Adam Frost has crept into the fashion scene with a diverse range of supporters in tow. His sustained traction with the musical community, the queer community, and the artistic community has propelled him into his first runway show for SS24. The DJ turned fashion designer debuted his first catwalk collection for SS24, with the help of backing by the hair care brand Schwarpzkopf who’s creativity was absorbed open-armedly into the collection, following the words of Adam himself, “the hair is the hat”.
Adam’s visual narratives have always been out of the box, but decidedly organic and raw. For his first collection in SS21, he named the production Aciclovir, after a common medicine used to relieve shingles. His second collection in AW23 followed similar suit, entitled Doxycycline, an antibiotic prescribed for STDs. It is in this matter-of-fact way that Adam uses his everyday experience, his pain, his suffering, his experience and his growth to frame and guide the artistry he presents to the world. His newest collection, that GLITCH were lucky enough to see unveiled, was named Art is Abundance, birthed from his plight with less a medical condition, but a paralyzing one nonetheless, his honest condition of being broke and stretched for funds in our capitalist world that has no safety ent for artists.
Speaking with Adam post-show, he explained his atypical creative process – “It always starts with a word or phrase”. Art is Abundance was somewhat of a mantra Frost found himself clinging to when he felt desperate and downbeat due to a precarious financial state he found himself in. He explained to us that when life seemed to be quite empty, he lent into the commodities that he did have around him, and the treasure he found refuge in was the unrelenting abundance of art. Starting with this phrase, Frost then developed his heavy discotheque track set for release on major streaming services before the end of the year. He told GLITCH how from music, language and poetry he then creates painting, sketches and visuals that act as the mannequin framework for his show. The models, a selection of artists and creators and performers themselves, brought an unmatched drama riddled sassiness to the performance, and gave the clothes the personalities they needed to bring them to life.
Theatrical silhouettes, graphic glam, sequins, and sky high stilettos are staples of an Adam Frost production, and this season saw no different. Key pieces included in the runway on Monday 18th were the pink PVC meets Plaster dress with ceramic hand accents sculpted in collaboration with artists Olivia Strange, and the golden “Bobble Dress” which was a skewed conceptual take on couture gone wrong. Frost noted a range of disparate inspirations for this collection that spanned Amy Winehouse, Queen Elizabeth 1, Cindy Sherman and his long-time muse Grace Jones. Whilst these leading lady influences emanated strongly through the collection and struck a powerful energy, this season’s collection also seemed starkly more wearable, casual, and accessible to the everyday wearer and buyer.
“The whole idea behind my imagery and aesthetics for this season played with the idea of everyday couture. A woman across the street can look impeccably stylish in a grand fur coat, but it can be a secondhand topshop pieces that she bought three years ago, yet she wears it so well. I wanted to experiment with the idea that stylishness resonates from the wearer and the ensemble, art is abundant even when money isn’t”
Art and lyric splattered capes, jackets, shirts, and crops were amongst some of the pieces that seemed more shoppable for the audience. Frost has often relaxes into being named an arbiter for working class couture, and whilst he told GLITCH he does create beneath this title, he reminds us that he has a spectrum of friends and doesn’t want to be penned to such loaded words, his boundary breaking creativity is more about cutting apart traditions step upon step.
“The whole idea behind my imagery and aesthetics for this season played with the idea of everyday couture. A woman across the street can look impeccably stylish in a grand fur coat, but it can be a secondhand topshop pieces that she bought three years ago, yet she wears it so well. I wanted to experiment with the idea that stylishness resonates from the wearer and the ensemble, art is abundant even when money isn’t”
Written by Hebe Street from GLITCH Magazine
