Midnight Palms

The Spring Summer 2025 collection celebrates the work of pioneering Trinidadian artist and textile designer Althea McNish. McNish moved from Port-of-Spain to London in the autumn of 1950, and after graduating from the Royal College of Art embarked on a career producing painterly textiles for Liberty and Christian Dior, among others. She was an expert serigrapher, a key member of the Caribbean Artist Movement, and a master of colour. The prints featured in the collection, Osiris, Akarana and Trinidad, resound with McNish’s creative freedom and the tropicalized visions of British landscapes and Caribbean flora that made her a seminal figure in design history.  

Still life, in the shadow of the palms.

The collection presents a wardrobe inspired by nighttime vibrance in cities by the sea. Nautical influences are felt in striped crochet and mouliné knitwear, swimwear silhouettes, and nylon anoraks that shine with the sparkle of water. Calypsoes ring in formal processions with new takes on traditional occasionwear: a womens floral jacquard blazer is shrunken, while the original Crombie coat is rendered in cavalry twill. 

Footwear displays hand-work in silver-and-gold woven leather. Womenswear silhouettes are adorned with gleaming metal and sequin embroideries. The continued collaboration with Savile Row tailors Anderson and Shepard includes a brown satin overcoat, a signature ivory silk shawl-collar jacket and sharp evening ensembles in silk and mohair. 

Gestures and movements begin to change under midnight palms. Rudeboys and rockers inspire lively arrangements of cloth and colour. Soulful characters step out in cowhide desert boots, a tailored trench coat is finished with bamboo fastenings. Utility designs are crafted with elegant fabrications; frayed silks, cocoa dyed velvet and polished Ecco leather. Speed and simplicity are embodied in the new Jewel Mary Jane. Essential and pure expressions. 

Leisurewear silhouettes for men and women are refined in the adidas Originals by Wales Bonner collection. A new footwear silhouette, the Country Low, is issued in khaki suede and black and white leather with a perforated three-stripe motif. Another highlight is a deconstructed rendering of the iconic Superstar Hi-top in lush suede. 

Days forward into dub

The show soundtrack, composed by James William Blades, features vocals and a water and calabash performance from Senegalese musicians Obree Daman and Ibou Calebasse, alongside an original contribution from renowned UK producer Mad Professor. Dub futurism and dancing drums meets romantic vocals and melodic piano riffs: something sweet on the airwaves.