As part of concept store Machine-A’s efforts to spotlight exciting independent labels from across the globe, it has unveiled a capsule from the LA-based Denim Tears to coincide with London Fashion Week. Designer Tremaine Emory joined forces with the London-based artist and curator Khalid Wildman to create a collection that reflects history and shared experiences. “It’s not a collaboration, it’s a friendship which has grown into us making art together,” says Emory of their partnership.
Inspired by the Windrush generation, as well as the experiences of the African diaspora as a consequence of British colonialism, the clothes have a depth of meaning that goes beyond the visual. Context here is important: Empire Windrush was a passenger liner that in 1948 brought the first immigrants to London from Jamaica (at that point a British colony) as well as Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean islands, to help make up for the labour shortage created by the Second World War. Many of the new arrivals became manual workers, drivers and cleaners, or took up jobs with the newly established NHS. In 2018, a political scandal broke when it emerged that members of the Windrush generation had been wrongly deported or threatened with deportation from the UK by the Home Office.
The 20-piece capsule is an homage to the history and ongoing impact of Windrush, but also speaks to identity, and takes Jamaica itself as a core focus. It features linen shirts, graphic jerseys and printed T-shirts, and an adaptation of the Union Jack with the Jamaican flag colours appears on hand-painted denim and sweatshirts. The limited capsule is available now from the Machine-A boutique in Soho, London.
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