LONDON — It’s been a frenetic six months for Martine Rose, who made her international debut on the January edition of Pitti Uomo and is following it up with three big collaborations at Stüssy, Clarks and Nike. 

In April, she took a swerve at Stüssy, designing car-themed accessories, including a fuzzy leopard print steering-wheel cover. More recently, as Clarks’ first guest creative director, Rose put a colourful spin on a series of classics, which debuted throughout the designer’s spring 2024 runway show here on Sunday night. 

Working with Clarks felt right on every level, said Rose during an interview at her north London studio.

“The brand is such an intrinsic a part of British culture — and beyond. It resonates with everyone. I’m British-Jamaican, and the cultural impact it has in Jamaica is gigantic. More necessary than anything is how comfortable the shoes are, and we actually leaned into that,” said Rose, who jazzed up three classic styles in snakeskin, tinting them black and burgundy.

As reported, Rose has also designed a tailored clothing collection with long-term collaborator Nike, which is about to be released in July to coincide with the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer games. 

Tailored clothing is latest for Nike, and Rose said the thought evolved from their conversations about women’s soccer specifically. “I’m really excited to release that,” she said.

Within the midst of all of it, Rose continues to be processing the impact of her big Pitti Uomo show, which she staged in a Sixteenth-century loggia. She decked the space in saffron yellow carpeting and covered the columns with mirrored tiles.

“I feel I underestimated the reach, and the way far that goes. There have been people at Pitti who don’t come to London for whatever reason, and so they got to experience my show. And the PR machine behind it. It has definitely opened doors, and raised my profile. It’s such a tremendous platform,” she said.

But she was joyful to be back showing in her home city, and in the local people. 

Sunday night’s show took place at St. Joseph’s Community Centre, not removed from her studio.

“I wanted something that was completely different to Pitti — which was a really glamorous show,” said Rose. “There are references to club culture — nevertheless it’s a distinct club culture — a time in London when people used to co-opt rooms or community spaces to go dancing or have a club night.

“I find community centers interesting because, initially, they were very British, but as each wave of immigration got here, they’d change. There have been Polish, West Indian and Turkish centers. They’d a relevance for each community. That’s why this show feels very personal,” she added. 

A London native, Rose is legendary for her colourful, and community-focused, runway backdrops, which over time have included her daughter’s primary school; the Seven Sisters grocery store in Tottenham, and the roof of a company office block within the City of London.

Throughout the interview Rose was wearing a T-shirt by the brand Sports Banger emblazoned with the phrase “Make Croydon Bait Again.” It was a reference to the realm of south London where she grew up, and a play on U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s (and later Donald Trump’s) campaign slogan. 

As at all times, this collection didn’t have a selected theme. As a substitute, Rose twisted and reshaped menswear classics corresponding to waxed jackets, trench coats and hi-vis vests, subverting traditional menswear codes “and fooling around the sides of who the character is, and what they do.”

This season she drew inspiration from traditional female wardrobes, adding A-line shapes to automobile coats and sportswear, and draping to tailored silhouettes. 

She’s also worked a “pre-owned, pre-loved, distressed” feel into the gathering. “There are loads of washed linens, and special treatments that make the garments feel simpler and relaxed. Once you distress things and make them feel a bit more worn and loved, it [allows] people to assume them of their wardrobes, in some way,” Rose said. 

There have been slinkier fabrics, too, corresponding to silks, satins and viscose “that type of drape and flop around,” said Rose.

She explored volume drawing inspiration from the distorted silhouette created by riding a motorcycle, with the rounded shoulders pushed forward and all the quantity on the front.

Silhouettes were big — a Rose signature — with linings and shoulder pads cut in half to permit jackets to drape and hang in a better, more casual way.

Rose worked for 3 years with Demna on Balenciaga menswear, and is widely thought to be having been a significant influence on the brand’s oversize, distressed and vintage-flecked men’s silhouettes.

For spring 2024 she collaborated once more with the Latest York-based brand LL LLC, which was founded by Lia Lowenthal. Rose discovered Lowenthal’s sculptural designs in a store in Portland, Oregon, fell in love with them and asked Lowenthal if she’d collaborate.

The fluffy ear cuff jewelry, made with marabou features, got here courtesy of Yaz XL, a Central Saint Martins graduate who looks to science, magic and sculpture to create her statement pieces. 

Rose’s distinctive brand of urban cool has won her quite a few fans. Drake featured in one among Rose’s fashion movies during lockdown, while Naomi Campbell and DJ Goldie sported looks from her spring 2023 collection on the quilt of the autumn 2022 issue of i-D. 

Rihanna has been a faithful client of Rose’s for greater than a decade. She was one among the primary celebrities to wear her clothing and has at all times bought, slightly than borrowed, the pieces, in accordance with Rose.

Last 12 months Rose dressed Kendrick Lamar for his Big Steppers tour. Earlier this 12 months, Lamar picked up his Grammy award wearing a pair of Martine Rose x Nike Shox sneakers.