informed by his surrounding environment; he employed many mediums such as poetry, sculpture and painting. The poetry and art of TED JOANS heavily inspired by the characters he surrounded himself with including the likes of JAMES BALDWIN, DON CHERRY, FELA KUTI and ANDRE BRETON to name a few.

Balogun’s fashion excels at eulogising customers with a contained poise that’s entirely his own. There’s a brilliance to the pieces – which feel light to the touch, providing added comfort. WINNIE’s offerings, which continue to adapt to the times we live in, are on constant expansion mode. Balogun considered a narrative of freedom, a far- flung concept that’s been deprived from society of recent.

Plays on function, subtly distorted shapes, a rooted colour palette are further exploration – and assertion – of meticulous fabrications and craftsmanship, elements that help bring back meaningful clothing on track, amplifying the lexicon of luxury ready to wear.

Tailoring is at the forefront of Balogun’s design pedigree, the silhouette is sleek with ease, cool without trying. At HARDY AIMES, Balogun learned to cut a jacket to give the illusion of a short torso which gives perception of longer legs, a look Balogun still champions. A three button silhouette is introduced for the season, accompanying the classic double breasted silhouette with hand stitched button holes, a staple for the brand and an ode to Balogun’s first role as an apprentice on the prestigious SAVILE ROW.

The rhino skin artwork inspired by TED JOANS’s favourite animal helps bring a playful compliment to the collection, utilised here in a sheer silk and cotton blend to encourage layering. The colour brown has been a long staple of Joans’s work and as such carries through the collection, with hints of rose, ivory and nut. The quintessential beatnik stripe reintroduced, partnered with hand knit cashmere sweaters made with a traceable and sustainable factory in Magnolia where they herd the cashmere goats and weave the yarns. A bridge between artists and artisans, emotion and craft, continue to be the defining rules the label embodies.

Showing at the AMERICAN LIBRARY in Paris, a befitting home for a collection influenced by philosophy, literature and art, TED JOANS an expat himself frequented the library in his time, signed copies of his work live in the archives. Libraries, once a beacon of community and research, today we utilise a handheld metal slab more than we do our local libraries, a call to bring an audience back to the library.

Collaborations for the season include, HOKA, a French sportswear brand creating high comfort and lightweight running shoes. AKONI, Japanese made Swiss eyewear crafted to last, a brand that represents the same codes of the WINNIE label.