Known for his whimsical maximalist designs and loved by the likes of British stylist and fashion journalist Katie Grand and musician M.I.A, Ed Marler recently presented his Spring Summer 2016 collection at London Fashion Week near Brewer Street Car Park last September 2015.
His last collection combines different materials, textures and colours that playfully repurpose the function of some elements - putty coloured lace pantaloons with bra cups for knee pads, or gowns in black, red and white are made from sections of popper tracksuit. There were also sequin trousers and a gingham bustier, worn with leopard print and snakeskin jackets. Seeing his last collection was like meeting a lost tribe of free souls drift around in the dust, fashioning things they can find with a sense of liberty.
For Ed Marler, dressing up is a way of life, every moment is sparkle-worthy. The Central Saint Martins graduate’s final collection was an opulent mish-mash of rags-to-riches royal drag. It’s a do-it-yourself Cinderella, ditching the Fairy Godmother for a wardrobe less ordinary. The designer plays with denim, fur, homemade knits, leopard satin sheets and lace curtains to piece together his dream in the form of dresses, tunics, capes and fishtail pants. Marler seems to have this vision to enable anyone who wears his design as rebellious royals.
Considered as one of the emerging visionary sustainable designers in London, he’s been a Fashion East designer in SS15 and AW15 and his work advocates a new fashion system – using unconventional models related to pop culture or his up-cycling, recurrent motifs like his crowns.