Charlie Constantinou SS26

CO-ED | LONDON

Sat in the halls of 180 Strand, the brutalist concrete was bare and cold - an intentionally restrained backdrop that allowed my eyes to focus entirely on Charlie Constantinou’s world. After all, that’s why I was there. Those sat in the benches before me, washed in pine green, charcoal, and chocolate brown, evoked the label’s earthly sensibility. They served as a reminder that Constantinou, only three years out of Central Saint Martins, has rapidly become one of London’s most admired NewGen voices - his language that of nature translated through a utilitarian, materially intelligent construction.

This season, his fifth, broadened his exploration of ‘gorpcore’ - his signature fusion of technical outerwear and London streetwear - now imbued with a new sense of history and innovation. At this point, Constantinou has established himself as a cult practitioner of the style, ingraining technicality and the climate as key.

Linen and cotton met with nylon; the result was soft yet enduring, light yet formed. The surfaces rippled with natural texture: hand-brushed ink, puff-printed grids, and uneven dyeing made each piece feel almost geological. Gone were the knits that had become a code of his eponymous brand, yet of course, the graduate designer predicts we are in for a warm and rainy spring.

This collection sensibly conversed with the resilience of the past. Constantinou conjured faint echoes of armour and ceremonial dress, reimagining their tactility as modern adaptability. Hoodies came equipped with epaulettes; relaxed-fitting trousers were panelled with knee guards; darted jersey dresses boasted breastplates. Mesh hoods and capes elicited medieval pageantry, while jutting shoulders channelled the frame of samurai armour: a collage of defence. The garments were modular with the ability to detach skirts and trousers, reinforcing the designer’s persistent focus on transformation.

This craftsmanship extended into accessories: quilted expandable bags brushed with silver caught the light like tarnished steel, and his collaboration with Demon Footwear introduced detachable gaiters - as if this collection couldn’t be adaptable enough.

Season Five, as his show notes indicate, “charts a deliberate passage from night into day.” In polarity with his typically lysergic colours, the looks opened in muted, dark tones before blooming into washed reds, mossy greens, and eventually saturating into aquamarine, and brilliant purples - a chromatic progression that was beautifully underscored by hymnal music and an ecosystem of noises.

I, for one, am glad the collection is very ready for spring and full of personality, unlike many other brands that seem to be predicting a long winter. If less radically inventive than past seasons, this felt more resolved, mature in construction and thought. Constantinou continues to prove that utility need not be unimaginative. His work blossoms, quite literally, from a showery storm - an optimistic allegory of the bounty and beauty that comes hereafter.

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