Show Report: Matthew Miller A/W 16 Menswear

Matthew Miller was the sleeper hit of this season’s London menswear collections. At the start of the week, the buzz was focused on Craig Green and Grace Wales Bonner who, together, hold the weight of the fashion press’ expectations for new stars in London remarkably admirably. And while neither of them disappointed, by the closing day of the shows, it was Miller’s collage coats, featuring depictions of Caravaggio’s David and Goliath, that kept coming up in conversation.

Miller’s a quiet designer. His collections, despite all their promises of protest and rebel spirit, tend to be clean, fuss-free and minimal. His clothes have no gimmicks upon which to hook a review or comment. This season, he got the balance right between whispering and shouting. The images from that famous 1599 work disrupted the serenity of the pure black and dove grey looks - they grabbed the eye and forced one to consider Miller’s other twists and details; the arm bands, a symbol of protest Miller has toyed with before, the familiar frayed edges, the layers. In his use of the crowd-pleasing Caravaggio, Miller relied on a master for impact, but by doing so he proved himself quite the master. A gem of a collection - to use a cliche; a work of art.