Matty Bovan; Peek into The Party, It’s Inside-Out SS24

There are moments in life when you take stock and realize; Wow I’m here living this feeling, this experience. You may be one of only a handful of people who are also there in that moment; Not only do you deeply drink in the moment, but you store it, ingrained into your soul. Why? Because in a true creative moment, you feel the creator, their work is like their soul worn on a sleeve for all to view. Here it was appliqued in crochet, tulle, and crystal organza, where Matty Bovan exposed his very soul for SS24.

Photo Credit: Rebecca Maynes

In the lightwell of St Martin’s in the Field on Saturday the 16th of September at 8 pm designer Matty Bovan presented his SS24 collection to a handful of fashion people all with bated breath. He did not disappoint.

This season he was inspired by American party dresses, rooted in the 1980s, but totally reimagined, chopped up, and rebirthed. Sheared lurex, crystal organza, plastic, sequins, and crochet didn’t just adorn the body but almost sashayed across giving an altered silhouette to the frame of each person walking the show. Each piece in its own way became a walking sculpture.

Bright almost lurid in colour, glitter, pattern, and applique almost as though each add-on was like a waterfall frill, crisscrossing each other as they lay over yet another draped sequin under-sheath. Some tops were also worn with skinny ‘leggings’ Yes the 80s were present, think vibrant, vital puffballs on acid, or leg of mutton sleeves, seemingly drunk and offset, bigger than a head.

But just breathe and look a little closer, underneath the drama of layers of tulles and textures see inside a corseted construction sitting on the body, the skeleton if you like, exposed, and emotionally raw.

That was the ‘moment’ of realization that this is not just about viewing the outfits, the show, the glamour, the models, but the glimpse into the true backbone of Matty as a creative. Here was the very core of what Matty had built upon as if by exposing those sheaths he was exposing his soul.

Yes the glam and glare of multi-colour 80s party dresses on acid, as if David Lynch had somehow been let loose in the design studio and had infiltrated his mind, and left him with almost Artist Christo and Jeanne-Claude-style draped buildings for catwalk exits.

This Season Matty Bovan shared his creative process for this collection in a new film short, titled “XV” Tanqueray No. TEN, after the designer’s fifteenth collection, showcasing the parallels between his process of artisanship and the distillation processes of whose ‘Tiny Ten’ cocktail, named after the still from the first distillation process, exclusively appears on the menu at Bistrotheque for the duration of London Fashion Week.

True artistry is rare; It’s simply because it takes a true artist to be prepared to expose themselves to an audience and show something of themselves embedded in their works. Well, Matty Bovan did just that.

To find out about Matty Bovan Please visit Matty Bovan.com.
Matty Bovan partnered with Tanqueray No. TEN,

St Martin-in-the-Fields @stmartininthefields. The Matty Bovan Team is grateful to St Martin-in-the-Fields for allowing special use of their historic building. St Martin’s is proud to be involved as part of its commitment to help support young creatives, artists, and performers alongside its work in the wider community and in supporting people out of homelessness

If you enjoyed reading Matty Bovan; Peek into The Party, It’s Inside-Out SS24 why not read Bag It; Anya Love Itoya.

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