Fashion Design
The ‘Melton Wool Cape’ was Luca’s foray into Fashion Design, in collaboration with CSM Gradiuate Viktoria Zuziak. The piece was made-to-measure in London, constructed from black Melton wool produced in the UK. It features a wide collar for easy entry and visibility of garments underneath. The cape plays with layering to emphasise silhouette, in motion. The top layer of fabric over the front left shoulder can be wrapped around the right side of the neck for scarf-like wearability. Shoulder pads are utilised to bolster the frame of the garment and maintain shape for life-long wear.
This project was conceptualised in September 2022 and finished in November 2022. The product was later marketed in Luca’s project titled ‘Oh... so elegant’.
Art Direction, Production & Event Curation
Oh... so elegant was the artistic, imaginative and marketable element Luca’s personal project, personifying his collaboratively designed ‘Melton Wool Cape’. Alluding to the performative nature of theatre and entertainment, the title is an ironic coin of a typical phrase thrown around by the archetype of a traditional theatre-goer. The paradox within the title emphasises both the questionable state someone may find themselves in viewing the perfomer, all whilst highlighting their enamore for what’s before their eyes.
Set in a swanky, theatrical jazz bar, the production team’s aims were to create a sensory experience for the viewer, combining all the detailed inspiration from sonical and physical experiences in night life, and entertainment spaces of the 80s.
In additon, the campaign was supported by photographic stills, breathing colour into the story and providing another step to the campaign’s world.
As part of the promotional rollout of this campaign, Luca participated in a film screening/panel and curated his own two day exhibit to display the cape and host friends & family in an initmate space to try-on and discuss the project.
Wardrobe
For Issue 34 of GUAP Magazine, cover star Unknown T wears the ‘Melton Wool Cape’, collaboratively designed by Luca Allick-Smith & Viktoria Zuziak.