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Helen Anthony strides onto the pummelled pavements of the American fashion capital for the first time this Fall/Winter ‘19 with the reveal of its debut unisex collection at New York Fashion Week. Following the British luxury marque’s bold menswear collections in Milan, Helen Anthony is turning to New York as the global platform to house the release of a gender-neutral collection that both breaks the lines of traditional tailoring as well as challenges the imposition of masculinity and femininity.

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This Fall/Winter ’18/19 season will open a narrative that neither puts gender nor nationality in a container, whilst navigating the intersections of the bursting colours of the East with the structural forms of the West. By both blending and bending the two, Creative Director Naeem Anthony daringly presents a line that is versatile, yet enables the wearer to break away from collectivism, embodying a persona that seeks to stand in a new light that allows them to shine with strength.

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The major task of the collection is to re-direct fashion to its uniquecraft that provides the wearer with an authenticity and ability toexude symbolism through the garments worn.Originating from the world-renownedtailors of Savile Row London, the cultural fusion of Helen Anthony’s roots shines through as the collection looks into ancient Indian practices of Mehndi as a new language to express a global self, whilst using Western landmarks as a visual reference point. Powdered, dry leaves of hennacurl and extend into patterns on long-form, layered looks while multi-pieced suitsmap out Milan’sDuomo,London’s St. Paul’s, and the shadows of the New York skyline across gold and silver embroidery on velvet and wool tuxedos.

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Huddersfield FineWorsteds, the internationally distinguished British fabric manufacturer sets the bar for Helen Anthony’s use of fine fabric, blending meticulously crafted Italian and Britishpure wool, while cotton provides the canvas for prints and velvet which is added to the swatch board of the collection.

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The profuse colour palette of green, pink and purple works to disassociate the landmarks from their nationalistic edges into a softer sign of the wearer’s personal identity. Looking to both Western and Eastern religious architecture and iconography – Churches, Mosques, and Temple walls, floors and altars – as inspiration for embroidery and print-work that is achieved via digital, screen and hand-printed pieces replicated across a fabric board of wool, velvet and cotton.

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​Helen Anthony’s characteristic play onproportions is key in distinguishing the silhouette from traditional tailoring, where large collars and lapels provide a statement alongside the opposite spectrum of collarless cuts and round necklines, as there is no room for middle ground. Outerwear is equally daring as jackets are either cut high above the waist or coats and capes fall dramatically beneath the knees, whilst incorporating pleats that allow Helen Anthony’s love of fabric to be properly revealed.