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While Louise Gray used QR codes as high-tech womenswear patterns, Mr Matthew Miller used them to highlight the exact geographical co-ordinates that inspired his exquisite ‘Made in England’ collection of gentlemanly tailoring and flaneur prints. Taking inspiration from patterns he discovered while wandering around the city – a specific tree in Hyde Park, a big boulder in Shoreditch Park Garden, a rain-damaged concrete wall of the Queen Elizabeth Hall – he had specific surfaces photographed and digitally printed onto materials, in a sort of love letter to London. On his site, you can even see a treasure map of his sources shown in images, Google Maps and Street View. Anyway, back at the top of Somerset House, Miller’s models swaggered around the Portico Rooms, suited and booted in flecked grey granite and brown bark. His stone-printed-leather Oliver Sweeney hiking boots with yellow laces, in particular, are must-haves for autumn/winter, as are his super-sized adventurers’ backpacks. The show started with a dark, shiny suit covered all-over in zip-up protrusions, and ended in a standout black trench with a compass built into its breast pocket… just in case you lose yourself in the woods. To play out the show, and the end of London Fashion Week, Matthew chose a lovely orchestral instrumental of Nirvana’s ‘Rape Me’.
PS Mr Miller has also challenged i-D to a game of football, the fun continues! Check back for a full match report soon!
Text: Matthew Miller
Photography: Debbie Bragg
Click here to see our AW12 Menswear coverage in full.
